FREE SOIL
A Pagan Monastic Community of Southern Illinois

NOTE: This document is a rough draft written by a single member of the proposed community.

Vision Statement: Principles

Free Soil is a Pagan monastic community dedicated to co-creating an ecological society of free cooperation. As a first step toward achieving this goal, we choose to share our lives in community with people who share our vision. Our experiences within the sanctuary of our community serve both as living experiments in the manifestation of our vision and as mutual aid in our efforts to transform ourselves, our region, our society, and our planet for the better.

What is Paganism?

Pagan means person of the land. Paganism is an earth-centered spiritual path which we define loosely according to several key principles and practices:

• respect for all beings, for the cycles and energy flows of the natural world, and for the living land that we call home;
• observance of eight seasonal holidays called Sabbats which correspond to the quarter and cross-quarter points of the Wheel of the Year;
• respect for the freedom of the individual and the supreme importance of individual choice and freewill;
• respect for sanctity of the community and the role of cooperation and personal responsibility in all social contexts;
• belief in, and practice of, the art and science of creating change in our inner and outer worlds in accordance with our Will.

What is Monastic Community?

Monastic means solitary living. We are monastic because we choose to gather in a community that is set apart from the rest of society. In this sanctuary, we are free to develop the principles and practices that we cherish, independent of society’s expectations and limitations. The quality of our personal and social experience is in our hands, and we are empowered to create and recreate that experience in alignment with our greatest hopes and dreams.

However, we do not believe in isolationism or retreat from our social context. In fact, we are committed to active participation in the public affairs of our region, our society, and our planet. Our sanctuary is a place where we take one step back from the distractions of a troubled society in order to rediscover our purpose and take three steps forward in the service of the common good.

Similarities to other forms of monasticism include: life together in an intentional community; dedication to a common vision of how to live a good life; shared personal practices such as exercise/meditation; dedication to service for others and world service.

Differences include: a vow of shared abundance rather than shared poverty; a vow of sensual and sexual affirmation rather than asceticism and chastity; acceptance of many spiritual perspectives rather than just one.

What is an Ecological Society?

Ecology means understanding of the home. As living organisms, our identity and our well-being are inextricably interwoven with the identity and well-being of our living home in the natural world. Therefore, an ecological perspective must be at the heart of any effort to create a good life for ourselves, our communities, and our society.

When an individual harms others without remorse or empathy, they are called a sociopath. What, then, do we call a society whose entire wealth and power is created through acts of massive ecocide? If someone has no remorse or empathy for the acts of ecocide that are being committed in their name, then they are an ecopath, the ecological equivalent of sociopaths.

In our community, we are committed to breaking the cycle of ecopathy. As individuals and as a community, we accept responsibility for our ecological footprint and our roles, both beneficial and harmful, in our living ecosystem. Therefore, we study, practice, and promote philosophies such as permaculture and bioregionalism that are founded in an ecological understanding and designed to create human systems that flourish in harmony with ecological systems.

What is Free Cooperation?

Many people believe that individual freedom and social cooperation are two opposing forces. They argue that individual freedom must be limited to create a secure society, or that social security must be sacrificed in order to preserve the individual’s freedom.

In this community, we believe that individual freedom and social cooperation can be – and must be – mutually supportive forces. We choose freely to cooperate with one another in the service of both personal empowerment and social security.

In order to ensure that our community is a place of free cooperation, we have established certain systems and structures of directly democratic decision-making. The details of these systems and structures vary according to circumstances. However, in all cases, the intent is to ensure that each person is free to choose how they would or would not like to cooperate with other community members in the pursuit of shared interests and values.

Vision Statement: Organization

Free Soil offers three levels of involvement for people who appreciate our principles, practices, and vision for a better life. These are the Participant, the Member, and the Monk.

Participants

Monastic life isn't for everyone. Therefore, Free Soil offers many opportunities for people who share aspects of our vision but choose not to live in a monastic community. These include workshops, community service projects, and social events such as movie nights and seasonal celebrations.

Since Participants have made no formal commitment to the community, they have no formal decision-making power in the community. However, they have a voice in any of the simple decisions made during the event(s) in which they participate.

Members

Members are among the most involved participants in Free Soil. They attend and help to organize workshops, community service projects, and social events for the community.

Members voluntarily contribute to the community through a membership fee, sweat equity, or a combination of the two. In return for this contribution, they receive free access to some of the workshops taught by our Monks, an invitation to our weekly Members Dinner, and participation in decision-making about projects that they are involved in.

Monks

Monks are the organizers of Free Soil. They provide educational and inspirational services to Participants and Members, organize long-term projects, and . Since they have the greatest involvement, they also make all decisions about long-term issues such as the acceptance of new Monks, major economic projects, and modification of the Vision Statement.

Monks are the primary organizers of Free Soil. They provide educational and inspirational services to Participants and Members, organize long-term projects, and develop long-term visioning and planning for the community. Since they have the greatest involvement, they also make all decisions about long-term issues such as the acceptance of new Monks, major economic projects, and modification of the Vision Statement.

Monks voluntarily contribute a tithe to the community. The particulars of this tithe are decided amongst the Monks based on each individual's ability to provide and the needs of the community. The community uses this money to support the development and maintenance of community projects and spaces such as cooperative housing, shared food systems, group observance of the Sabbats and Esbats, and cooperative meeting space.

Vision Statement: Practices

In order to make our vision a reality, we choose to live and act strategically, both as individuals and as a community. Our strategy is centered on creating change within ourselves, then carrying this change out into the world.

Self-Empowerment

Our community offers us the opportunity to support each other in the development of self-empowerment. We call ourselves a monastic community because this support takes the form of a focused social environment where we all share a set of common practices and goals.

It is up to each individual to discover their own path to self-empowerment. However, in order to support our Participants, Members, and Monks in their journey, we offer a variety of group practices that may contribute to their physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. These practices include meditation, exercise, group ritual, group meals, and group discussion of more solitary practices such as solitary ritual and journaling.

Community Building

Human beings are inherently social creatures. In order to create a harmonious balance between our individual self-expression and our collective social interaction, we choose to cultivate intentional relationships of a co-operative and mutually supportive nature. We call this harmonious balance community, and we see building community as one of our chief goals. As an organization, we pursue this goal on two fronts: internally and externally.

Internal community building is conducted among the Participants, Members, and Monks who call our community home. This involves learning about directly democratic forms of decision-making, sharing meals, and developing means of social and economic cooperation such as food sharing, cooperative housing, potlucks, classes, recreation, entertainment, and other social activities.

External community building involves providing support, both logistical and theoretical, for community projects in our local community and region. This involves putting on workshops for the general public, supporting other community-oriented organizations, and encouraging local and regional efforts to create a ecological society of free cooperation.

Strategic Nonviolent Direct Action

As members of a monastic community, much of our daily practice unfolds in the relatively focused and safer space provided by our sanctuary. However, our entire purpose in gathering as a community is to learn and grow as individuals so that we may better serve the cause of positive change in ourselves, our region, our society, and world.

Therefore, both in principle and in practice, we support strategic nonviolent direct action in the service of our stated goal of creating an ecological society of free cooperation.

As we see it, strategic nonviolent direct action consists of two components: the constructive program and the resistance program.

The constructive program is the primary work of nonviolence and the primary work of our community. Its goal is to create the positive external structures, culture, and internal consciousness required for human beings to live together in an ecological society of free cooperation. This includes developing systems and methods by which people can cooperate freely to secure their own food, water, shelter, ecological resources, health care, security, transportation, education, recreation, and self-actualization.

