Peace and good will at the beginning of Advent!

Due to some schedule conflicts the next Prayer and Share meeting will be moved to the West Hyattsville House, on Monday the 14th at 7:30 pm. The address is 5608 31st Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20782, and is just a 5 minute walk from the West Hyattsville Metro on the Green Line. They can pick you up if necessary- email Amy at amybcaruso@gmail.com.

I look forward to putting some feet on our brainstorming from last time. Hope to see just as many of you there!
–
Shalom,
Brian Gorman

Hey Y’all!
Get excited for our November gathering! Kate and Natalia have generously offered to host this month. We’ll be meeting on Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30. Note this is a different day of the week than the last couple months. Their address is: 1818 Minnesota Ave SE, Washington D.C. The Potomac Ave (blue/orange) and Anacostia (green) stops are the closest on the Metro. If you’ll need a ride, you can email Kate (I’ll send her info out in the reminder email a couple days ahead of time).

A couple things to please think about over the next couple weeks: part of our gathering this time will be to have a time for some brainstorming and visioning for DC Area Community of Communities and how we want to use/build on what we’ve done so far. I’ll send out some questions before the next meeting to help encourage you in your thinking, but please take some time to think about how you think of C of C.

Also, I’m currently trying to update our website (dc.newmonastics.org) and would appreciate some feedback. I’ve added a welcome page and have updated the communities page. Feel free to bring some ideas about the website either to the gathering or email me directly.

Lastly, it’d be great to see some new faces out at this meeting as we brainstorm for the year ahead. Even if you’ve never come before or aren’t living in a community, you’re very welcome to attend! We’d love to see you there.

–
Shalom,
Brian Gorman

The Washington Post Magazine today features a wonderful article about A Simple House, A Not-So-Simple Life.  Definitely check it out.  It’s really, really good and I think articulates a lot of the things we’ve all been working through well.

We are looking for a someone who is on fire with her faith to join our community of women in a beautiful 5 bedroom house in Falls Church, Virginia. Currently there are 5 Catholic women living in the house, but we would like to welcome anyone who is open to sharing her faith with others and growing in her faith by living with these women. There are two spots open in the house. One is a single bedroom (shared bath with one other person) and the rent is $500 a month. The other is a shared bedroom and shared bath with the rent at $450 a month. The house is large with a spacious kitchen, two living room areas, and a huge yard. Best of all, the house is a warm place to come home to at the end of the day with faith-filled women there to welcome, comfort, and guide you in growing deeper in love with God.

Please inquire further by e-mailing Lisa at Lis5285@aol.com or calling 724-331-4346 for more info.

Hi all, Korin here from Washington, DC. My husband, Bryant, and I are in a community house that recently had our housemates move out for college. We invite anyone who is interested in living in intentional community and investing some time into our neighborhood to have conversations with us about living here.

I’ll say just a bit now to save you some time, if you’re interested. We live in the Shaw neighborhood that has seen enormous change over the years. In the 60s it was an area vibrant in the African traditions and a leader in art. It was hit hardest by the riots and fires after MLK Jr. was assassinated. Since then, recovery has been incredibly slow. It has been plagued by drugs and violence (mostly gang). The house we live in actually used to be the drug lord’s. We live next door to New Community Church that has been here for 25ish years and has been a great influence of positive change. They have an after school program, Sunday service as well as intra-week groups, a garden which we tend, and is incredibly well-connected to peace/social justice orgs in the area. Living in this house does not require attending that church, but it is expected that some time would be spent giving back to the community in some way. The housing is intended (but not exclusive) for low-income needs.

If you are passionate about learning and action, there are ENDLESS possibilities here in DC. If you would like to further the conversation, please feel free to send me a message and I’ll be getting back to you. Also, it would be helpful if you passed this info on to someone else who might be interested. My email is Lemankk@gmail.com Thanks.

This morning, a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in the Simple Way community’s Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of the homes of neighbors’. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. Despite this developing tragedy, the Simple Way community members said that all of their community members and every one of their neighbors are safe.

This fire will forever change the fabric of all the Simple Way community members. Eight families are currently homeless, and in many cases have lost their vehicles as well as their homes.

Learn more and donate at http://www.thesimpleway.org