Letter from Jenny: September 2025

The time of the lone wolf is over. 
~ The Hopi Elder

Dear Springhouse community,

I hope this letter finds you well. The whole Springhouse staff showed up to do work projects with my husband and I on our farm this past weekend. I am excited to tell you more about this shared work day experiment and what I am learning from it. 

A few months ago, I asked the staff if it would be helpful if we all went to each other’s houses once a month to help with house projects. The whole staff was in on the experiment and we started in June at Sarah Pollock’s house. We all brought a dish to share and got to work weeding, mulching, and planting in her garden and cutting down dead trees. Afterwards, we shared a meal together and headed home. 

We took July off with most people out of town and this past month it was my turn. My husband and I got organized with a list of projects and were ready when the staff members (and their spouses!) arrived that Sunday morning. Everyone got to work right away, splitting logs, cleaning gutters, staining the deck, taking down a fence, and working in the garden.  It was so inspiring. After the work was done, we headed down for a plunge in the Little River, and back up to the house for an incredibly delicious potluck. It was life giving and I can’t wait to head to Gigi’s this month. 

For much of my life, I really didn’t have many experiences of the infamous quote by John Heywood, “Many hands make light work.” I learned at a young age to look out for myself. I lived in the suburbs where I knew my neighbors, but we mostly lived individual family lives. The school I attended, like most schools then and today, reinforced individualism over community. The church I went to mostly consisted of catechism and Sunday mass. Community was a rare bird. I didn’t see much of it, so I did not know what was truly possible when it came to working together toward a common goal. 

As I got older, the first glimpse I caught of community was in a recovery program I joined in my early 20s. There were meetings, there was mentorship, there was shared literature; all of these things connected us to each other and the principles we shared, and moved us toward the primary purpose of living a sober and vital life. They still do. I would not be where I am today without this community, and my connection to this community continues through my  participation and service. 

I also experienced the light work of many hands in our fundraising efforts this past June. There is no way a single one of us could have raised the amount of money that we raised on our own. It took many of us, each having a fundraising page, each making an effort, to raise the money that we needed. This took good leadership from Carolyn who informed us of what we needed, educated us about how to raise our part, and inspired us by reminding us of our shared mission and its importance. The success of this effort came from each of us doing our part. 

There is so much to explore and learn in the context of community–themes like fostering unity and respecting difference at the same time; caring for the community in ways that keep us together and take care of harm caused when trust is broken; the role of language and how it can connect and divide us; how good leadership is practiced in community; and how reciprocity is a skill that requires a lot of patience and compassion to learn. 

When people are strong within themselves, and united around a shared purpose, whatever that lifegiving purpose may be, the magic of light work happens. I have seen it in so many ways at Springhouse. I can also see the moments when one of us decides to be a lone wolf, and how our community corrects that by bringing that lone wolf back in the pack in some way; back toward our shared purpose that we each serve in our own unique ways. It was remarkable to experience the Springhouse team at work on our farm. There was such joy, focus, and care. It was remarkable to experience the past two weeks with Springhouse families, learners, and staff who showed up at the school to get it ready for the year. And it was remarkable to see this light work on our Trustee-Staff four day retreat in South Carolina where we made meals, took care of the space, and got to work on our shared goals, together. I have become more truly myself in community, and the inner clarity and strength I have gained from being in community, has been a foundation for more sustainable and generous service to my community over the long-term. 

I have mentored many adults over the years, and all of them have heard me say that growing more authentic as an individual requires mentorship, community, life giving practices, and a consistent place to practice. Out of those four things, adults repeatedly say community–finding one, being in one, trusting one–is the hardest thing. I am grateful to be in an intergenerational community where we are envisioning, practicing, and sharing ways of living that contribute to a world where all life thrives. One day at a time, we strengthen as people, and we strengthen together. I hope to see you along the way. Thank you for taking the journey with us.

Gratefully together,
Jenny