The resistance program is a supportive task of nonviolence and our community. Its goal is to resist and mitigate the actions and existence of violent and oppressive external structures, culture, and internal consciousness. This includes organizing demonstrations and other programs with the strategic goal of interfering with the structures and crises of violence and oppression. It also includes taking action to protect aspects of the constructive program from attack by violent and oppressive forces.

As a community, our focus is on the constructive program. However, when confronted with the presence of violence and oppression, we stand committed to the task of organizing strategic nonviolent direct action to serve and protect the people and places of our community, our region, and our world.

Strategic Plan

Currently, this plan includes three phases: Exploration, Development, Establishment, and Operation. The final phase, Operation, is obviously quite tenative at this point and will be outlined in detail during the Establishment phase.

1. Exploration
   1. Initial Discussion. This was the first phase of the plan. Over the course of several years, the Founder (Treesong) and several dozen other individuals discussed various aspects of intentional community.
   2. First Rough Draft. After extensive discussion, the Founder created a rough draft of a proposed vision statement for the community.
   3. Second Rough Draft. After receiving comments on the first rough draft and reflecting on these comments for several months, the Founder created a second rough draft of the organizing document.
   4. On the night of 13 January 2009, the Founder adopted the Second Rough Draft as the official organizing document of the community, thus officially founding the Free Soil Monastic Community. At this point, the community consists of one Monk (the Founder) and numerous other interested parties who may become Participants, Members, or Monks pending review of the current draft of the organizing documents.
2. Development
   1. Call for Discussion and Action. The Founder will call for discussion of, and action on, the community proposal.
      1. Word of Mouth. This includes online and face-to-face communication about the community.
      2. Meeting or Potluck. The Founder will organize a meeting or potluck for prospective Participants, Members, and Monks, preferably within one month of the call for discussion and action.
      3. Inclusion of Participants, Members, and Monks. After one or more discussions of the community, anyone who has attended a meeting or potluck will be considered a Participant. The Founder will meet individually with anyone interested in becoming a Member or Monk. Once there are two or more Monks, all Monks will participate in the membership inclusion and exclusion process.
      4. Critical Mass. Once the community has a minimum of three Monks, we will organize a weekly dinner, a weekly or bi-weekly Monk meeting, and an initial system of tithing for Monks and membership dues for Members.
   2. Action Steps Toward Establishment of a Landed Community.
      1. Review. Once Critical Mass has been reached, Monks will review the Strategic Plan and make any desired modifications. However, the tentative plan is as follows.
      2. Expansion. If there are less than ten Monks, seek out additional Monks. Of course, quality is more important than quantity, but quantity will bring fresh perspectives into the community and help to pay the material costs of community development.
      3. Social Foundations. The community will spend a year and a day operating as a community. If possible, they may take community-building steps such as reserving a regular meeting/dinner space, living together as roommates, organizing events, modifying organizational documents, etc.
      4. Economic Foundations.
         1. Approximately half of the money collected through the Monk's tithe, the Member fee, and any general fundraising activities will be used for short-term goods and services for Monks and Members, including but not limited to food for the weekly dinner; social activities; celebration of Sabbats; and travel to other intentional communities or sites of interest.
         2. The other half of the money will be used for long-term community-building, including the organizing of public outreach and fundraising events; acquiring community resources such as supplies, tools, and transportation; securing a regular meeting space; saving up for land; and any other expense that Monks deem as important for the long-term success of the community.
      5. Preliminary Exploration of Land Options. Assess the current land situation, both in terms of the community's needs and the area's availability. Do we want a community center in town or a land-based community outside of town? What is available that might satisfy our needs and wants? What are the prices and other practical considerations?
3. Establisment
   1. Review. How has the vision of Operation changed over the ensuing year or more of development? The purpose of the Establishment phase is to prepare for the Operation stage. Therefore, adjustments must be made accordingly.
   2. Thorough Review of Land Options. Go back and examine various land options. Choose a single option, or 2-3 strong possible options that will provide a framework for the effort to acquire land.
