I had a wonderful time at the Saint Louis area Community of Communities gathering on Saturday, March 21. Lotus House hosted the event. In addition to Lotus, other communities were represented including Deaconess Ann House, the Vincentian Volunteer Corp, the New Beguines, and Anam Cara, among others. About 25 people attended overall.


The gathering encouraged me in many ways.

The Community of Communities gathering was very refreshing. From the hospitality and smiles, to the large pot of delicious veggie soup, to the chickens living under the back porch, I knew I was among members of my own tribe, so to speak. 

Springfield does not yet have the critical mass of covenanted intentional communities that Saint Louis has. I found it refreshing to suddenly be among so many kindred spirits when there are comparatively so few of us in Springfield. 

Also, the Lotus House has been around for longer than Spare Key. It is always inspiring to meet new friends who are farther along on the journey than us. I think there is a lot that Spare Key can learn from Lotus House. 

 

Spare Key was the only community from outside Saint Louis that was represented. It was a Saint Louis gathering, after all. But I was so glad they invited us. I had met Alden (who lives at Lotus House and who extended the invitation) only through email and through Lotus House's blog. Now that we've met, I sincerely hope Spare Key and Lotus House will find ways to work together in the future.



Many aspects of the gathering reminded me of my year in immersive community back in 2010.  For example, everybody at the gathering knew what the word “charism” meant. During introductions, everybody was able to easily name the two or three values upon which their respective communities were founded and by which they and their fellow community members endeavored to live.

I also noticed that many of us were in some kind of AmeriCorps program. Amber and I did AmeriCorps back in 2010, so I related to those folks who are currently in the throes of their own AmeriCorps stint. 

If their Intentional Community/AmeriCorps experience is anything like mine, their year will be deeply transformative for them in ways they won’t fully realize until later. In any event, while I knew that community and community service go together like PB and J, I had never recognized the specific symbiotic relationship that exists between AmeriCorps service corps and the broad range of religious Intentional Communities. 

I hope I get to see and interact with all the people I met at the Community of Communities gathering again in the future, whether in their neck of the woods or in mine.