Friends and fellow Communitarians!

On the afternoon of Saturday, November 21st, about a dozen Christian intentional communities from throughout New York City and Long island gathered at Judson Memorial Church for the fourth (quarterly) Gathering of Communities. Some of the communities represented included Catholic Worker, Harlem House (née Bruderhof), Banner House, Radical Living, Whole House, Menno House, Harlem Girls, and several others.

The gathering opened with a potluck and time for fellowship, followed by individual and community intros. Each person answered one of three questions:

1. How do you/your community do Sabbath?
2. How does your community do hospitality?
3. What issue(s) is your community wrestling with?

Every response shared drew us into greater solidarity, and helped us to realize that, although each community has its own distinct identity, we all encounter and wrestle with similar themes and issues. After intros we broke into small groups to discuss various topics, including: radical hospitality, community organizing, youth justice, and communal ways to respond to poverty. After the discussion each group prayed for one another and for ways to grow in understanding and application regarding the topic addressed. Concluding the small group discussion, one person from each group shared with the larger group about the topic discussed.

The gathering was a great time of deepening inter-community relationships, skill-sharing, and prayer. Thanks to each person and community that made it possible, and a special thanks to the folks at Banner House, Harlem Girls, Harlem House and Radical Living for collectively organizing the event. Make sure to check out the NYC Community of Communities website and our online calendar. If you have something to share, send it this way. Also, we need more administrators for the website and calendar. If you are tech savvy, or simply have time and interest, give me a holler, and you can be added.Thanks again for your love and fellowship!

In Christ,

Jason (Radical Living)

Gathering of Communities IV

The Gathering of Communities IV will be Saturday, November 21, from noon to 4pm at Judson Memorial Church near Washington Square in the West Village. Please come to discuss, meet others and get involved with groups of people who are living in community in New York City and nearby.

Visioning Session

All of the communities that have participated at the quarterly gathering of communities were recently invited to send a rep(s) from there community to a NYC Community of Communities Visioning Session.

Half a dozen communities (Menno House, Harlem Girls, Whole House, Radical Living, the Bruderhof-Harlem House, and the Palma Boys) were represented at the Visioning Session, which took place Friday, June 26th at Menno House.

At the Visioning Session we discussed 1) Inter-community Networking and Fellowship, 2) Training/Teaching opportunities, and 3) Advocacy and Volunteering. The full notes from this meeting were sent to the communities. Please pray that the Spirit continues to lead this movement.

Banner House-Service Project

The NYC Community of Communities  is partnering with the Banner House community in Long Island to serve the community they live in. This is also a great opportunity to spend quality time together. Let’s make a day of it! You’re of course welcome to come late or leave early if need be. Here’s the link to the Facebook event’s page.

Schedule:

10:00 a.m. Meet at Penn Station to depart on LIRR for Long Beach (departs at 10:22)
(People coming from Brooklyn might want to get the train at Jamaica)
11:08 a.m. Arrive at Long Beach
11:30 a.m. Start community clean up service project
1:30 or so Lunch
3:00 p.m. Hang out in Long Beach
5:00 p.m. Bon Fire on the beach
8:00 p.m. Return

The first steps

The NYC Community of communities gatherings, organized by Amy Stabeno of the Harlem Girls, have met three times over the last year. We have fellowshipped, broken bread, prayed, and shared stories.

At the recent Spring gathering at All Angels we discussed ways to go deeper as a Community (with a big “C”). We talked about organizing as a collective so that our presence (i.e., social witness) will be felt not just in our neighborhoods, apartment buildings and brownstone homes, but on the streets and in the subways, in the shelters and city hall, and even in the churches and places where we worship.

This site and our ONLINE CALENDAR are meant to help us as we begin to organize our efforts to find new ways to support one another as we participate in the movement of God’s Spirit!