Before they left in 2016 the sisters put a lot of time and care into finding the right people to take over the leefgemeenschap. From a list of 80 candidates they eventually chose four people to live here and find additional new people and continue their work, Erik and Annelies, and Paul and Cora, who left at the beginning of 2020. Late last year Erik and Annelies made the difficult decision to move on. We are grateful to them for eveything they have done and contributed in their 6½ years here and wish them and Rard and Luus every happiness!
And so the baton was handed to Jutta and Johannes and it became our task to continue the work and search for new people. This process is now complete and we met with Sin and Guen and Eloy and Milou and Ellen as a group for the first time in early May to share our stories and there was much laughter and positive energies as we prepare for the summer when a new chapter of De Hoogstraatgemeenschap will begin.
Much like used to happen in monasteries, the new people have been invited to live here for a year giving them ample time to find out if this is the right place for them and to find ways in which they can contribute to the work that needs to be done here, to be inspired by this place and what happens here and join in with our activities, to discover its rich history and architecture and explore the spaces and surroundings, before deciding whether to commit more permanently to de Hoogstraatgemeenschap and becoming full members.
The new group could hardly be diverser in ages, background, work, study and interests, but we are committed to continuing working with (our interpretation of) the four core focus areas established by the sisters : advocating for justice, helping to care of the planet, providing safe spaces for vulnerable people in crisis, and spirituality/zingeving.
johannes