Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Intentional Communities Weekend
Last weekend we traveled to Kloster Gronau near Frankfurt, Germany, for a Connect Europe gathering. First time in I don’t know in how long that Elaine and I traveled without the kids! The four older ones stayed at home with Hanka and only Bree came with us. She did great on the trip although I am not sure how much she enjoyed the travels and discussions.
There were about 35 or 40 of us from 12 nations to share, discuss and learn about intentional communities that pursue a common mission/vision. Just hearing people from different countries share about their work was an incredible blessing. Besides traditional churches there are grassroots movements all over Europe that engage and encourage thousands of people to seek God while remaining rooted in their surrounding culture. One such movement for all is the Jesus Freaks movement that started in Germany in 1991 and since then spread to Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic (to name the countries I am aware of).
The reason we went was to gain insight into the organizational, financial and spiritual issues connected with establishing a community - since that is what Rivenhill seeks to become. I am encouraged, inspired and richer for the new connections and relationships we found. You can read more on Andi’s blog here or Mark’s here.
