A MONTHLY EMAIL PUBLICATION of the FIC since 1999, serving over 5000 subscribers. June 26, 2006 1 Shooting at Ganas Community in NYC - Attacker Still at Large 2 New Design at www.ic.org 3 Featured Bookshelf Title at Sale Price 4 FIC Co-sponsored Events Ahead in 2006 5 Communities Magazine Issues 6 Help Build A More Cooperative World! _________________________________________________________________ 1 SHOOTING AT GANAS COMMUNITY IN NYC - ATTACKER STILL AT LARGE Speical Message from the FIC Oversight Committee _________________________________________________________________ As some of you may have heard, a community member from Ganas (Staten Island, NY) was attacked and shot on the street near Ganas community on May 29th. He is now in stable condition and was recently released from the hospital. His alleged attacker, a former community member, is still at large and the New York Police Department has asked that information about her be circulated widely to aid in finding and arresting her. Recent newspaper reports place her still on Staten Island but her whereabouts are not known for sure and she may have left New York. Be cautious as she is considered armed and dangerous. Here is the information from her NYPD 'rap' sheet: Rebekah (Becky) Johnson. 43 years old. 5 ft 5 inches. Weight: 200 lbs. Complexion: clear. Hair color: Blond. Eye color: blue. Scars/tatoos: N/A Last Known address: 131 Jersey Street Apt 6B Staten Island, NY. Crime: Assault 1. Date: 5/29/06 Precinct: 120. UF 61# 6933 Assigned Officer: Det Carroll. Suspect Frequents: 582 Bat Street Staten Island, NY A photo is available at http://www.ic.org/johnson.jpg If you have any information please call the NYPD at: 718-981-2714 or 718-876-8500 For more information see: http://www.well.com/user/ganas/home/jeffgross-statement.htm As you can imagine Ganas has a lot to deal with right now between the police, the media, and the threat of an attacker at large. We wish them well in this trying time. _________________________________________________________________ 2 NEW DESIGN at WWW.IC.ORG By Tony Sirna _________________________________________________________________ We are excited to announce the launch of a complete redesign of our Intentional Communities Website at www.ic.org. We've overhauled the sites look and feel and integrated the various parts of our site into a more integrated system. Now our main site, the Online Communities Directiory and the Intentional Communities Store all share the same look and feel as well as an integrated registration and log in system that we hope will make it easier for our site users and customers. We've also updated our home page so that the ever changing content of our site is highlighted. Each day we feature a few randomly selected communities from the Online Directory (directory.ic.org) as well as showing upcoming events from our Events Calendar (events.ic.org). We also show the most recent messages from our REACHBook and our Community Classifieds which seems to have resulted in those sections getting much more traffic and use. And these changes are not just cosmetic. We made a lot of under the hood changes that may not be apparent to the user but should allow us to make more upgrades more easily. Upcoming projects include a revamp of the Communities Magazine section of our site and the potential addition of a wiki. So check out www.ic.org and let us know what you think. If you have any questions or find any bugs please let us know. http://www.ic.org http://store.ic.org http://directory.ic.org http://reach.ic.org ------------------------------------ Promote Your Community One of the FIC's main purposes is to help Intentional Communities thrive and we try to provide a variety of ways for Communities to promote themselves if they are seeking new members or selling a product or service. We've compiled a list of our various promotional options on our website at http://www.ic.org/promote.php. We offer both free and paid opportunities, online and in print, so check it out and promote your community today. We are currently offering a 30% discount on community advertisements on our Online Directory. This offer expires July 1st, 2006 though we may extend a special discount to FIC member communities. See http://directory.ic.org/advertise.php for details. _________________________________________________________________ 3 FEATURED BOOKSHELF TITLE at SALE PRICE Reviews by Catherine Nicosia, Community Bookshelf Manager _________________________________________________________________ AFFLUENZA: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H. Naylor 2005 * 300 pages * paperback Many books make you think the author has crammed everything he or she knows into it. The feeling you get reading this one is quite different; the authors appear well-read, well-rounded, and intelligent, knowledgeable beyond the content of their book but smart enough to realize that we need a short, sharp jolt to recognize our current ailment. The definition of affluenza, according to the three authors is something akin to "a painful, contagious, socially-transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." It's a powerful virus running rampant in our society, infecting our souls, affecting our wallets and financial well-being, and threatening to destroy not only the environment but also our families and communities. Having begun life as two PBS programs