Earlier this year we agreed to revise the guiding community document for Living Stones. After discussing changes with each other and with other members of the community, Rickey Cotton and I have finally managed to finish. We did not finish before the end of spring as we had planned, but here we are now, at least before the end of the summer. This letter is an open-handed invitation for you to review the revised document and, if you would like, to make or renew a commitment to membership in Living Stones Community for the remainder of the year.
Changes to the Community Document
The primary changes that have been made to the document are those that we discussed as a community earlier in the year, on our blog and voice to voice. We have dropped the language of a "rule," emphasized commitment to "values" over practices (in terms of what we are as a community), and made the language of the annual commitment even more gracious than before. The full text of the revised community document can now be found on the community website under the sections "Who We Are," "Core Values and Practices," and "Annual Commitment."
Changes to the Website and Blog
Along with the changes in our rule, we have updated the community website at http://livingstonesweb.net.The website is now intended to be the primary online portal and home for the community. For instance, the blog (at http://livingstonesweb.blogspot.com) has been embedded into a "blog" page on the website, which is why, as you will notice, elements of the blog have been rearranged (the blog can still be accessed at either URL). Please do visit the website and see the changes we've made. Artwork will be re-added in the future.
Annual Commitment
Also updated on the website is the form with which we can make or renew our commitment to and membership in the community. A very simply form follows the commitment statement on the "annual commitment" page. If you would like to make or renew your commitment and membership, upon reading the revised document, including the commitment statement, you may use this form to do so.
To reiterate, this invitation is open-handed. If you do not want to join or continue as a member, please take your freedom as you feel led. You will still be welcome to browse our blog and leave comments. If you would like to make or renew your commitment, I welcome you, thank you, and look forward to journeying together with you in this small way.
On behalf of the community,
Paul Corrigan
3 comments:
Paul, thank you for all you invested in this! We are continuing to develop in God, I think. I am grateful. I look forward to how God uses us in our "little way" of being community over the coming months.
--Rickey
I appreciate all your hard work in making these changes. Although I miss the original picture, I really like the public domain ones you did find. They work great! I am grateful for our community, and I'm looking forward to sharing this creative life together.
--Blessings, Anna
Thank you both for your work on these statements. I especially like the discussion our core values and the language of the section on how we value people. "[Love] means not projecting onto others nor being mindlessly reactive to them." This value, of course, speaks to how we try to interact with members of this community and with other people.
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