Group of diverse people smiling and enjoying a meal together indoors.

Georgetown Beehive Interfaith House

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Spiritual
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 2017

What we do

Our Beehive House provides a short-term option for global researchers and faith pilgrims seeking a welcome haven in Washington, DC during fellowships, conferences, or visiting appointments. Although Catholic in origin and spiritual center, its practice is interfaith (so far Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sufi, and “None,” or no claimed faith but happy to engage with us), facilitating dialogue across boundaries through shared living next to the Georgetown University campus. We are open and affirming, we welcome different kinds of pilgrims, and we do not proselytize.
Please note that we no longer use the words “intentional community” but instead “hospitality,” because our model is more structured. We share egalitarianism as a value, but our governance is moderated by a house facilitator, with space for peaceful input. Also, this is a house for a day, a week, or a semester. It is not a group house or permanent living option.

Our Mission

Our house next to Georgetown University and Dumbarton Oaks. We make this super-expensive neighborhood more accessible for global scholars of peace, prayer, and meditation.

  • Purpose
  • Spiritual
  • Community type
  • Coliving
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Activities
  • Education

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2017
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2019
  • Started living together
  • 1 Total member
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
9

How to join

As of August 2025 we are full, but I keep a presence on FIC to meet new people as appropriate. Please feel welcomed to inquire. We have a beehive model where people come and go, from a short stay up to a maximum of two semesters. This is not a permanent solution, but a modified house of studies to capture the vibrancy of the interesting people who find themselves in Georgetown. There is no membership per se.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

When we are able to do so, we welcome visitors who are comfortable with our house style of people coming and going, prayer and meditation, and who feel aligned with our vision. Please read the webpage carefully. We often (but not always) ask for Zoom interviews. Please understand that we cannot live with current or former Georgetown students because of the need to maintain boundaries between faculty and students (some faculty live here). Advanced graduate students from other universities will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
NB, people who identify as women, men, trans, and nonbinary all quite welcome, but at the moment we are three women and two men. LGBTQ+ friendly, Black Lives Matter.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Single Leader or Founding Couple

One person or partnership has ultimate authority.

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

Conflict resolution approach

The nonprofit basically runs the house, but in a relaxed way that invites input when appropriate. We use nonviolent communication methods recommended by the DC Peace Team (https://dcpeaceteam.com).

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Regular fees: $950
Labor: Encouraged or suggested (3 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Since we don’t have membership per se, debt doesn’t matter. The suggested contribution includes shared staples (not all food), and utilities. It is actually quite low for Georgetown, which can be extraordinarily expensive. Guests coming for one or two nights can contribute as they are able, on a more-than-sliding-scale. Because we’re a nonprofit we are quite open to your story of need, so tell us what’s going on financially.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Waterfront access, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community
  • Religions
  • Christian

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • District of Columbia, United States

Georgetown Beehive Interfaith House

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

Offer
Need
  • Forming Communities
3 weeks ago

Looking for: people building relational capacity, with a view to community

What’s here now: An intention, a framework developed over five years, and a programme running in central Victoria to find people to build with. No land, no group, no timeline. The question this is organised around: What makes a community of people living together sustainable over decades – where people enjoy being there, conflict is low, and the conflict that does arise gets handled in ways people value. The distinctive premise is capacity before formation. Most communities form first and build relational skill afterwards, usually under pressure. This one proposes doing it the other way round: people build the capacities first, and the group forms from people who have them. That includes a working idea about collective capacity – that a group has a ratio, and below some threshold it can’t metabolise its own conflict and starts consuming itself. Roughly: in a group of twenty, perhaps three or four with high capacity, most in the middle, and very few without. Untested, and something this project exists to find out. Governance: Sociocracy, with the intention of testing it meaningfully at scale rather than adopting it nominally. What’s actually happening: A three-week residency at a property near Castlemaine, and a practice group running before it. The medium-term aim is twenty to forty people at a rented facility. The long-term aim is a support hub sharing the framework more widely. What I’m looking for: People who want to build this capacity seriously, and who might eventually want to build something together. Not necessarily people who want to live here – the current property probably isn’t the long-term site. Happy to hear from anyone this resonates with, including people already in community who’d rather share what they’ve learned than join anything.
Need
  • Forming Communities
3 weeks ago

A call for pioneers, trade-builders, and the four Elemental Elders to construct our first cooperative village prototype.

Intake Open: Flagship WE Network Village in Clubb, MO Call for pioneers, trade-builders, and 4 Elemental Elders to construct our first cooperative village prototype. WE Network is opening ground zero in Clubb, Missouri—our living model to build trade shops and train leadership teams for nationwide village rollout. We are building a self-sustaining, salvaged homestead ecosystem operating as a parallel society alongside existing systems. Bring your own living setup (tents, micro-campers, trucks, schoolies, tiny homes) to secure your lot within the co-op village. The 3×3 Exchange: Mental, Physical, & Spiritual Maintain your lot via our 3×3 exchange (3 hours/day, 3 days/week = 9 hours total): Mental: Classroom teaching, strategy, skill-sharing, and village instruction. Physical: Hands-on labor building active land and shop projects. Spiritual: Participation in our weekly Friday Fellowship Fire Circle. Trade Shops & Lot Placement Every member contributes directly to our local micro-economy: Trade Holders: Set up your specific service shop for the co-op. Transitioning Members: Assigned a trade lot to focus on constructing the physical shop structure. Weekend Operations: Retail open Saturdays and Sundays. Mid-week is reserved for building and life. Priority Intake: The Four Elemental Elders We are recruiting four foundational Elders: Earth Elder: Land, soil, livestock, permaculture, and natural materials. Air Elder: Building structures and Eco Junk waste-to-material upcycling. Fire Elder: Spiritual health, Natural Law, body healing, and Fire Circles. Water Elder: Resource flow, food storage, bookkeeping, and services. How to Apply 👉 Visit fffc.wtf to submit your intake request today.
Need
Offer

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