Location and About

     Heartland Zen​ meets every Saturday at 11 am at Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union Blvd, near Delmar in the City of St. Louis, at the corner of Union and Enright. This community-minded congregation has opened its doors to a number of social service agencies and other religious groups throughout its history.  
     Each service begins with 30 minutes of seated meditation, followed by  a dharma talk, discussion, and further gathering over a vegetarian lunch.
     It is important to enter the building from the Enright Street side. Our 'pop-up zendo' is located in the church's former chapel, and the altar, screens, zafus, zabutons, and chairs are set up and taken down, leaving no trace, every week.
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Services are primarily led by Will (Genro) Holcomb, with members of the sangha and guest speakers providing occasional dharma talks. Dr. Holcomb is a lay meditation teacher in the Soto Zen tradition and is a member of the Lay Zen Teachers Association.
     He began practice at the Missouri Zen Center, leading to lay ordination with Rosan Yoshida Roshi in 2002. He continued his practice at Shinzo Zen Meditation Center and received lay entrustment through Reverend Shoken Winecoff, abbot of Ryumonji Zen Monastery in Decorah, Iowa.
     Will has led weekly meditation and discussion sessions since 2010 and has contributed to publications and projects dedicated to prison outreach. In 2019 he plans to retire after practicing obstetrics and gynecology for 41 years. He held faculty positions at Washington University and at St. Louis University in the specialty of high risk obstetrics.
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​​​Rev. Shoken Winecoff is founding teacher and abbot of Ryumonji Zen Monastery. He is a Dharma Heir of the late Dainin Katagiri Roshi, founder of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. Shoken also received formal training at Zuioji Zen Monastery and Shogoji Zen Monastery in Japan for three years from 1989 to 1992. Since that time he has worked to establish a Soto Zen monastery in the Midwest.