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How can we be sticky?
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That seems to be the way we think these days. If it's old, throw it away. If it is old, something--anything--new will be better. Unfortunately, there is no "away." If it is material and old, it has to go somewhere. If it is non-material and old, there is that thing about "tried and true" to be considered. There is also that problem of defining (and agreeing upon) "better." I suppose this makes me a hoarder of both things and ideas, but I'd rather think of myself as someone who appreciates the value of things (whether physical or intellectual) as useful objects, even if they only serve to help me understand the world a little bit better.
So, it's a new year. I am cleaning and clearing a bit. I ran across an old document from my community organizing days. It's so old, it was printed with a dot matrix printer. The title is "Telephone Committee," and the entire (one-page) document is a plan for communicating within a community about events, issues, and needs. There's a committee chair, 4 committee members, 4 groups of contacts with telephone numbers, and the mandate is simple: connect to our neighbors, inform them of issues and events, listen to their concerns, bring those concerns back to the center of the organization.
Times have changed, of course. Most homes no longer have a single "land line" for the whole house to use. Email and texts have largely taken the place of personal phone calls. Neighbors seem to meet face-to-face less often (although some may communicate through online groups via Facebook or other platforms). If I were to propose that we form a Telephone Committee to my neighborhood today, I would be laughed at as out-of-touch and a technological failure.
Even so, seeing that old Telephone Committee list brought back a reminder of the social context as well as the technological context. Yes, we have new tech and new ways to communicate these days. But, look again. One of the major problems facing our nation today is loneliness. Our nation is divided by technology that transmits false messages with high persuasiveness. Our social institutions are literally crumbling around us as we lose confidence in those who lead and/or serve us.
That Telephone Committee list, however, spoke of a social connection among the homeowners of a single neighborhood. Despite diversity in age and income and social history, there was common concern with environmental issues, public services (and lack thereof), local government actions that would affect the comfort and cost of living in that neighborhood. There was, in the limited framework of those (still quite broad) issues, a cohesion and a sense of belonging to a group with purpose and value. The Telephone Committee played a role in developing and maintaining the group, serving as a connector between the more activist "leaders" and those who were concerned, but not actively working on the issues until called into action. Rather than being "top-down," however, the TC was meant to serve as a conduit for "bottom-up" messages as well, so that the whole group could both listen and react as needed. As an added benefit of those "connections," more informal social relations could be developed (e.g., friendships, business contacts, etc.) and "social security" within the group could be improved (e.g., neighborly help, assistance for seniors, childcare, etc.).
While the old days are certainly gone--and I don't live in that neighborhood anymore--I'm thinking that the need for a Telephone Committee might still exist. Yes, we have email and Facebook and all that, but we still have need to "belong" as well as to "care" and to "act." Putting this in the context of the Ethical Society rather than a physical neighborhood, once we get past the email part, the main basis of connection is the Sunday meeting. Even that is problematic for building community since we are geographically so scattered--for the Austin Society as well as others. While Zoom can bring even distant members together for a Sunday meeting, the question that occurs to me is how we can bridge the social distance that the physical distance is creating/prolonging/exacerbating.
I think the ESOA Membership Committee is working on that issue. A big part of any Membership Committee's job is not only recruitment but retention, and the initial effort of our new committee chair to focus on life events (birthdays) was good start. I wasn't as "excited" about that effort last year as I was this year. Last year I delayed telling the MC about my birthday until it was past--didn't want to be "asking" for attention or some nonsense. This year, I was out of town for my birthday, but I had an electronic notice service from the USPS telling me that I had some mail from the MC waiting for me. I knew it was a birthday card, and that pleased me. Even better, when I got home, I had a card with a caring and uplifting message that made me feel, well, cared for and uplifted.
The MC didn't stop with cards, tho. Now we have a monthly gathering to craft. The name of the group is a problem--"Stitch and Bitch" was offered by someone, but the current moniker is "Yarn and Yak"--which still makes me twitch--but the purpose of the group is "to build community." As hard as it is to organize myself to leave the house and drive 30 miles, dragging a bag of beads and tools behind me (I don't knit), I see building community as an essential function of an Ethical Society--and an essential duty for me as a member of the Society. This effort is a work in progress, but it is, I believe, worth the effort.
The Austin Society is small. Yes, we need to grow. We also need to "stick." Being "sticky" will help members find their place within the community that we have built (and are still building) and, hopefully, provide some of those social connections that lead to mutual support as well as to collective action.
That being said, I know that the MC chair is working on another "old" tactic--the welcome letter. I know for a fact that is an oldie but a goodie. I received a welcome message (email) after my first visit to ESOA, and, never thinking that it might be "standard operating procedure," was thrilled to be welcomed and invited to come back for more. (Cf. loneliness above.) Unfortunately, the current version of our welcome letter is a tad out of date, and the things it promotes need some work. That's another place at which duty seems to pop up. The MC chair can't do this by herself, so the Communications Committee and others have some work to do. All those links in the welcome letter need to be updated. We could even work on being more outgoing about the things that we are doing: If we find it interesting and satisfying to attend our events or take part in our activities, maybe others would too. A new year is a good time to think about how we can do what we are doing a little bit better, even if we are doing it "old school," one person at a time.
Time to get sticky! (And, great job, Lynn!)
