Summary of the March 10, 2009 SolSeedCall
Mark, Ben, Brenna, Shelley, and Brandon were all on the March 10 call. After OpeningWords and checking in with each other about how we are doing, we spent the majority of the call discussing WaterProjectOne, RecruitingAndWelcoming, and Sol2009. Before the March 17, 2009 call we will do the following:
- Ben will set up our WaterProjectOne fund raising site;
- Shelley will share the email about WaterProjectOne with the SolSeedContactList;
- Brenna will reserve the community center at Oceanside for July 3-6 for Sol2009 (or collect the available dates during July and August if it is not available July 3-6);
- Mark will find ClosingWords for the next call;
- Brandon will send out a short summary of the call to the SolSeedContactList.
We'd love to see you on the next call. It's fun and never goes for more than 1 hour. March 17 at 8:00pm (PST) Dial-in Number: 1-218-936-4700 Participant Access Code: 815066 Agenda and Notes: http://etherpad.com/AihOxUaXGO
Opening words - 5 mins
BRANDON: The SolSeed Creed is a statement of the shared values that ground the SolSeed Movement. The SolSeed Creed asserts that life and that which sustains life is good and precious, and calls humanity to mature into its role as caretaker of SolSeed. The Destiny is the ultimate expression of what nurturing and protecting life means. Becoming worthy of and fulfilling The Destiny are the two ultimate goals held by members of the SolSeed Movement.
BEN: We believe that:
The Destiny of SolSeed is to take root amongst the stars.
SHELLEY: Sol, Terra, you, me, we, ALL, are precious SolSeed.
MARK: As SolSeed's intelligent spark, We are its caretakers, **We must fulfill The Destiny.
BRENNA: We believe that: Our holy duty is to embrace Self Love, cultivate Empathy, and pursue Wisdom,
so that our being honors SolSeed, and our striving hastens the fulfillment of The Destiny.**
Self Love is motive. Without Self Love, Empathy and Wisdom are impotent.
I pledge to learn to love myself; to become a person I cherish, admire, and care for.
Empathy is transcendent. Without Empathy, Self Love and Wisdom are evil.
I pledge to cultivate empathy in myself and others; to share and demonstrate my concern for others and for the growing life all **around me.
Wisdom is effective. Without Wisdom, Self Love and Empathy are feeble and capricious.
I pledge to seek wisdom; to honor my past, to strive for the future, to be open to new ideas and new beliefs, and to share my wisdom **with others.
Through Self Love, Empathy, and Wisdom we have come to know that:
ALL: We are SolSeed; Children of the sun, Awakened by starlight, Growing, nurturing, protecting, '''We bring life!
Check in - 10 mins
- DONE ... Brandon will introduce Jessica and Ben (and forward info) by Friday evening
- Ben will talk with Jessica to get WPI to set up donation page and pen-pal system
- Couldn't work on it yet because didn't get info until later
- DONE ... Brandon will get the other 7 people's emails: Kalvin, AJ Adair, Jonathan Madrigal, Joy Marie, Alex Cassell, Bertie Stevens by Sunday evening
- Couldn't find emails for Jonathan nor Joy
- DONE ... Shelley will send out the list of all contacts by Monday evening
- DONE ... Shelley will organize future calls so that more people can participate
- Shelley spoke with Brenna, Ben, Ted, Brandon on 3/8/09. For now, we'll reschedule call to Tuesdays at 8 pm. Ted may or may not be able to make it, but all the rest can.
Water Project - 15 mins (Ben and Brandon)
- Community does most of the work to dig and build the wells and latrines, etc.
- Three steps: hygiene education, sanitation, water source project
- Time to completion: around 18 months
- No current system for communication between donors and community other than a few status updates over the course of a project
Invite just SolSeed members for this project, or people defining themselves as "friends of SolSeed?"
- Definitely allow anyone to make a donation
- Could help donors connect with and act on their values
- Anyone who would like to help!
Next
Ben
- Name and location of the village in Ethiopia ... find out from WPI
- http://water.org ... http://firstgiving.com/waterpartners
- How to get the process started with the personal fundraising site
- sharing the email with the SolSeed list
- partnering with Ben to get Kevin on this call
Shelley
Attracting and Caring for New Members - 15 mins (Shelley and Ben)
Not sure what it would take to get a table at a convention like (Comic-Con and WorldCon). Mark knows someone who goes to Comic-Con.
New folks:
- Invite to call
- Something on the front page about joining the movement ... link to information about this call
- Get on the call even before they sign up (but conference calls only work well with a relatively small number of people, or a relatively large silent audience) ** Shelley: "I hope we have that problem some day"
- "I'm interested" Form to collect their real-name, email, three bullets about why they are interested
- Photos of real people on the front page ... prove we're not crazies
- WhoAreWe ... group photo and link to some photos
- Sol2009 ... attract and care for new members
- Proposed time: July 4,5 and a half day on 6
- Ongoing projects like with Water Partners International
- Communicate with new members in some fashion ... seems like a good idea
- Too weird to call them? ... I don't like to be called, I'd rather be called
- 1 or 2 welcoming emails (from the welcoming committee)
- If everyone sends email overwhelming (choose a location on wiki to coordinate)
- Newsletter (e-mail) ... or print and mail
- Small and in process of establishing culture ... maybe culture is one where we welcome people
What's next / homework / assign next call - 10 mins
Homework
- Ben: work with Jessica, look up Comic-Con table-getting info
- Brenna: check availability at Oceanside for Sol 2009
- Shelley: send WPI email
- Brandon: send call summary, check on table-getting for WorldCon
Next meeting agenda
- Opening Words - 5 mins
- Check in - 10 mins
- Topics (Ben)
- Cross pollination with other "Intentional Societies" - 30 mins
- Logistics - 10 mins
- Closing Words - 5 mins (Mark)
Closing Words - 5 mins (Brandon)
"You've broken your vows a thousand times."
"Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. Ours is no caravan of despair. Come, yet again, come."
adapted from Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi
Candidates for Call Times
8 pm is best time for Brenna b/c kids to bed.
- M evening (Shelley and Brandon have grief group 2 wks/month; Brenna sometimes works Monday night)
- T evening (Brandon has Go night ... could skip)
- W evening (Brenna works)
- H evening (Brenna works)
- F evening (Shelley and Brandon have sabbath++)
- S
- S