They Speak

(compiled from emails submitted earlier. Apologies for all the rich content shared in person not captured here. post updates as comments.)

Andy:

Hey everyone - how'd you like to live in a house together? I think it'd be pretty cool. So about that: location: within a mile of COTA goal: a new COTA community house, a place where we can continue to grow in community and spirit throughout the week, and where we can serve the greater COTA community through hospitality, shared space etc. Move-in date: likely June 1 - but this is just based on what I heard from everybody. This could move earlier or later if there was need. price range: not sure yet. Most the places we looked at already are in the $575-775/month range, but this was because Ken and I could afford that. We can decide a price range together, and also have larger rooms cost more, etc. I'd like to meet all together to see where we are at. Can we shoot for meeting up sometime in the weekend of April 17-19 or around then?

Also, if you know you are NOT interested in the COTA house, you can let me know and I'll take you out of the loop. When we meet, it will be good if we can share what we all want out of the house, and if we have any special needs about the space or our space in the house, etc. Here are a couple of needs that have already come up:

- Karen wants there to be a guest room or convertible space where visitors to COTA can be put up, and she said COTA would have a mind to pay some for that room if possible.

- Because I work from home, I would like the house to have a work-space room (a second living room, or "mother-in-law" unit that could be used for all our desks, art set ups, etc, where it could be understood to be focus space, for when we need to work. If I was the only one who would be using space like this, I would pay more.

- Some houses have had really nice living room spaces with a view that I would love to be able to open up to COTA for meetings, etc, when the Abbey is all filled up.

- I also think it would be sweet to have a nice backyard and deck setup to host COTA barbecues over the summer. Any thoughts, concerns, expressions of interest or non-interest are requested.

Thanks all! Andy



Josh:

Hi all,
Here's my situation for those who don't know: I'm going to seminary in Berkeley but I will be in Seattle this Summer for a chaplaincy internship at UWMC/Harborview. I'll only be around June 1st - August 31st, so someone would need to take my place at the end of the Summer.
I agree with the office, yard, guest room, etc. I would also love to do community meals. If anyone is interested we could look into buying a share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) which is a good way to get locally grown food without spending too much. I love to bake so we could at very chip in for the cost of a giant sack of flour.

on the budget, I was thinking more like the $500-$600 range. If we get enough people I think that would be possible. I won't be around for the house selection process, but I trust your judgement. My preference would be close to COTA or close to UWMC so Wallingford, Fremont, or U District-ish. If you find anything relatively close to the Burke Gilman trail, I would be thrilled, since I could ride my bike to the hospital.

Also, for the Praxis vacancy, I wonder if we could have all of the community houses (and even the whole COTA community) chip in for the cost of keeping that room free as the guest room. Another option would be that one of us could go to praxis and we could have the guest room be at our house.

My preference would be to have a really big house with lots of people, because I think it makes the intentional community thing work better, but just four of us would still be good. I agree that we should stick to COTA members, but I don't mind if they are fairly new, I sure would've loved this opportunity when I was first looking for a place to live in Seattle.

The New Testament greek word for "faith" also means "trust", so I'm just going to trust God will have this work out for the best.

I do think we will need to get more specific, especially about how "communal" we want to be. I would be in favor of having a common pantry (especially for staples) and sharing meals whenever possible. I don't think we need to nail down all the details, but maybe just decide if we want to share groceries, and we can work out the specifics later.

What about worship? I have been wanting to start a daily practice of praying the hours (Matins, Vespers, Compline but maybe not all of them every day) and I would love to include others in that practice if they're interested. We could maybe have some kind of weekly worship expression that we all commit to as a house and we could do other things throughout the week as schedules permit. I assume that not everyone is as interested in regular worship as I am, but I hope we can do something that will work for everyone.

One other thing that occured to me in reading this document is that it would be neat if the various oikoi had some things that tied them together. Do they currently plan events together or things like that? Or maybe we can try talking with the other houses to find out the specifics of how they each function as a community. I think this kind of intentional community is a great ministry so it would be cool to figure out what works and what doesn't to create a model for future communities.

One more thing since I've already written so much. I'm done with the Semester on May 22 and I'll probably be making a leisurely drive up the coast a day or two after that and then either staying with friends in Seattle/Tacoma or with my folks in Everett. Should we try to meet up and talk about this stuff before we actually move in? I guess it isn't really necessary, but it might be fun. Also, any luck on actually finding a place yet, or are y'all still looking?

I am very much interested in getting a chance to talk over all the specifics that surround an intentional community and seeing if this is something that will work for each of us.




Bryce:

Greetings, I am definitely interested in being a part of a COTA house. Even though my current living situation is greatly improved compared to the past, I still long for a greater community environment. My sentiments concerning rent costs are very similar to Kerri's. Something around $500 is doable for me...right now I'm paying $567 and its a stretch. I wouldn't want more than that. I like the other ideas that have been thrown out there, as well. I think its important to have space that's very inviting and hospitable...I love to have people over! I love Josh's idea for a community garden...I am all about this! It would have to be organic though. If we find a house with a yard, we could possibly even forgo renting a space. You can grow quite a bit even with just a small amount of space. The office/study space is important to me as I will be starting grad school full-time this fall. I'm sure this goes without saying, but wi-fi is important! I like the idea of being in the Fremont area. I'm wondering, since the other three houses are north and west of Fremont, would it be helpful if we established something more south or east? This would open doors for community connections in a different part of Fremont or Wallingford. That's my two cents for now. Surely other ideas and issues will come up as we go along, but we can deal with them as they come. -Bryce


Brandon:

Andy,
Thanks so much for thinking of me. I am definitely interested. My lease runs out June first and I was hoping to find something in the freemont/greenwood area within walking distance to the MT 5 busline. Do you have a location for the community house yet? I am currently in Chicago planning the North American Regional ICAP conference on human trafficking and sexual exploitation. I will be back in Seattle tomorrow (Monday) evening. When is a good time to chat?

I am so on board with this!It will be great to meet you guys and talk a bit about each other. I really think God is facilitating this.



Jeff:

I am very much interested in getting a chance to talk over all the specifics that surround an intentional community and seeing if this is something that will work for each of us.