Deepening Community by Paul Born

Author:Paul Born [Born, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sociology, Spirituality
ISBN: 9781626560994
Google: 3U7yAAAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 18167196
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 2014-03-10T00:00:00+00:00

WILL’S STORY Losing and Finding Community

When you have experienced intentional community, going back to everyday life is hard. That is Will’s story: he is seeking a community that he feels he has lost.

Will can be very serious, but he is also warm and funny. He has a deep faith. He is always seeking conversation with others, embracing people with acceptance and sharing details of his life with an openness that I seldom experience. Visiting with him is like sitting down with an urban philosopher.

Will is unique in that he has lived in intentional community most of his adult life. He formed his first such community with friends right out of university—his first experience of the deep bond of belonging and purpose that is so intense among those who live together and share everything in common.

This experience led him, when he was still in his twenties, to an intentional community in the state of Georgia, one that was drawn together around the needs of refugees and prisoners on death row. On average, five or six families form the core of this community, joined on a temporary basis by interns, volunteers, and refugee families who stay for a few weeks to learn English and other skills to help them integrate into U.S. culture.

The partners in the community share everything in common—land, houses, and finances. They sing together, pray together, and eat most of their meals together. Will found a profound sense of belonging and purpose in this community because it was committed to building a better world together. It was here that he met his wife and they raised their three children. Life was not always easy. Everyone worked hard, raised funds to support their vision, and lived close to the land. People joined the community for many reasons—such as for a simpler life or a safe place to raise their families—but only those deeply committed to the mission stayed for long periods of time.

Life in intentional community can provide so much to those seeking a deeper experience of belonging, but it also requires its members to give much of their identity and personal will to the community. This is not as large a sacrifice as it may seem because the benefits of belonging, security, and purpose most often outweigh the need for personal expression. When living in a healthy and well-functioning intentional community, members can maintain the fine balance between personal creativity and expression and the will and needs of the community as a whole, to the benefit of everyone.

Will and his wife were able to find this balance in Georgia for a long time, until fifteen years after Will joined, when they began to feel that the well-being of their children was being challenged. The community believes deeply that they should not isolate children from the outside world, that going to public school and forming friendships outside the community is important. But the schools in their district are ranked the lowest in the state. Will and his wife—both of them

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