Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: House Blessings

[Rob Sandelin (floriferous]

I have done a couple such things. One of the things I always do is couch the
effort they have made as a miracle. Because it is a miracle and people
often forget this.  SOOOOOOO many groups fail to acheive anything, and who
could ever beleive that such a diverse group of people, could create a
multi-million dollar real estate development, commit huge sums of money
chasing a dream, the dream of community.

Then we do a process where people answer the question: I want (community
name) to be a place where ______________________

This is then captured in writing and posted in the commonhouse, as a
reminder of the goals you search for.

Another thing I have seen done is a mural of pictures and documents, lined
up in chronological order posted on the commonhouse wall as a history
shrine, then use yellow stickies or other posting method to capture ideas
for the future. For example, maybe you put a heading for the years such as
1996, 97, 99, 2001, 2005 etc.

Also, another thing I have seen done is an appreciation quilt, where
pocketed thing is created (a quilt, or a paper  poster) which has a pocket
for every member in the community. Then people can put written appreciations
in the pockets. I still enjoy doing this, years after we made ours and its
fun to read the comments people make.

-----Original Message-----
From: cohousing-l [at] freedom2.mtn.org
[mailto:cohousing-l [at] freedom2.mtn.org]On Behalf Of Berrins [at] aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2000 8:42 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: House Blessings



In a message dated 3/8/2000 11:20:26 AM, merlpb [at] erols.com writes:

<< Does anyone have information or experience which they would be willing
to share about format and words to be spoken at House Blessings ?  A
direct sharing can be sent to Beth, our blessing organizer at
<BETHA120 [at] email.msn.com>, or the information could be shared on COHO-L.

Merlin Porter-Borden
Liberty Village, Maryland
2 houses occupied >>

We at Pathwyas would also appreciate some ideas, words, etc.  We are in the
middle of move-ins and should be done in a couple of months.  I am
particularly interested in "letting go" type rituals to get rid of the
emotional baggage that has been piling up.  If you don't post them on the
list, please send them to me directly as well.

        Thanking you in advance-

        Roger Berman
        Pathways Cohousing
        Northampton, MA