What Does It Mean to Practice Community?

Individual choices matter, but building sustainable communities also requires cooperation, shared resources and stronger relationships.

In this digital age, we can conference with our coworkers across oceans, order groceries with a tap, stream endless entertainment, and get the news directly to our phones at any time of day. Though we are more connected than ever before, we can also get buried in the convenience of being chronically connected. But while being connected online 24/7, we can lose opportunities to practice the skills that come with being in community with others: cultivating patience, compassion and understanding not only for those around us, but for ourselves.

Especially for adults, opportunities to practice these skills are increasingly rare. Even in Philadelphia, with its vibrant neighborhoods, community gardens, and block parties, the deeper skills of relational living – navigating difference, sharing resources, practicing active listening, and co-creating peaceful spaces – require intentional practice.

There are still places designed to create space to slow down for this kind of communal life. Nestled on a 23-acre arboretum in Wallingford, just a short train ride from Center City, the Pendle Hill Quaker study, retreat, and conference center hosts residential programming, and offers space for personal retreats. The organization was founded in 1930 as “an experiment in spiritual learning community” and welcomes guests and spiritual seekers interested in exploring the connections between systemic peace, social justice and how we treat one another in daily life.

While the organization has evolved from being a residential community, it now offers brief stays, online workshops, and temporary community created each day through the intermingling of conference attendees and educational program participants. This means that people from diverse backgrounds can gather to practice the act of shared life, whether they’re participating in residential programs like the Spring Term, or simply visiting for the afternoon. The sometimes messy and uncomfortable scenarios that come with community life can become part of that practice. A former Pendle Hill teacher, author, and long-time friend, Parker Palmer, writes, “In true community there will be enough diversity and conflict to shake loose our need to make the world in our own image.”

True social and environmental sustainability requires more than individual lifestyle tweaks; it demands a shift in how we relate to the land and to one another. At Pendle Hill, daily life includes sharing meals, helping with chores, gathering in silent Quaker worship, and navigating shared spaces. These simple acts of cooperation offer opportunities to experience both the benefits and challenges of interdependence.

When we practice living together – holding space for conflict, honoring silent contemplation, and sharing physical labor – we can build skills that contribute to more equitable and sustainable communities across Greater Philadelphia and beyond.

Visit Pendle Hill

Pendle Hill offers retreats, residential programs, workshops and other opportunities for people interested in experiencing communal life. More information about its programs and resources is available at pendlehill.org.