My vision has changed many times over the years, but now I’m 99 percent sure I’ve settled on my main vision: a think tank of animal rights activists building an umbrella network, with local chapters that support every person and group working for animals without competing with any of them. The heart of it is a cooperative community on land held in a land trust. People who share this vision and live together can be far more effective, because we’re together so much and can get more done. We can also model a vegan cooperative community, which is much needed. It will start with me living on the land or nearby and reaching out to people who share my vision and values, who will eventually join me in living here. As we live and grow together, the vision can evolve. These articles, written over the past thirteen years, let you get to know me and my history along the way.
This article, written by Virgil Voight, a member of the Reba Place Fellowship, explains why the common treasury, otherwise known as the common purse, or shared income, is used in their community. Here is an excerpt:
“The common treasury is a vehicle providing corporate support for Christians who want to live out the more radical economic teachings of Jesus. By sharing our economic life, we hope to encourage one another to go beyond the steps we might take if we were each on our own.
Over the centuries the church has preserved Jesus’ radical teachings and sometimes embodied them corporately (e.g. Franciscans, Hutterites, Moravians), but usually it has left the responsibility for administration of finances to individual Christians. The track record for this approach leaves much to be desired. Finances are a difficult area. The teachings of Jesus are so bold and unusual and rationalizing our self-interest is so easy. And we are constantly under the pressure of a materialistic societymore so in our own time and culture than at any other period of history.”
I was privileged to stay with the director of Reba Place Fellowship and her husband for a week around 2015 when I went on a tour of Christian communities. Because I could see how the common treasury was working so well, I can have more confidence that we can practice this as well. This community has been together for over 50 years, which pays a tribute to the success of using the common purse. I saw no signs of cult-like leadership–especially since I got to stay with the director who I got to know fairly well.
I lived at East Wind Community for about 6 months. I experienced shared income living (along with my son who was 5 years old) in a secular way. East Wind has survived, and thrived in many ways, for almost 5 decades. Although their conflict resolution policies at that time (I understand they have gotten better at this) were very poor, their economic policies made so much sense and worked. My experience there gives me confidence that shared income can be very beneficial to all members when clear agreements are in place.
I’ve learned a lot from the Federation of Egalitarian Communities which is comprised of 4 communities who practice shared income living. They offer a wealth of documents on their site which anyone can use. They even have found a way of having health insurance without paying the big bucks insurance companies charge. Here are some of the benefits that membership offers in this article.
Labor Exchange (LEX)
Mutual Aid Scholarship Fund (MASF)
Preservation of Equity Accessible for Community Health (PEACH)
Community Loan Funds
Because they are so strict in their requirements for membership in the Federation, Wellspring Monastery will not qualify. However, I feel encouraged to see that income-sharing communities are existing-all of which I have visited–and are cooperating with each other for even more benefits.
I foresee the possibility that Wellspring Monastery will partner with other like-minded communities in a similar way.
I have done a lot of research about the Moravians who at various times in their history used the shared income approach. Here is a description of this Christian group found here.
“According to Gregory the Patriarch, considered the founder of Unitas Fratrum (later called Moravians), what made a Christian was not doctrine or what he or she believed, but that a person lived his or her life according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. He described these first Moravians as “people who have decided once and for all to be guided only by the gospel and example of our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy apostles in gentleness, humility, patience, and love for our enemies.”
My research on the Moravians where I listened to about 8 videos yielded one story about how the community members decided that they wanted to live as simply as the missionaries who chose to go to very challenging situations. The shared treasury was part of this lifestyle. I admire this Christian sect which is known for starting the first Protestant missionary movement.
I found it difficult to find information about the shared income history of the Moravians. The present day church definitely does not promote such a thing. I have a theory that because we are so committed in our culture to independence, capitalism and self-reliance, that this theory is not promoted. A common treasury is not communism, because communism is always forced on people. Rather, people who practice living in communities with income sharing see the benefits of this kind of cooperation.
In this PDF from http://www.VisionVideo.com on page 21, you can read about two decades of income sharing and communal living that the Moravians practiced in order to further the amazing missionary movement that they started.
