So, I've not been doing too much blogging for a good while, but I thought it might be good to record a little story called, "where my 'extra' time and energy went in the fall of 2009." A brief re-telling:
One Friday morning early in the semester, as we awaited the onslaught of donut-hungry students, Blair and I were brainstorming short books we could read with our Turner mentors - I suggested a Henri Nouwen book (Life of the Beloved - a good short but meaningful book), and something about that made Blair think of a Jean Vanier book about community - which reminded me that I should add him to my bibliography for my senior project (on intentional forms of community and how they form ecologically prophetic leaders - related topic, but still another topic). Then, I said, you know, I've thought about living in a L'Arche community (L'Arche = residential communities for adults with developmental disabilities, started by Jean Vanier in France, http://larcheusa.org/) as a post-graduation option - but I've been thinking I'd like to stay in Nashville (since I lived/served in a L'Arche-like community in Chile a few years ago). So, I look it up online, and lo and behold, there is not a community in Nashville. So, I say, maybe I should start one! Somehow, it takes hold of me, and I likewise can't let it go. I ask two friends at that very Coffee Hour who have worked at Clover Bottom what they think of this idea - they think it's great and would support me in such an endeavor - maybe even live in such a community. The next few days, I bring it up to housemates, friends, strangers, etc. - each one expressing excitement, personal interest, and/or connections or information I should look into.
I initially envisioned a garden in our community (of course), and quickly learned of a model (Camphill communities) which incorporates farm life and life with persons with developmental disabilities. Then, I quickly got on board with some folks at East Nashville Cooperative Ministry (ENCM) who had come upon a plot of farm land in the area and were beginning to discern the future of that farming venture. I joined that farm discernment group and have been meeting for an hour(-ish) each week since then.
After much brainstorming and reflection with that group, connection-making and internet-exploring outside of that group, and a fair dose of internal reflection on my part, this is where things are at:
1) The ENCM farm will likely happen in the near future - hopefully this coming spring/summer(?). Which plot(s) of land is not certain (we/I keep learning of plots of land available for growing!). But our farm discernment/imaginative group will meet once or twice more, pause for the holidays, a couple folks will work on a business plan, and we'll re-convene in January. At that point, we'll know a little more concretely the next steps and ways for us and others to plug in. The goal is to be able to support one full-time farmer, with the possibility/probability of various transient and permanent volunteers/interns/job trainees - some who might live in community with the full-time person, and many who will not. I could see myself potentially living in this farming community beginning after I graduate and commuting to another job - or being involved in one of the other capacities at the farm.
2) I'm finding the endeavor to get funding and licensure for an organization that would work with adults with developmental disabilities to be quite a complicated and generally big task, and I'm also still discerning a personal call to this kind of work. As mentioned, I have already done a lot of connecting and a fair amount of thinking, but at this point, my plan for next discernment steps are to: a) possibly attend part of a "new provider orientation" by the state next week, b) spend some "volunteer" time with the women at Homeplace in Nashville, c) have lunch with Pat and maybe Roger from Cloverbottom, and d) look into employment opportunities in this realm for post-graduation. I also plan to keep writing away for my 4 courses (including Senior Project) until mid-December.
3) I plan to keep connecting with folks/org's which could potentially result in a concrete L'Arche community, but I imagine the L'Arche community itself will grow a) out of an ENCM Farm, b) out of connections with organizations already in the Nashville area (Center for Living and Learning http://www.centerforlivingandlearning.com/, etc.), and/or c) out of direct involvement of L'Arche USA when they're able to direct energy toward a potential community in Nashville.
At this point, my general thoughts about life after graduation are:
-Get job working with persons with developmental disabilities in Nashville area
-Continue involvement with some farm and possible intentional community activities in the area
-Transfer conferences for ordination process, and begin commissioning stage of process
-Establish L'Arche Farm in Nashville area
-Participate in L'Arche Farm community for a couple-few years
-Move to central Arkansas to start/join a farm with a couple of good friends and work in the food security movement there, near-ish where my parents might also eventually end up
-That could be the landing spot, but I would most certainly continue relationships with folks in Latin America, TN, DC, TX, etc. Somewhere along the way, maybe some lucky guy will buy into this plan and decide to come along for the ride.
Where did all of this come from? Who knows. The Holy Spirit, maybe? I sure hope so, because if this is just a random distraction from studies, I'm going to be a little p.o.'d.
My conjectures about my future, in a nutshell.
Much love,
Jess
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