Sustaining the Commons
for the Next 250 Years
As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, The Meetinghouse invites our community to help sustain this historic place of belonging and conversation for generations to come. Through 250 for 250, we are building a circle of people who believe that communities flourish when there are places where neighbors gather, stories are shared, wisdom is cultivated, and the common good is nurtured.
Your participation helps sustain:
- community conversations and gatherings
- arts, wellness, and leadership programs for all ages
- care for the historic Meetinghouse campus and ecosystem
- opportunities for the community to be, belong & become
Together, we are ensuring that The Meetinghouse remains a community commons for the next 250 years.
What Distinguishes The Meetinghouse?
Formation, Not Just Programming
Most community organizations offer activities or services. Here at The Meetinghouse, we focus on formation—the shaping of character, consciousness, and community that together we might thrive. Programs are not ends in themselves; they are pathways for human development.
Whole Person, Whole-Life Development
The Meetinghouse integrates dimensions that are usually separated:
- wellbeing
- creativity and the arts
- connection with the land
- community belonging
- leadership and civic responsibility
Together these nurture whole-person, whole-leader development across the lifespan.
Intergenerational Community
Many organizations focus on a single demographic. The Meetinghouse intentionally cultivates intergenerational community, where children, youth, adults, and elders learn from and support one another.
A Living Commons
The Meetinghouse functions as community commons—a shared place where people gather not simply to consume experiences but to join together as co-creators of our community’s future.
Leadership Formation for a Changing World
At a time when many institutions are struggling to navigate complexity, The Meetinghouse helps cultivate the inner and relational capacities needed for wise leadership. The Meetinghouse is not simply a place where programs happen. It is a place where people are formed for lives of belonging, wisdom and contribution.
Ways to Participate
Friends of the Meetinghouse — Any Amount
Everyone who cares about the Meetinghouse is welcome to participate. Every contribution helps sustain this place of belonging and community life.
The 250 Circle — $250 annually
Members of the 250 Circle are households who commit to contributing $250 annually over the next five years as a simple act of shared stewardship for the Meetinghouse and its mission. Our goal is 250 households who believe in sustaining this living commons together.
Donate: The 250 Circle
Stewards of the Commons — $2,500 annually
Stewards provide leadership support that helps expand the impact of the Meetinghouse’s work. Your generosity helps strengthen programs, deepen community initiatives, and ensure the long-term vitality of this historic campus and ecosystem.
Donate: Stewards of The Commons
Founders Circle — $5,000+ annually
Founders Circle members make catalytic gifts that help secure the future of The Meetinghouse. Your contributions provide foundational support for sustaining the campus, expanding programs, and nurturing the vision of the Meetinghouse as a place to be, belong and become.
Donate: Founders CircleAs we approach the
250th anniversary of the American experiment,
we have a rare opportunity to support living history.
Will you join us?
Our Mission
The Meetinghouse cultivates the formation of people and community across generations—nurturing holistic wellbeing, regenerative practice, and wise leadership for the flourishing of community.
Our Vision
In a time when many people feel fragmented, isolated, and uncertain about the future, The Meetinghouse seeks to renew an ancient civic tradition: a place where neighbors gather to deepen belonging, cultivate wisdom, and imagine together what a flourishing community might become.
Rooted in the historic New England meetinghouse tradition yet oriented toward the challenges of our time, The Meetinghouse serves as a living ecosystem where people of all ages can grow in character, connection, and contribution.
Through programs in the arts, wellness, land stewardship, community dialogue, and leadership formation for all ages, The Meetinghouse nurtures the capacities needed to care for one another and the world we share.
Our hope is simple yet profound: that this place becomes fertile ground where people rediscover their gifts, strengthen relationships, and participate in shaping communities where life can flourish.
Together we thrive!
