Agenda: June 2013

Time: Meeting 2-5 pm
Location: Brothers Moon, 7 West Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ 

2:00-2:15  Introduction Ute will open with a poem. Meet visitors.

2:15-2:30  Update and discussion on land purchase and detailing land criteria for our EcoVillage

2:30-4:30 Visioning Session (designed and facilitated by Jennifer Dowd) In this visioning session, we will develop a vision statement that will function as a focal point to align decision-making, drive thinking and corresponding actions, and motivate each individual to act within his/ her sphere of influence in order to progress towards our common vision.

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Visit to Ecovillage at Ithaca

Over the Memorial Day weekend we had a chance for an impromptu visit to the Ecovillage at Ithaca, which is now in the process of building its third phase, TREE, using the German PassivHaus standard, considered one of the most advanced in energy-efficiency design.

IMG_20130526_172201_529      IMG_20130526_172002_053

While the architectural design is less than attractive in my view, the homes are compact and relatively inexpensive for what amounts to zero-energy housing. Once the landscaping is done, the boxy gray buildings with their windowless north walls may seem less drab, as is suggested by the photos of completed sections, FROG and SONG:

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Weekend Retreat: August 2013

Hi Judy:

Thank you for doing this. My apologies for not getting a note out sooner as well, but this frames the invitation very nicely.

I would only want to add that we had a great meeting on May 5, at which Alison Kingsley shared with us many ideas for properties; and a subsequent breakfast meeting with the globally renowned architect Bob Hillier, to discuss his ideas for the community. At one point he also shared with us that he was working on another possible property near Hopewell (see diagram below).

On May 21, 2013, at 8:17 AM, Judy Chin wrote:

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January 2013: Important Updates and Attachments

Hi Everyone,

Thank you to those who replied.  Attached are all the responses I received for the worksheet and committee sign ups.  I am publishing on behalf of the group:

1) responses from the worksheet, 2) a list of committees and members, and 3) membership status.

WORKSHEET :Please read the attached document.

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Agenda: May 2013

Time: Meeting 2-5 pm
Location: Soulutions, 126 N State St., Newtown, PA 18940

2:00-2:15  Introduction Ute will open with a poem. Meet visitors

2:15-3:00  Update and discussion on land purchase and detailing land criteria for our EcoVillage  Alison Kinsley, New Hope and NJ realtor with whom some members of the group have seen properties, will present information on land and financial options for purchasing a property for the EcoVillage.

3:00-4:00 Visioning Session (designed and facilitated by Jennifer Dowd) In this visioning session, we will develop a vision statement that will function as a focal point to align decision-making, drive thinking and corresponding actions, and motivate each individual to act within his/ her sphere of influence in order to progress towards our common vision.

The relationship between the vision and the mission: The vision drives and inspires action. It is the greatest common factor. The mission describes what the group is going to do in order to fulfill the vision. We will modify the mission statement drafted by one of our committees, based on the visioning process.

4:00-5:00 Round Robin of  action items/accountabilities, feedback; and listening to and hearing people who have been preoccupied with concerns. Brainstorming the agenda for the working weekend, July 13-14.

Group  Closure

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Agenda: March 2013

EcoVillage General Meeting – March 9, 2013

Time : 3-6pm + optional post-meeting gathering at a local café

Location: Soulutions, 126 N State St, Newtown, PA

Volunteers

All – bring a healthful snack to share during the meeting

Ute – open and close meeting

Jonathan – facilitate meeting

AGENDA

I. Meeting Format and Introductions (10 min)

II. Review of Last Meeting – What did we learn, to carry forward?

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February 16th 2013 Meeting Follow Ups

Progress.

Finally.  After almost a year of near-trivial pursuit.

An understandable, worthy, and followable Mission Statement was presented.

Meaningful review and commentary on the Diane L. Christian interview was made.  It is a sobering piece.  There is a huge volume of experience in the forming of and the running of an Intentional Community, most of which we have not approached.

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Meeting Notice: February 2013

Dear Village Friends,

Just a reminder that our next General Meeting is Saturday, February 16th from 2-5pm with optional potluck afterwards. Location is still TBD.  Please also remember that a  calendar of our General Meetings was sent out for the entire year. If you don’t have it, please let me know and I will re-send to you.  We expect the following visitors to join for all or part of the meeting:  Jennifer, Judd, Marla (2nd visit) and two friends of Jonathan and Victoria’s for their first visit (Stefano and Jana).

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Meeting Minutes: March 2013

March 2013 Meeting Minutes:

We had a very successful meeting on Saturday, which built on the strong alignment achieved at the last meeting. Those attending included Ute, Janine, Mike R., Barbara, Robert, Joe, Victoria, Jonathan. We discussed a wide range of topics, and also produced some very practical outcomes.

• We changed the meeting schedule from Saturdays to the first Sunday of each month from 2-5, with the exception of July 14 and September 8. Unless otherwise communicated, the meetings will take place at Soulutions, 126 N State St, Newtown, PA.

• Janine will take on scheduling the weekend retreat, which we now expect will be in June at the Tiffanys.

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Meeting Minutes: January 2013

Dear Friends,

It was good to see you today.  Thank you, Ute, for volunteering to open and close our meeting and Vanessa for playing time keeper.  We didn’t have a volunteer for a note taker so I am taking the liberty to do so.  Chime in with your comments if I missed something since I am working off my memory rather than any notes.  I felt this was a pivotal meeting for our group and wanted to ensure the notes (even if not complete) were published for those who didn’t have the benefit of being present.  This NEW email list is our most current list of members.  Please use this one so that the members who have withdrawn will not be bothered by future emails.

First and Foremost, “Happy Birthday to Madison!”.  We missed seeing you today and had a special heart cake to wish you well (see picture).  Hope you had a wonderful celebration.

This meeting we experimented with new tools and processes (agendas, worksheets, timer, talking stick, speaking from the heart and being more open with each other – hum, I might have taken this last one a bit far?!).  We also added an intentional beginning and end to our meeting format.  These changes were put in place in response to the growing frustration of the productivity of our meetings.  Let’s see how we did….  please fill out the attached survey so that we can all get a sense of whether this format worked and if we should use it in the future.  I will publish results.

Much of the meeting focused on commitment  – how much is each member committed, how each member is showing it in his/her own way, what is needed, what is expected, etc.  Therefore, this might be a good time for each member to assess their commitment to continue and what that would look like for themselves.  I suggest after this “internal review”, each member makes a decision and a firm commitment to either be an active participant in the group, or to not participate at the current time.  I welcome other people’s suggestion as a next step…..please share if you have an opinion on this.

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