This winter gathering is designed especially for people with an interest in growing food and building community life. It will be an opportunity to share about your own projects, take time for reflection and visit several community growing initiatives in the Bristol area.
Programme:
• Friday pm- We introduce ourselves to each other and some of our own experience. Visit Emersons Green Community Orchard – the first phase of a forest garden project in a public park and reflect on livng in harmony with the natural world and the principles of Permaculture.
• Friday evening – food and celebration with a story-telling ceilidh – bring a story to tell if you can, to add to the party, something short, something fun, or meaningful, you choose.
• Saturday am – We visit the asylum seekers allotment project in St George and reflect on ‘society’ in the context of this community of refugees.
• Then we make our way to the Walled Garden in Barton Hill, a neighbourhood growing project complete with polytunnels, an outdoor kitchen and roundhouse as a reflective space. We take time with this garden, as a portal to a vision for human well-being.
• We cook lunch outside at the Walled Garden and share some more of our own experiences.
• Saturday pm – we visit Sims Hill Shared Harvest – a community supported agriculture project on 5 acres now feeding 50 households. A grower encourages us to reflect on the ‘soil’.
• 4pm Farewell
The gathering will be hosted by Chris Sunderland and Tim Lawrence. Chris offers his home as base for this venture and will introduce the Forest Garden. Tim is a professional grower and community development worker, who has played a major role in establishing the various growing projects we will visit.
Details:
Numbers at the gathering will be limited to around 12-15. It will be based around 50 Guest Avenue, Emersons Green, Bristol BS16 7GA. We can offer a bed for a few. Please ask. If not, there is inexpensive overnight accommodation at the Langley Arms http://www.thelangleyarms.co.uk and Premier Inn, Emersons Green http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/BRIEME/bristol-east-emersons-green both very close to the house. Please book and pay for your accommodation directly with the hotel/guest house. We expect to travel around the sites in cars. Please let us know if you are bringing a car and will have space. Bring very warm clothes – we will be outside much of Saturday. A fee of £20 for the event is suggested to help cover food and other costs. Please confirm your booking to enquiries@agoraspace.org . Cheques should be made out to’ Project Agora’ and sent to Winter Gathering, 50 Guest Avenue, Emersons Green, Bristol BS16 7GA. Mobile number for any questions 07929090153.
Our intention will be to devote the majority of our income to help develop member’s projects. This year (2011) we have given a grant of £2000 to The Walled Garden Project in Barton Hill, which we founded and which needed some financial help over this summer.In future years we shall be consulting with our members as to which projects they would like the money to be used for. The idea is to work as a cooperative and to help initiate and sustain members’ projects all over the world.
We will report to members annually on our income and expenditure.
To facilitate our administration we request that gifts are made monthly by standing order and set up directly by each member with their bank. For our bank details send an email to info@earthabbey.com saying your name and ‘bank details please’.Having set up your payment please send us a note at info@earthabbey.com telling us that you have set up an order and indicating whether or not you are a UK tax payer so we can reclaim tax on your gift.
]]>These are groups of 4-6 people. They do not all have to be members of EarthAbbey at the outset, though we hope they might consider that along the way. Similarly they do not all have to be Christians, but we would ask that they share our values and take a positive attitude to the faith.
This group of people agrees to meet once very two months and, initially, just for one year, when there will be a review and an easy leave or reshuffle with another group for those who would like to.
The meeting goes like this:
The idea is simply to give each other space to talk about their way of life. Typically each person might be given 20 minutes, during which time they will speak about any aspects of their lives that they wish and then invite the questions of the group. Some may speak just for a few minutes and use the rest of their 20 minutes responding to questions. If the person fills their 20 minutes entirely then there will be no questions.
It is important to agree among the group that no one offers advice. Limiting the conversation to the use of the basic questions like ‘how, what, where, when, why,’ is a discipline that must be observed. Some people will be familiar with action/learning sets which use this model.
At the end of the session there will be a second round whereby each person is invited to say what they are taking away from the evening and an opportunity to commit themselves to actions as they see fit. Depending on the time for the whole session, this could be shorter, say 5-10 minutes each.
That is all there is to it. Some groups choose to share food when they meet. The emphasis in our groups has been to keep this very simple, with the host providing a simple, local food, often cold, so as not to distract from the main business of the meeting.
Likewise some groups may want to incorporate times of stillness or prayer into their meeting.
Way of Life groups have been deliberately designed not to need leadership and it is best if there is not a leader, though you will need to appoint a timekeeper. The groups are small enough to manage their life without formal direction and any natural leaders should deliberately not impose.
]]>We invite each member to commit themselves to making an annual reflection on their way of life. This has two parts:
Your private reflections: Firstly we ask you to consider your own life, your vision and what you will try to be and to do in the coming year. Many will want to write this down and treat it as a devotional task. You choose how long it is and what you include, but the idea is to think about our whole way of life. We recommend keeping it quite short in the first year. If you would like some help with this we aim to provide you with an anam cara, or soul friend, who will guide you in making this reflection. You might also like to use some of the exercises in the booklet Developing your EarthAbbey rule of life
When you have done this, we ask you to consider what you would like to share with the rest of the EarthAbbey community:
We believe it would be of real value to make a Summary of your Way of Life reflection available to others. We would also ask that you share some of your interests and the projects you are currently involved in. To help with this, please see A Guide to Filling in Your Way of Life Reflection.
We are constructing a completely private, members only, part of the website, known as the Cloister, (replacing the existing Locutory) where members can share these things with each other. It will be designed in a way that is very easy to use and members can contact one another through the site. The process of joining will largely be managed through the Cloister.
If you cannot, or prefer not, to join using this method, then we can do it over the phone.(0117 9574652)
There will be no set subscription fee but we hope that members will want to make a contribution to cover our essential core costs see What financial support does it need
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Way of Life Summary
This summary is simply a short, focussed biography, sharing something of who you are, your thoughts on living more in tune with the earth, perhaps how EarthAbbey relates to your current way of life, and possibly something of your hopes for how your future might look. Though this is a personal reflection, there is no pressure to share anything you don’t wish to. You can be general in your thoughts, or more specific. Below are a few lines taken from the Way of Life Summaries of two current members:
‘I’ve become much more aware of the creation as I’ve grown older (though I am not old), and far more conscious of the impact human beings are having on it. This has seeped into my spirituality and theological outlook, my attitude as a consumer, my thinking as a writer, my role as a parent - my entire worldview. In many ways, I’m a novice when in comes to living in a more consciously sustainable and ethically led way, but I’m also a learner.’
‘I took some first steps towards living more in tune with the earth a few years back, doing a permaculture design course . . . Grow Zones proved to be an important step in my personal journey, and has led on to a number of fascinating projects including turning a former vicarage into a neighbourhood growing project, looking to launch a local currency and creating a forest garden in our local park. Being able to do these things has come about largely because I have gone part time in terms of paid work.’
Interests
Interests are those things that interest you! Naturally, as a member of EarthAbbey, it would be good to hear about those things that relate to the vision and aspiration of EarthAbbey Members to live more in tune with the earth so that we can inform and inspire each other. This could be practical, such as making your own bread, or growing your own fruit and veg. However, it might be more reflective, such as a consideration of how our spirituality is aligned with ideas about caring for the environment. Again, here are some examples from current members:
Urban agriculture – I am keen to work out how we can source much more of a city’s food from its own hinterland.
I’m interested in human wellbeing, how this can be achieved, and how being more connected to the natural world can bring this about.
I’m increasingly interested how one can live sustainably within an slightly decaying urban environment, as so many of us do.
Projects
Projects are likely to be linked to your interests but are perhaps things that you do in conjunction with others and may well have a more obvious public profile. So, you may be involved in a community growing project, be a volunteer for a charity or organisation working on environmental projects. On the other hand, you may have a personal project, such as converting your home to be more energy efficient, or off-grid which is far more than simply an interest. So, current members have offered the following as examples of projects they are woking on:
I’m involved in The Walled Garden Project, growing food using permaculture principles, working with local groups, including refugees and homeless people.
I am currently helping to write content and edit a website about sustainable living.
I’m working with Transition Bristol on The Bristol and Bath Local Currency Scheme, including printed notes and a mobile phone payment system, designed to support local, independent businesses and help develop local supply chains.
]]>Our aim is to be much more than a website.
At the heart of our vision is the formation of a community of people who will encourage one another to live more in tune with the earth.
Our new approach to membership can be found at How can I join EarthAbbey
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What is EarthAbbey
What are your core values
What does EarthAbbey aim to do
How can I join EarthAbbey
How does EarthAbbey work
How will EarthAbbey be managed
What financial support does it need
Why should I be a member
And here are some more specific questions that may be on your mind
Is it only for Christians
Does it have a creed or statement of faith
Is it a church
What is a prophetic community
What has concern for the earth got to do with the gospel
Why the Abbey word in EarthAbbey
Is it just a virtual community
Is it a lifestyle movement
Is it about stewardship
Where is EarthAbbey
Is it a charity
For more details about this see The Dream that inspired the Bible by Chris Sunderland
]]>Members will have a positive attitude to the Christian faith, but not necessarily a faith commitment. Constructive, critical enquiry is very welcome as we recognise that much about authentic Christianity needs to be understood and expressed afresh.
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