Cohousing-L Mailing List: Personal Announcements at Community Meetings

[Kim Clark (kim_clark]

My group just made a casual agreement to include a check-in period with
"personal announcements" at our monthly meetings.This can include anything
that has had an emotional impact on us: difficult or joyful. I am the
person most involved in developing the idea.  

As simple as this sounds, it's an exceptional opportunity to practice our
most delicate community values: openness, trust, honesty, acceptance etc.. 
And at the same time, it poses some risks. Most of all, I don't want to
disenchant our members who are uncomfortable with public displays of
emotion. I'm worried  that we will discard this valuable practice if they
have a negative reaction,  before we've really seen what it can do for us.
We need to participate concensually in this.

So, I'm looking for ideas: 
When you have an audience with a varied appetite for group emotional
sharing, what guidelines do you use to make it rich yet safe for all? 
How much structure do I impose?
What, if anything do I encourage?
And, What can I expect in these first few meetings???

Thanks!
Kim