Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Intentional Community

The next meeting is February 24, at 6:30, at the Smith's house. 

What does it take to make an intentional community? The background to this topic is that we spend a good deal of time talking about creating an environment at EUUF that is a community of like-minded individuals who chose to associate based on a set of shared mores and ideals of interpersonal relationships, but is there more going on here that that?  We chose this community and by joining it we affect the composition and nature of the group by our very presence.  We MAKE the environment we hope to be find, just by being a part of it.
There are many parts to this story, and I hope to tease them out of the discussion over the course of the evening.  Core Group, Diversity, Inclusiveness, Tolerance, Structure, Multi-Generational Involvement, Participation, Leadership, Ambiance, and Welcoming.  What other terms can you think of that would be appropriate? 
An intentional community is like a family, and like a family there are lots of issues and problems that can arise.  Love, conflict, irritation, affection, admiration, competition, help, hindrance, sharing, isolation, and many others.  What have you seen during your association at the Fellowship?  What have you seen in the world around you?  How have these affected you?  How should they affect you?

1 comment: