Cohousing-L Mailing List: Sharing Circles

[Paul Kilduff (LibertyPaulMary]

from Paul Kilduff, Liberty Village, Libertytown MD, moving in, we hope,
Nov, 1998.

We are using guidelines for sharing circles taken from an article by Rob
Sandelin in CoHousing Journal, Winter, 1994.  We just did our first one
last week.  Most wonderful experience.

One thing I am wondering about is "Rob's recommendation" number 1, "No
strangers; members only."

For one thing, I found the process so powerful that it seems hard to
believe that strangers could screw it up.  For another, I wondered when
people got to be non-strangers: when they pay their $6,000?  Seems kind
of a strange standard, but it's the definition we're using.  I also
wonder, looking at it from another angle, how people can become
non-strangers if they're not allowed to participate in the sharing
circle -- kind of a chicken-egg thing.  How do you define strangers and
members, and how does a stranger become a member without participating
in the circle?

I would have sent this just to Rob, but I thought I'd also like to get
others' reactions.

Thank you,
Paul
..