Building Community: No Permit Required

Laughing yoga loosens body and mind at SuperWeekend.

​Washington Commons has turned its attention to building community; creating the culture we want and deepening relationships with one another and the larger community we are joining. No permit required.  
 
To this end, on May 13-15 WCC members from near and far gathered in person and via Zoom for a second SuperWeekend event. The weekend was devoted to 3 essential aspects of healthy relationships: 1) Effective Project Management, 2) Community Glue, 3) Good Process and Communication Skills. We kicked off Friday evening with a shared meal at our favorite local eatery, The TreeHouse Cafe. We would learn on Sunday that food is the #1 way of attending to 'Community Glue.’
 
Saturday morning, members were treated to a workshop with Danny Milman (Construction Project Manager) on options, upgrades and status of construction. We then topped off our "pot of good feelings" with lunch at Midway Bar, followed by some Non-Violent Communication (NVC) in the form of Laughing Yoga, led by member Durriyah. After laughter, a walk in the riparian woods along the Sacramento River north of our community led by Anne included some litter removal in support of SPIU (Sacramento Picks It Up).
 
Having worked up an appetite, members topped off the "pot" again at Burgers and Brew and joined in another neighborhood activity; Second Saturday Sacramento. Transit to and from activities was arranged by member, Jenny. As a long-time resident of West Sacramento and Sacramento, Jenny gave us the inside scoop on where to eat and what to do.
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On Sunday the SuperWeekend continued as a hybrid in-person/Zoom event. Two workshops were facilitated by Sarah Arthurs of Prairie Sky CoHousing in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She introduced Diana Leafe Christian's three aspects of healthy relationships as a framework for thinking about the culture and governance of the community we are creating.  We explored these aspects with our future neighbors in breakout rooms.  We examined the governance and project management we have in our established committees, and did a bit of team building within those teams by coming up with a motto or team song. One break-out room came up with the slogan for how we've accomplished so much already, "Hanging In, Hanging Loose, and Hanging Out." It was cheered by all.

Break snacks were provided by Allyce and Frances between workshops, and a catered lunch was served at the spacious West Sacramento Community Center after the workshops. The weekend concluded with our General Meeting. It was a full weekend, rich in shared enjoyable activities, which we learned creates oxytocin — the hormone that produces feelings of trust and gratitude. And that’s the ‘Glue’ to building community.
 
The SuperWeekend was brilliantly planned and organized by the talented SuperWeekend team of Rachel, Jenny, Cathy, and Evelyn. Thank you all.