co-produced by John de Graaf, this book takes a hard look at the symptoms of affluenza, the history of its development into an epidemic, and the options for treatment. In examining this pervasive disease in an age when "the urge to splurge continues to surge," the first section is the book's most provocative. According to figures the authors quote and expound upon, Americans each spend more than $21,000 per year on consumer goods, our average rate of saving has fallen from about 10 percent of our income in 1980 to zero in 2000, our credit card indebtedness continues to grow to monstrous proportions, more people are filing for bankruptcy each year than graduate from college, and we spend more for trash bags than 90 of the world's 210 countries spend for everything. "To live, we buy," explain the authors--everything from food and good sex to religion and recreation--all the while squelching our intrinsic curiosity, self-motivation, and creativity. They offer historical, political, and socioeconomic reasons that affluenza has taken such strong root in our society, and in the final section, offer practical ideas for change. We are introduced to real people who have taken steps to turn their lives around and live more sustainably. Solutions offered range from making simple habit alterations to taking into account more in-depth environmental considerations, and from living lightly to managing resources responsibly. Regular price $18.00 Special price $15.00 http://store.ic.org/catalog/specials.php Shipping/handling 3.00 S/H for first item 1.00 S/H for each additional item Shop online for lower shipping rates, more shipping options, and more sale items. http://store.ic.org/catalog/specials.php S/H prices are for Standard Mail postal delivery within US. This eNews special offer is valid through [[offerdate]]. Information, catalog, ordering http://store.ic.org/bookshelf Community Bookshelf RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 bookshelf ( at ) ic ( dot ) org _________________________________________________________________ 4 FIC CO-SPONSORED EVENTS AHEAD IN 2006 Communities Conference at Twin Oaks FIC Semi-Annual Organizational Meeting Art of Community Northwest, Seattle area _________________________________________________________________ COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE at TWIN OAKS August 18 - 20, 2006 Twin Oaks Community near Louisa, Virginia We're gearing up for this years event. Workshops scheduled so far include: The Heart of Now, with members of Lost Valley Education Center, Community documentation with photography and other media, with Susan Patrice, Community as Carnival, with Craig Green and friends, and Consensus Headaches, with Laird Schaub of the Fellowship for Intentional Community. And of course there will be the famous Saturday night dance, campfires, singing, open space, the infamous mudpit, hammocks, good food and more. Join us for another rich and dynamic conference. The Conference is co-sponsored by: The Fellowship for Intentional Community The Federation of Egalitarian Communities http://www.thefec.org Twin Oaks Community http://www.twinoaks.org. Communities Conference at Twin Oaks 138 Twin Oaks Rd Louisa VA 23093 540-894-5126 conference ( at ) twinoaks.org http://www.twinoaks.org/conference ---------- FELLOWSHIP FOR INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY FALL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING Open to the public, as are all of our organization meetings. Hosted by Songaia community, Bothell WA Tues Sept 5 - Thu Sept 7, 2006 We invite you to join us in Seattle right after Labor Day for a week of community immersion. Immediately following, we'll host the Art of Community Northwest weekend on the campus of Bastyr University Sept 8-10. Our semi-annual meetings are a great way to find out what FIC is cooking and who's stirring the various pots. You'll meet a band of fire-in-the-belly community networkers from around the country and also find out who's doing what in the Northwest. Among other things, the agenda will focus on five-year plans for wesbite, events, creating community where you are, regional networking, and fundraising. We'll also discuss the movement opportunities for an aging population and craft the 2007 budget. Sessions are open to all-comers and it's a unique chance to witness a 20-year-old consensus-based organization at work. For information about attending the meetings, contact Jenny Upton jenny ( at ) ic ( dot ) org 434-361-1417 We hope to see you there! ---------- ART OF COMMUNITY NORTHWEST: Building Sustainable Community An exciting weekend of networking, learning, & fun! Friday, Sept 8 to Sunday, Sept 10, 2006 Bastyr University, near Seattle WA Co-Sponsor: Northwest Intentional Community Association * Meet People from Existing & Forming Communities; Ecovillages, Cohousing, Egalitarian, Housing Cooperatives, Collectives * Build Real Community Where You Are; at Home, at Work, at Church, in other organizations * Tools You Can Use; Facilitation, Consensus, Ecological Assessments * Be More Sustainable; Ethical Consumption; Local Agriculture, Bio-Diesel, Permaculture Presenters include * Diana Leafe Christian, Communities magazine editor; author: Creating a Life Together * Laird Schaub, FIC Executive Secretary; founder of Sandhill Farm * Geoph Kozeny, the Peripatetic Communitarian from Communities magazine & Visions of Utopia producer * And many more, Check this site periodically for updated Art of Community info http://fic.ic.org/aofc/ ---------- For many more event listings http://events.ic.org/events/ _________________________________________________________________ 5 COMMUNITIES MAGAZINE ISSUES Current (Good Works) and coming issue (Elder Years) By Diana Leafe Christian _________________________________________________________________ AVAILABLE NOW - THE SUMMER ISSUE Good Works: Communities in Service to Others #131 We got more response to our Spring 2006 "Sustainability and Peak Oil" issue than any other issue in the 12 years I've been with Communities magazine. It was also one of the best-looking issues we've ever had, thanks to the layout skills of our new Art Director, Amy Seiden of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Here's a rundown of the exciting content from the summer issue: ARTICLES ---------------------------------- Creating Community Where You Are: Prescott's "Eco-Hood" Susan DeFreitas describes how a young ecological activist helped create "virtual community" in his urban neighborhood. Sidebar: How to Start a Potential Eco-Hood, Creating Community Where You Are: Start a Neighborhood Newsletter Help organize your neighborhood--by starting a newsletter, organizing a roster of neighbors or an email network, building a community bulletin board. Seeking Community: Intern at an Ecovillage You can have fun, learn new community skills, and "try before you buy." Conflict & Connection: The Overly Powerful Community Member How to deal with the person who always gets her way in meetings, by experienced process and communication consultants Caroline Estes, Bea Briggs, Tree Bressen, and Laird Schaub. Living in Community: When Oprah or Geraldo Call . . . What happens when the media uses intentional community for consumer entertainment? How Dancing Rabbit and East Wind fared at the hands of national media. Darin Fenger. Managing the Media: A Journalist's Advice SPECIAL FEATURE "HOW CAN WE HELP?" ---------------------------------- Seven Months in the Gulf How members of The Farm community responded to Katrina victims in Louisiana and Mississippi--and what they learned about the human spirit. Ralph McAtee. Building Bridges of Clay, Mud, and Straw How Kibbutz Lotan's pioneering program in natural building brings Jews and Arabs together for cultural exchange and new understanding. Michael Livni, Mark Naveh, Alex Cicelsky. I Can Do It Because I Live in Community Bright Morning Star's members are active in peace and social justice issues--which they can do more easily through mutual support. Rosy Betz-Zall. Communities That Serve Others . . . and Love Doing It Darin Fenger interviews Jesus People USA in Chicago; Magic, Inc., in Palo Alto, California; and Koinonia Partners in rural Georgia. It Shows our Neighbors We Want to Contribute Alyson Ewald looks at local service projects undertaken by members of Sandhill Farm, Dancing Rabbit, and Red Earth Farms in northeastern Missouri. Heirloom Gardens, Clean Water, and No GMOs How the environmental activist Sowing Circle community manages multiple successful projects through its nonprofit Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC)--from teaching school children organic gardening to taking on agri-biz. Phil Tymon, Brock Dolman, Adam Wolpert, Dave Henson. ---------------------------------- COMING UP IN THE FALL ISSUE Will You Spend Your Elder Years in Community? Tentative theme articles for the Fall issue #132: o Older people who live in community, and how they like it. o Communities that cater to older people and how residents of these communities like it. o From the elder perspective: would I live in community again? ---------------------------------- Get a sample issue, renew or subscribe here http://store.ic.org//communities/sample.php http://store.ic.org/cmag Sample issues $4 plus $3 S/H by US standard mail. Shop online for lower shipping rates and more shipping options. Subscriptions one year 4 issues $20 US :: $24 Canada :: $26 Other Order by phone fax or mail FIC * 138 Twin Oaks Rd * Louisa VA 23093 800-462-8240 fax 540-894-4112 _________________________________________________________________ 6 HELP BUILD A MORE COOPERATIVE WORLD! _________________________________________________________________ E. B. White once said, "I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." Like many of us faced with the same dilemma each morning, you can choose to improve the world in a way that also helps you (and many others) to savor it at the same time. Join the FIC! If you've already joined, donate! It's easy, it's fast, it gets you discounts and other benefits... but best of all, it's a way to both enjoy being part of a vast network of community-minded folks, and also enable the growth of that very network. So, don't fret over whether to improve the world or enjoy it--do both. Savor community living while bringing it to more people. Please join us. For more info on member benefits and to join online using our secure server go to http://store.ic.org/membership To request a membership form by mail, or to email, or to talk with a human, contact us at RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 fic ( at ) ic ( dot ) org To learn more about the mission of the organization visit http://fic.ic.org/index.html Many thanks from all of us in the Fellowship.