A MONTHLY EMAIL PUBLICATION of the FIC since 1999, serving over 4000 subscribers. Mar 22, 2003 1 Communities magazine issues now and future 2 Community Bookshelf title on sale - Email Exclusive Offer 3 Directory Update 2002 mailed to subscribers 4 Fellowship Events coming in May, public invited 5 New book by editor of Communities magazine 6 communitymade.com 7 New Article posted at the IC home website this month 8 We want you! Join the Fellowship Your magazine subscription status (if any) * [[substatus]] * Your FIC membership status (if any) * [[membstatus]] * At the end of this letter PLEASE CHECK your mailing address and other contact info. Also see more details on the *status* of your magazine subscription and membership, plus eNews subscribe, unsubscribe, privacy & mailings info. ________________________________________________________________ 1 COMMUNITIES MAGAZINE ISSUES up next and coming in summer '03 ________________________________________________________________ You are cordially invited to submit an article, photograph, poem, graphic artwork, etc. to our upcoming Communities issues. Submission can be sent at anytime or for the specific theme issues Read more about article submissions for the upcoming Summer 2003 Love Relationships and Family in Community issue and the Fall 2003 Right Livelihood in Community issue of Communities magazine here http://fic.ic.org/cmag/submit.html (Deadline for Summer issue is very soon - April 7) And to submit please contact communities ( at ) ic ( dot ) org You'll find much food for thought in the upcoming Spring 2003 issue of Communities magazine, "Ecovillages: What Have We Learned?" say co-editors Albert Bates of Ecovillage Training Center at the Farm and Diana Leafe Christian. Some highlights: * Cabins, Computers, and Construction Dust -- a no-holds-barred, often humorous look at the challenges and joys of life at Dancing Rabbit, an on-the-ground ecovillage project. * Creating 'Ecovillage Zoning' with Local Officials -- a group of plucky Canadians at O.U.R. Ecovillage convincned local officials to write new zoning laws especially for ecovillages. * Not Just Eco-Technology -- Danish ecovillagers at award-winning Munksoegaard not only use state-fothe-art technology, but are chagning their lifestyles considerably to reduce energy consumption. * A 73-Year-Old Ecovillage in the Land of Ice and Fire"-the worldıs first modern-day ecovillage may have been founded in Iceland in 1930.. * Ecovillages Cherry Blossom-Style--Can a top-down, developer- driven ecovillage thrive in the Land of the Rising Sun? Will the Japanese once again show us how to do it better, faster, and more effectively? Get a sample issue, renew or subscribe here http://store.ic.org/products/communities-magazine.html http://store.ic.org/products/communities-magazine-sampl.html Sample issues by surface mail $6 US - $7 Canada - $8 Other 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 ________________________________________________________________ 2 FEATURED BOOKSHELF TITLE at SALE PRICE This offer made *only* through eNews. by Alline Anderson, Community Bookshelf manager ________________________________________________________________ When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times By Pema Chodron 1997, 148 pages As we've all learned the hard way, our lives never work out as planned. In When Things Fall Apart, American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron help us see that that's OK, that it's the natural way of things to fall apart and then come back together again. She uses her graceful, conversational writing style to help us understand that by being courageous enough to deal with the pain and chaos, we also get to experience the joy. While I am not doing her justice in this blurb, I think you'll find her writing to be wonderful, and if you’re in a tough spot, this book might just help you feel a lot better. One need not be Buddhist to receive her wisdom and kindness, and to understand why When Things Fall Apart is a Community Bookshelf best seller. Order this title online, by phone or mailorder Regular price $13.00 sale $10.40 (20% off) http://store.ic.org/products/email-spec-offer-mar2003a.html Shipping/handling as follows 3.00 S/H for first item 1.00 S/H for each additional item All prices shown here are for Standard Mail postal delivery within US. Offer valid through April 30, 2003. Information, catalog, ordering and prices for delivery outside US http://store.ic.org/community-bookshelf.html Community Bookshelf RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 bookshelf ( at ) ic ( dot ) org ________________________________________________________________ 3 ANNUAL DIRECTORY UPDATE 2002 ________________________________________________________________ Annual Update 2002 is now finally in the mail to subscribers. Each year we publish this supplement to the Communities Directory which includes the following: Existing communities that have decided in the last year to let us publish news of who they are and where they are. The latest word on groups now