Simple Living (pt 1)

André House Core Community opts for a simple lifestyle because we believe simple living frees us from non-essential material concerns. It allows us to bracket out or suspend concerns and baggage from our personal histories so that we can focus on the essentials of the universal human condition.

Simple living brings us to a greater degree of solidarity with the poor whom we serve. In living simply we are more likely to be trusted by the poor and are reminded of the powerlessness specific to being poor. This solidarity helps us to make decisions from the perspective of those in need.

Our daily commitment to simplicity requires a lifestyle of direct, personalist labor of a humble and servile nature.

· We expect as a community that we subsist on common holdings.

· We expect major community expenses to be discussed by the community before community money is spent. In emergency situations, financial decisions should be checked with the appointed treasurer and, in the absence of that person, another community member should be consulted.

· We expect personal spending to not exceed the monthly stipend.

· We encourage individuals to discuss and challenge each other towards growth regarding issues of simple lifestyle.

· Because we have access to donations, we encourage reflection on the acceptance of gifts and the use of other peoples’ generosity and economic power.