Word has it that some "intensive time" and uffish thought was invested in discerning the unique contributions of Emergent Village to the wider world. The conversation has changed in important ways since EV began ten years ago; it is broader, deeper, more diverse, more complex, and much has come whiffling through the tulgey wood in the last decade. Different forms are therefore needed.

(No specifics were furnished; perhaps a codicil will emerge.)

So here's what happened—near as I can tell: a bunch of third- and fourth-tier doggerelists and cacklehags met in Washington, DC, to engage in the process of re-imagining The Village. You can go here to get their word on it.

The "process" was "deeply relational". Stories were shared, dreams were shared, hopes were shared, and hurts were shared. Shoes were doffed and vorpal blades went snicker-snack . The whole thing, organism-wise, is about friendship, and so deeper friendships are now being fostered and the current emphasis on friendship is being strengthened.

"Everyone is expected to make their [sic] unique contribution."

New dreams will be dreamt, ideas will be flung around, and The Friendly People In The Thin Space will continue to maintain their focus on the centering work already happening "on the ground".

In other words, they got nuthin'. After all those promises and poems and after the Great War between the Nouns and Verbs, only three things "emerged": the 501(c)3 status will be retained, some of the current board members will continue to serve before stepping down, and the website will continue. Re-imagination meets mind-numbing continuity.

So basically what we have here is a bunch of friends with a website and a 501(c)3 tax-exempt classification. Re-imagination is not for the faint of heart.

I suspect the people who cooked up the Northland International Overarching Entity had a hand in this. I see their fingerprints all over it. But you'll have to keep your head on a swivel because the fundamentalists are going global and the emergents are going local. There's a lot of change and a lot of staying the same all within the strict confines of the ongoing processes of intensive, globalizing, vision-casting communication, all of which are moving toward unprecedented opportunities on the horizon, and all mimsy are the borogoves.

No mention was made of Trucker Frank or his fine work at the nation's truck stops. Perhaps he rests by the Tumtum tree.