This has been put on hold. As is often the case, my vision doesn’t always line up with timing. I am working on paying back a debt–being able to own the Wilberforce Community land outright–and helping with a huge project which is taking up most of my time. I’m helping with the many details that need to be taken care of in order to sell some property which you can learn about here: http://www.livingspringsloghouse.wordpress.com

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If you want to skip over my meanderings down to the nitty gritty of what I am planning, please feel free! l enjoy giving some background to what I am planning so that you can get to know me better, and I feel happy when I remember uplifting things in my history.

Even though I am the only member of the Wilberforce Village, right now I feel so encouraged because an increasing number of people are looking at my blog and resonating with my vision. One way I have envisioned that this wonderful land can be used by this spring is to host conferences and retreats. Wilberforce Village site is located in the beautiful Ozark Mountains near Prayer Lake, located between Kingston and Huntsville off of Hwy 74.

Ever since I went to 6th grade 5 day camp, I realized that I absolutely love immersion experiences with other people. I’ve attended wonderful retreats including ones that changed my life in profound ways. Thus I feel inspired to host overnight events at this wonderful land which I am so grateful to own and eventually will make into a Community Land Trust so that the community members will be in charge of the land.

In 1999 I attended a permaculture conference where I learned about a structure of creating conferences called Open Space Technology. Here is a brief definition: Open Space Technology is one way to enable all kinds of people, in any kind of organization, to create inspired meetings and events. Over the last 30+ years, it has also become clear that opening space, as an intentional leadership practice, can create inspired organizations, where ordinary people work together to create extraordinary results with regularity. You can learn more here: https://openspaceworld.org/wp2/what-is/

This is what I think would be a good theme for the conference. I’d love your feedback:

“How can we build healthy community (body, mind and soul) with our Christian Universalist brothers and sisters–both online and in person, and thus be able to spread the Good News of Restoration for All to all the world?”

Here are some topics I would facilitate during break out group times. What topics would you like to facilitate, or see facilitated?

How can we inspire famous people who are drawn to Christianity–to know about CU? (An increasing number of influencers, including Russel Brand, are seriously interested in following Jesus–and we want to show them an alternative to the believers in ECT)

How can we identify CU’s geographically so that they can start forming small groups?

What structures do we need in order to create communities of CU’s that are effective and healthy (body, mind and soul?

How can we deal with the trauma we experience from the rejection that comes from being a Christian Universalist?

Who wants to explore living in Wilberforce Village?

Because there will be simultaneously multiple break out groups, there will be lots of choices and lots of opportunities to join in. Maybe I won’t do all of those, but we shall see.

I would host the conference in May or June when we have the best weather–warm, not too hot.

This conference would be very inexpensive because people can camp or stay in RV’s. People would bring food to donate to the lunch and dinner meals. I would ask for donations, but no one would be turned away. There would be a screening process only to make sure that no one is coming to try to persuade us that we are wrong in our beliefs, and to make it a safe space.

If people want to have more creature comforts, there are places to stay within 25 minutes. I have a friend who owns the Birdsong Bed and Breakfast in Huntsville, and there is a very large place, Bessie’s Inn, in Huntsville which could house a lot of people at very reasonable rates. https://www.bessiesinn.com/rooms

People would need to be on a “Daniel Diet” AKA plant based diet when they are on site during the conference because Wilberforce Village is a place where no animals are exploited in anyway. That includes animals who produce milk and chickens who produce eggs. I would hope that this would contribute to the well being of everyone because usually people who do adopt a whole food plant based diet experience a sense of well being. If people really need their animal products, that would be another reason to stay at another place over night–as described in the paragraph above.

I would have the conference start on a Friday afternoon and end on Sunday afternoon. Mornings would be a time for prayer and devotions, the day would be a time for break out groups that are facilitated by the conference attendees who want to bring up topics relevant to the question presented above. Evenings would be campfires of various sorts with small groups who want to do a variety of activities like sharing testimonies and stories, prayer, healing, prophecies, spontaneous discussions, singing songs, dancing, drumming and other creative inspirational interactive circles.

I would organize the meals so that people share the preparation and they can learn to cook delicious, whole food, plant based meals. An outdoor kitchen would be set up.

I have attended conferences where participants help with all aspects of the event, and I will recruit volunteers who would like to come before the event to help set up things. There is an indoor space, the Mir House, that would be available in case of rain.

Families with children will be welcome and parents would need to be in charge of their kids–and they can be supported in organizing special activities for the younger ones.

Sunday morning we would have a worship service designed by participants. We will have a way to connect with everyone in the conference after they leave so that the activities can continue and community can deepen.

Each break out group can have a scribe who makes notes on the ideas presented and these ideas will be recorded eventually on a blog for all to see. Reports of the groups can also be posted at the conference.

The beauty of having a conference using this structure is that people can come and interact in ways that meet their needs. Since anyone can facilitate a break out group, we don’t have to depend on only established leaders to teach and lead. Since people are encouraged to only participate where they feel enlivened, they can join a group and easily leave if they don’t feel connected. We’ve all been in groups where either the facilitator or the participants take over in ways that leave us feeling empty, bored, frustrated or discouraged. So if a person is in such a group, they can leave and join another group that is scheduled simultaneously.

I would love to attract some famous CU folks, but we don’t have to have big names in order to be successful. Once I establish that some people are committed, I will set a date, and start promoting the event. I use a software program called Basecamp where people who I think would be responsible team members can work together to produce the event.