Jay Howard on Community

Hi everybody! First, thank you Bethany for inviting me to write a guest post for your super-cool blog. My focus in this post will be on the last part of the coffeeculturecommunity triad. (The only part I know anything about!) Specifically, I would like to talk a little about what I have learned from this of year living in an intentional community.

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First, Some Background

I recently graduated from college and got married. Then, motivated by a vague-but-persistent interest in “togetherness,” Amber and I decided that we wanted learn a little bit about intentional communities. To accomplish this goal, we moved to Pittsburgh, PA where a brand new intentional community called Formation House was just starting up. We have lived here almost a year.

“What is an intentional community,” you ask?

In the most basic terms, an intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common vision, and they typically also share responsibilities and resources.

This year has been about fleshing out the details of what that means. As we have journeyed through this year we have found that living in intentional community is pretty darn cool. Formation House is a one year program, and because we have enjoyed this year so much Amber and I are already exploring ways to continue incorporating the practice of community into our lives in the future. Here in Pittsburgh we have forged close friendships, learned best-practices for community life, and eaten a lot of awesome, home-cooked meals.

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Charisms and Focus

One of the things I have learned this year is that different communities have different focuses, or “charisms” as they are called. (http://www.mattpritchard.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Charisms.pdf) Examples of charisms in intentional communities are:

meals together
self-sufficiency
voluntary simplicity
interpersonal growth
egalitarian values
prayer or spirituality

Many communities make the mistake of biting off more than they can chew.

It is common at the beginning stages to say, “Let’s pray together every night, eat breakfast together, plant a garden, get involved with the local church, practice hospitality with all our neighbors, build a park in the vacant lot across from our house, and raise chickens!”

Nobody thinks about cleaning the bathroom. But trust me, it will come up! People who are older and wiser than me recommend “doing one thing well,” and then adding more stuff after the community has established some norms.

Formation House was created to be a training ground for how to do intentional community. I would say
Formation House has three charisms.

We eat meals together 5 nights a week,
we pray together 5 nights a week, and
we meet roughly once a week to go over a curriculum which focuses on interpersonal growth.

By “interpersonal growth” I mean communication, listening skills, conflict resolution, leadership, group decision making. That sort of thing.

Those three things keep is pretty busy as a community because all three call for a good chunk of time and effort. But we still have plenty of time to do other things. For example, we each work full time. And we each have our own personal interests and hobbies.

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Skill Sharing

A big part of the fun of this year has been sharing our hobbies and interests with each other. We have quite an assortment of fun occupations between the eight of us. Some examples:

Gardening
Bee Keeping
Bird Watching
Chess
Sewing
Home Brewing
Accounting
Painting
Yoga
Bicycle Co-Op
Crocheting
Taking care of/playing with a golden retreater
Watching the science fiction television show Firefly

When eight people share their lives together, there is almost always going to be somebody around who is interested in what you are interested in. How awesome is that? When I get share my enthusiasm for chess, for example, or when somebody takes me bird watching for the first time, it is rewarding for everyone involved.

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Further Reading

In conclusion, I still have a lot to learn about community. That said, if you have any questions or are interested in reading more about community, check out my and Amber’s blog, Adventures in Togetherness, or email me at jayhoward1ATgmailDOTcom. I would love to hear from you. Thank you for reading my post about intentional community.

Disclaimer: The chipmunks have no significance. :) Pin It

5 Travel Packing Tips

So it is the day before I embark on my adventure, and I am surprisingly not freaking out. Maybe, it is because I am packed and ready to go...almost. Yesterday, I finished up packing and encountered some humbling set backs. I thought I knew everything about travelling...ha that's funny.

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Anyway, I thought I would share some packing tips for all you fellow adventurers out there.

1. Know Thy Airline Guidelines: So I thought I knew all the airline guidelines, no liquids over 4 oz. in carry on and all in a quart bag, ya ya. However, little did I know, that now you also have a limit on total liquid items in your checked bag of 70 oz. and no one bottle can be more than 16 oz. (there goes my shampoo bottle). For most trips, this limit is no big deal, but when you are staying somewhere for 4 weeks, you have to be intentional about what shampoo, sunscreen, and make-up you pack.

2. Share The Load With Friends: That leads into my next tip. If you are traveling in a group consider sharing personal care items. My roommate is brilliant and came up with a solution to the 70 oz. limit. She is taking shampoo, sunscreen, and moisturizer, and I am bringing conditioner, contact solution, and face wash. We both made it under 70 oz. this way, and really there is no reason to have doubles of everything.

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3. Split The Cost With Your Suitcases: Money is a touchy issue. In my opinion, it is best to separate everything you are taking with you in different suitcases (but NOT your checked bag). Have some in your purse, some in your carry-on, maybe some in your shoe or front pocket. This way if your purse or carry-on gets stolen, you are not stranded penniless.

4. Keep Your Purse Close To Your Heart: Also, on that note, find a bag or money holder that you can keep close to your body at all times. I bought a cute leather purse that slings over my should, so I can keep an eye on it.

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5. Attach Cute Luggage Tags: This is just for fun, but I bought some adorable luggage tags that I am super excited about. On a practical note, it will also help you find your baggage in the baggage claim. :)

P.S. Don't freak out. Odds are wherever you are going has shampoo, toothpaste, and underwear, which is really all you need. Don't pack too much stuff because you don't what to burden your group with being unable to carry your own luggage.

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Also, you may be wondering about if I will be blogging in Ecuador. The answer is YES, but I also have some super sweet guest bloggers lined up for you. Some are dear friends and some are bloggers I greatly admire. I am so honored each of them are taking time out of their busy schedule to share their life with you on this blog.

This week, I have two guest bloggers lined up for you. Tomorrow, Emma from Food Coma and Red Velvet (remember I wrote an article about her and her sister Elsie, you can find here). She has a delicious coffee recipe to share. Later this week, my dear friend, Jay Howard from Adventures in Togetherness is going to share about community (remember I visited him and his wife in Pittsburgh, here). 

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(I couldn't resist the UP reference.)

I will pop in with Spanish lessons and fun pictures as well!

Hope you enjoy. :)

Stay Adventurous, 

Beth

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