   3. Special Events. Hold one or more special events with the dual purpose of raising funds and building support to prepare for the transition to a landed community.
   4. Enterprise. If we haven't already, start one or two economic projects that will be further developed or expanded when we have land. This may include organizing a retreat or conference with eco-social-spiritual themes; growing food on privately held land to prepare for growing food on community land; starting a small business in town that is in line with our eco-social-spiritual focus; etc. This will contribute to the community in at least three ways: funding, practice at succeeding in an economic context, and playing a positive role in the surrounding community.
   5. Establishment. Once sufficient funds are raised, buy land and carry out any necessary infrastructure developments such as building a community center and residences, preparing land for gardening or agriculture, creating spaces for spiritual practice, etc.
4. Operation
   1. Review. Once we have the land, we must review how our visions for the community match the realities of this particular place and these particular people. Much will need to be adjusted, little of which is foreseeable beforehand. In the meantime, the following is a vision of what our life on the land may look like.
   2. The Great Hall. Much of our community life on the land will center around a Great Hall. This will be a meeting and activities center with the following characteristics:
      1. A large multipurpose room for big dinners, public events, social activities, community meetings, and indoor spiritual rituals.
      2. An office for organizational documents, records, communication with the public, management of business aspects of the community, etc.
      3. A large commercially-equipped kitchen adjacent to the multipurpose room.
      4. A conference room for smaller meetings and activities.
      5. A library on ecological, social, and spiritual topics, including several internet terminals and multimedia viewing stations. [This may or may not be better off as a separate adjacent building.]
      6. An altar room for use in smaller group rituals or personal reflection, prayer, and counseling. This would probably be available to Monks, Members, and anyone in the general public who is looking for a place to reflect or a place to honor the Lady and Lord in their own way.
      7. A health center with first aid supplies, non-prescription remedies, health information, etc. [This may also be better as a separate adjacent building.]
      8. As many qualities of ecological design as possible, making the Great Hall a eco-design showcase.
   3. Social, Economic, and Public Services. These are programs and activities that provide either some useful social service for the community or some service for the general public which may or may not generate income for the community.
      1. Food. During business hours, the Great Hall may be open to guests and customers in the same way that a restaurant, winery, or lodge would be. Meals can either be served at a specific time, or we can operate it as a restaurant with customers ordering as they arrive. Members and Monks should have some sort of meal plan and/or discount.
      2. Wine, Mead, and Crafts. In addition to food, we could offer wine, mead, and crafts for sale, all of which may either be made on-site or purchased from Monks or Members who produce them.
      3. Performance and Festivities. The Great Hall will become known in Southern Illinois and beyond for its performances: music, art, plays, etc. This will include a special festival of some sort to be held for some or all of the Sabbats.
      4. Housing. Some or all Monks will live on the land. The details of each Monk's housing will be determined by that Monk in cooperation with the community as a whole.
      5. Lodging. The community may or may not provide a small amount of lodging on-site. During busy seasons, this could be used for paying customers; during off seasons, this could be used for guests of Monks and Participants in retreats or festivals.
      6. Retreats and Training. The Great Hall will also be known in Southern Illinois and beyond as a home to spiritual retreats and a program of ecological, social, and spiritual training. These retreats, and this training, will be organized by the Monks or by Members under the direct supervision of one or more Monks. Some of these activities may be specifically designed as income-generating, while others may be maintained as public services even if they operate at a moderate loss.
   4. Farming. This will depend largely on what type of land we acquire. If we acquire a small lot within the city, this will consist of a small garden maintained by Monks. A medium-sized plot of land near town may result in an extensive garden maintained by Monks and Members. A large plot of land may result in a complete permaculture system developed over the course of several years.
   5. Indoor and Outdoor Spiritual Spaces. The land will have at least one major indoor spiritual space and one outdoor spiritual space to be used for Sabbats, Esbats, and other rituals. The land will probably also have several smaller shrines to goddesses and gods that particular Monks feel called to honor in this way.