Radiance Community Foundation Day Report:

On behalf of the Men of Radiance I want to thank everyone who turned out for our Community Foundation Day on Sunday 7/25. We had a lot of positive feedback about how Radiance is showing up, also got that many of us are really ready for community in their personal lives, and had some very interesting discussions about our understandings of the role of community, and individual intentions within it.

Earlier in the day we showed people around the building under construction, talked about the current status of our Live / Work conversion project (which is very close to completion), and shared a bit of our longer term vision for Community and living in service. Each of the Men was introduced and asked the participants to consider and discuss a particular question:

James:
What is your passion and how do you see that showing up in community?

Dan:
What does a community look like that brings positive change in the world. and values its people above all else?

Todd:
How do you enrich your community, without asking for something reciprocally from them?

The answers we heard were many and varied, but revealed some remarkably common sentiments:

People are familiar with the idea of Community (in the way that we've come to understand it), and deeply value its place within their lives. We have a lot of support to create the Community of Radiance, people are excited to be part of it, and to help out in ways that work for them.

There is a lot of variation in when and how much different people can best give to and receive from Community, and a lot of value in trying to allow for that. We want to find a community structure that is inclusive, and allows for effective implementation of our community visions. That may look like a central group of highly involved and committed people, a larger group of members who have made certain commitments to the community and receive certain benefits from it, and a another level of members at large who contribute in more flexible ways as they aware able to. The Men will be discussing this idea further soon.

There was appreciation and regard for the work that the Men of Radiance have been doing, meeting together weekly to share of ourselves, do the logistical work of creating Radiance, deepening our connections. We feel there is room for ongoing Men's and Women's groups that meet at Radiance, and that will continue this important work. Equally appreciated was the tremendous support we've received over these many months from our amazing volunteers, donors, event hosts and attendees.

We are focusing on finishing the conversion project and obtaining our legal occupancy. We will be celebrating its achievement in a major way soon, and all of you will be invited! Look soon for more specifics about the establishment of the Community of Radiance, and how you can be involved.

Warm Regards,

Dan, James, Todd
The Men of Radiance