forming. Changes in contact information for communities already listed. Information on communities that have disbanded or closed their doors. Subscribers receive one Update supplement for each year beginning with 2001, until the next Communities Directory edition is published, or through 2004, whichever comes first. In about 2005 we expect to release another Directory. Note: Purchasers of the Directory are entitled to one free printed Annual Update. There is a green postcard in the back of the Directory which must be mailed in for this purpose. Subscribe here or by phone, fax or mail http://store.ic.org/products/communities-directory-updt.html ________________________________________________________________ 4 FELLOWSHIP for INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY EVENTS this spring. ________________________________________________________________ FELLOWSHIP FOR INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY (FIC) ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING May 28-31 The Farm Summertown, TN [Note Communities Conference at The Farm previous weekend] The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) invites you to the spring 2003 Organizational Meeting of our Board of Directors, staff, and volunteer workers. We offer you the opportunity to learn about the FIC, make new friends, network with other community-minded people, and participate in the consensus process. We hope you will join us for any or all of the FIC's four days of Organizational Meetings at The Farm. Come and participate in the conversations we hope to inspire about creating a world where community is a viable option. What's on our plate this spring? * Events -- It has been a while since our last Community Day (Earthaven in May 2001), and we'll hear plans for an FIC Event, perhaps as soon as this fall in Ohio. * Budget -- We never have trouble thinking up projects; the trick is finding the funding to make everything happen. We'll be taking a close look at the numbers. * Development -- We'll take a look at the pluses and minuses of our first year of serious fundraising, assessing our potential for ongoing financial support beyond sales of products and services. * Board selection -- This spring four board members' terms will be expiring. The Nominating Cmtee will present a slate of candidates for three-year terms. * Communities Directory -- Last fall we tackled the burning issue of the book's future, and agreed in principle to offer future Directories online, as well as in print. We committed to launching a capital campaign to establish an endowment, the interest from which can fund the labor needed to develop and maintain the communities database. We will hear a detailed proposal on how this will work, and how it will coordinate with our website development. Location, Fees & Registration: We will be hosted by The Farm in Summertown, TN. To learn more about The Farm visit their websites at http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/ http://www.thefarm.org/ The fee is $25/day. This includes meals and camping. First meal will be Wednesday breakfast. Indoor beds are available in their dormitory for an additional $15/day. Also, some spaces in private homes will be an option on a first come first served basis. The deadline for registration is Friday May 16th. Register by mail, phone, or email: Jenny Upton jenny ( at ) ic ( dot ) org Shannon Farm Community 130 Catbrier Circle Afton, VA 22920 Home phone after 5pm (east coast time) (434) 361-1417 More info http://fic.ic.org/artofcmty.html ------------------------------- THE FARM COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE An FIC Co-Sponsored Event May 23-25 weekend at The Farm Summertown, TN Imagine...you are relaxing under the stars on a warm summer night surrounded by friends, listening to the band, and licking down one of the world famous ice bean cones (chocolate or pina colada?) at The Farm, in Summertown, Tennessee. You've just wound up an invigorating day of networking on the issues of the day, discussing questions like, "How can we use collectivity to gain strength in ourselves and in our communities?" "What are the pitfalls to avoid when building a straw bale house?" and "What can we do to insure an administration change in '04 and get this country moving in the direction of global sustainability?" You're invited! We hope you'll come to what we promise will be a magical weekend! Visit our web site for more details, to register online (or print a form for mailing), to sign up for a booth in our vender's mall, and to stay current on the development of workshops, for directions, and more. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Douglas, Thomas, and Lotus http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/conference conference ( at ) thefarmcommunity.com ________________________________________________________________ 5 NEW BOOK by the editor of Communities magazine ________________________________________________________________ Communities magazine editor Diana Leafe Christian reports that her forthcoming book Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities (New Society Publishers) will be released in mid-April 2003, and book-jacket endorsements have started to come in. Hazel Henderson, alternative economist and author of Creating Alternative Futures and Politics of the Solar Age, wrote: "Wow! The newest, most comprehensive bible for builders of intentional communities...Not since I wrote the Foreword to Ingrid Komar's Living the Dream (1983)...have I seen a more useful and inspiring book." Starhawk, longtime communitarian and author of The Spiral Dance and The Fifth Sacred Thing, wrote: "A really valuable resource for anyone thinking about intentional community. I wish I had it years ago." Permaculture guru Bill Mollison wrote: "...every potential ecovillager should read it. This book will be an essential guide and manual for the many Permaculture graduates who live in communities or design for them." Geoph Kozeny, communities movement activist and publisher/editor of the Visions of Utopia video, wrote: "A comprehensive, engaging, practical, well-organized, and thoroughly digestible labor of love...helping to move forward the elusive quest for community, fueling a quantum leap towards a fulfilling, just, and sustainable future." Creating a Life Together will be available through FICıs online store and by mail order in late April. An excerpt on communication and process will appear in the Spring issue of Communities magazine, out in early April. http://store.ic.org Look for this title in mid-April ________________________________________________________________ 6 COMMUNITYMADE.COM ________________________________________________________________ communitymade.com, which sells products of intentional communities, has hemp fabric hammocks on sale--yes, it's a little early, but hammock weather is just around the corner. We also have planters made from recycled tin cans from Acorn Community. While we're thrilled with the wonderful product mix that we have and a few new products are in the pipeline, we continue to look for additional community products to add to the store. Please contact custserv ( at ) communitymade.com if you have a product you'd like to offer. And please add a link to communitymade.com if you have a site where that would be appropriate. Some enthusiastic supporters have added the URL to their email signatures! http://www.communitymade.com _______________________________________________________________ 7 AT THE IC WEBSITE THIS MONTH ________________________________________________________________ The *final* article from current edition of the Directory. The final article from the full set of articles in the current 3rd edition of the Directory is now posted. As a resource to our site users, we've placed one article per month from Directory 2000 on the website. The Directory (available in print only) contains 33 completely new written pieces covering important issues around community living. The Table of Contents (reproduced at the website) shows the full set of article titles and authors. Current and Final Selection: Committing to Community for the Long Term: Do We Have What It Takes? by Carolyn Shaffer Here is the first paragraph from the March article: "Two years ago, i made a personal covenant with a place and a group of people with whom I thought I would be involved for the rest of my life. At the very end of the 1996 annual fall retreat of the Shenoa Owners' Association, also known as the Shenoa Land Stewards, those of us who remained on-site conducted a personal recovenanting session. For my recovenanting, I used the traditional words of the marriage vows. I committed to Shenoa for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in illness and in health, until death do us part. Some of the others present made equally strong commitments. I was especially impressed with the choice of words of one man. He said, "I commit to Shenoa without reservation." Think about that "without reservation." To me that means holding nothing back. Closing all the escape routes. And being fully there with your whole being." Read the full article http://directory.ic.org/about/articles.html View the Communities Directory table of contents http://directory.ic.org/about/toc.html ________________________________________________________________ 8 WE WANT YOU! TO JOIN THE FIC ________________________________________________________________ Seeking more sense of community in your life? Want to help others discover the benefits of cooperative living? FIC membership benefits include invitations, discounts, credit union access, and a newsletter -- but we think the biggest benefit is the knowledge that you're helping bring into reality the vision of a cooperative world. Read more about membership and sign up online using our secure server http://store.ic.org/products/fic-membership.html More info. Request a membership form to be sent by mail. RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 fic ( at ) ic ( dot ) org Learn more about the mission of the Fellowship organization http://fic.ic.org/index.html