O VER 100 INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY movers, shakers, and seekers got together this past November for the fall board meeting of the Fellowship for Intentional Community. The gathering was hosted by the 52-year-old Christ's Church of the Golden Rule (CCGR), at their beautiful ranch near Ukiah, California. Giant redwood groves, sage-covered mountains, fine horses, rare white deer, and coyotes calling in the night, all contributed to another delightfully unique FIC meeting. Although this pacifist church community has been around since World War Two, our board meeting represented the first time CCGR had hosted another group's meetings. The experience went so well that one Church member said, "This coming together seemed more like a reunion than a first meeting."
Participants shared a wide variety of interests. Some came to see who else in the region was interested in intentional community (either to start something new or join a group already under way). Some came to visit the host community. Others came to observe the consensus process or talk with Fellowship members. Some came to promote their particular community or project. All were welcome.
One of the big Fellowship stories of 1995 is the evolving nature of the board meetings themselves. In three days together, the board tries to:
Friday was devoted to project managers and committees reporting on their work and fielding questions from anyone present. This was a chance to find out what was going on, get fresh input from new folks, and discover key issues for the board to consider later in the meeting. Brisk sales of the new edition of the Communities Directory were reported, with nearly 7,000 copies distributed in the first six months. Communities magazine posted steady growth, in both subscriptions and distributor sales. The Community Loan Fund report described a loan to the Community Quest conference in Colorado, and a prospective loan to Los Angeles EcoVillage. (The fund makes loans of up to $5,000 to intentional community businesses, and other projects serving the communities movement.) There were first-hand reports from recent community conferences, including Twin Oaks' Labor Day Communities Conference, the Second Annual CoHousing Conference, the Community Quest conference, and the First International Ecovillages Conference. That night, at a "Community Fair" in the dining hall, people presented brief descriptions of their intentional communities and met in small groups with interested community seekers.
In a radical departure from past board meetings, the entire second day of the meeting was devoted to regional networking. Increasing numbers have come to the last two board meetings, and to encourage this growing regional participation, a networking day was designed to help identify and develop common interests among communitarians, especially those from the northern California region.
Participants decided among themselves what issues were talked about and with whom, through an innovative "open space" format. Each participant had the opportunity to state three specific objectives/hopes for the day. Through a lively mix of sticky notes, quick introductions, a short burst of simultaneous personal concept marketing, and assertive facilitators, each individual's objectives were connected with the related interests of others, and meeting sites (or walking routes) were designated for each group. Then site locations were posted on a wall for easy referral. All of this preparation happened within one hour, building energy and giving everyone in the meeting hall a voice in agenda setting.
Everyone had a chance to find others in the region who shared their passions--whether electronic networking, raising children non-violently, or construction with recycled materials. Sharing special interests with a wider population of communitarians is one of the delightful benefits of Fellowship events. Most of us do not have as many cooperative contacts in our daily lives as we'd like. So it's a welcome experience to meet with new friends who share our awareness of the wider intentional communities movement, especially friends who live close enough to visit again!
On Sunday, the final day, the board met from mid-morning until late evening, and consensually made a number of decisions:
The three-part Fellowship mission was considered and a fourth element added, so now our mission statement reads:
After a decade of continental network organizing, the FIC is now grappling with questions of organizational structure. Our history has been based on board-driven projects anchored by near-fanatical investment of volunteer hours. Now it's time to move beyond that to a more humane and sustainable future. But what should that look like? A Restructuring Committee was created to review all aspects of Fellowship organization, and to recommend changes that will improve FIC effectiveness and efficiency.*
A key issue for the Restructuring Committee is how to involve more people in the Fellowship's work and simultaneously maintain the close, community feeling created by having a working board whose members are in regular contact with one another. How are new Fellowship activists to be mentored and incorporated into the committed core of the organization? How can the Fellowship help establish regional community networks and engage more FIC general members in the semiannual board meetings, ongoing committees, and project teams? Can FIC develop a dynamic committee structure that coordinates with other Fellowship operations? In a broader light, is the intentional communities movement well served by the evolving Fellowship meetings? Do existing FIC projects effectively address the range of our mission priorities? Does current organizational structure allow future growth?
Another thorny issue for the Restructuring Committee will be recommendations on board selection. Currently the board is self-selected, and strives to include communitarians from the widest possible spectrum of the intentional communities movement. But more than experience is needed for Fellowship work--we also need vision and a commitment to be active in the work. Board members are communitarian activists who live out their personal commitments to cooperative lifestyles, to Fellowship projects, and to personal effectiveness in consensus meetings. Board members are not selected as representatives who are "responsible" to their intentional communities or networks. Rather than seeking direct representation from intentional communities, the board's underlying philosophy of inclusivity is expressed by our deep commitment to open and participatory meetings, by consciously siting meetings in different sections of the country, and by widely publicizing FIC gatherings.
Communities magazine readers are welcome to join us as these vital new developments unfold at upcoming Fellowship board meetings. Share the fun with us of building more cooperative relationships as we visit intentional communities across North America (and observe the consensus process and see trained FIC facilitators in action.)
The next board meeting will be held November 1-4 at the Ecovillage Training Center at The Farm, about 65 miles southwest of Nashville. Friday the 1st will be report day, with the latest news about FIC projects and activities. There will be questions and answers, and opportunities to lend a hand. Saturday will be regional networking; we'll provide opportunities for everyone to talk about their passion for community and how it intersects with Fellowship programs. Sunday and Monday will be board business days, where values will be discussed, policies developed, and organizational decisions made. All meetings will be open to the public. Fees for attending will be $20/day for room and board ($15 if you're camping), plus a participation cost of $15-$100 for the entire weekend. Participants will be asked to select their own place on the sliding scale based on how many days they attend and what they can afford.
For more details or to make reservations, please contact Jenny Upton, FIC Meeting Coordinator, Shannon Farm, Rt. 2, Box 343, Afton, VA 22920; 804-361-1417 (after 5 pm).
*The six-person Restructuring Committee met for five days in late February at Sunrise Ranch. They presented their extensive proposals at the subsequent May board meeting held in the Catskill Mountains. These meetings will be described in the Fall '96 issue.
Communities magazine is published by the nonprofit Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC).
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