Page 15 - C.A.L.L. #32 - Summer 2010

KALEIDOSCOPE

syndrome left me feeling lonely and without a purpose.
Four years later, in total desperation, I took my search to the internet looking for unique community
living experiences. I thought that I could find a neighborhood that shared occasional potluck meals
and truly interacted with each other. What I found instead was the Federation of Egalitarian
Communities. The more I read about these intentional communities, the more excited I became. Could
I have found my answer?
After days of carefully reading about each community, I decided to write a request to visit Twin
Oaks. That single decision has led to a series of life-changing events
The three-week visitor period provided me with ample opportunity to see how the community
functioned. I worked alongside community members, ate with them, socialized with them, and quickly
fell in love with the community lifestyle. My decision was made. I was applying for membership. The
10-day wait for 100 people to decide the fate of my choice was one of the longest periods in my life,
but finally the wait was over-I had been accepted for provisional membership.
We've just passed Summer Solstice, and life is big at Twin Oaks. As of this writing, we have more
members than we ever have in our 42-year history-94 adult members, with a Waiting List of about 15
people ready to move here when space opens up. New life and celebrations are bursting out all over, as
we're in the midst of a mini "baby boom" here these days with 2 newborns, another baby due this fall,
and two more planned for next year. This will raise our child population, and that combined with
Population Capacity, means we're taking a break from accepting any new families into the community.
We had a spring wedding in May, with two members exchanging vows in one of our large yards, with
many friends and family gathered to help the happy couple celebrate.
Some recent membership stats, as of June 1, 2009: Our average adult age is 39, with 44 members who
are age 18-39, and 40 members who are age 40-85. Fifty-six percent of current members are female.
The average length of membership is 7.6 years. (The average male has been here 2 yrs longer than the
average female). More news about membership lower down in this newsletter.

I have purposely left the most astonishing change processes for the finale. For many years the
Bruderhof “Plow” and its “Beehive” younger sibling, or rather offspring – together with
Shalom Connections, came across as rather conservative, especially on the delicate topic of
human sexuality. So I had to reread twice an unusual statement by Johann Christoph Arnold
in Plough # 75 entitled “Homosexuality and one-gender Partnership” that advocates
tolerance and understanding for these former ‘abominations’, in order to truly believe what
my eyes saw. And that’s not the only change: years ago I noticed that the black Hosenträgers
had given way to lively coloured ones; women had begun working side by side with men in
the workshops; and of late the very name “Bruderhof” has entirely disappeared from all
publications. But let us listen to Johann Christoph:

“I believe in matrimony as a bond between a man and a woman. That is the real meaning of family. As a
fruit of such a marriage children are born into this world, so as to ensure the continuation of
humanity. So it has been since the beginning of our times. Wouldn’t it be good if it would stay like that
for the benefit of our children? The collapse of the family is worse than any terror attack. On a
personal note: my wife and I have been married for 44 years. We are blessed with 8 children and 43
grandchildren.
I don’t know why so much dust has been kicked up around the question of equal gender partnership. On
both sides of the arguments there are contradictions and divisions. How does it happen that
reasonable people react so frightened and tensely as soon as this topic comes up? That’s just a waste
of time. Frequently it is a sign of insecurity when something is talked about so much.
Something is wrong. We stand in danger of losing our healthy common sense and our good manners.
There must be a better way of living together, without fear of retaliation. Actually it has only been
two decades since I realized that such heavy importance was attached to that theme. Formerly,
everybody seemed to be quite satisfied living together. As for me I stick to the golden rule: ‘Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you’ as the only answer to that question. We should never
disdain another person, and of course we never can force our own convictions upon somebody else,

15