Mission
The aim of the Interbeing Network is to incubate, inform, and coordinate a worldwide network of local groups who create regular, place-based, “open source” ritual events — gatherings that build connection across differences, cultivate insight and wisdom, and become local commons of the sacred where participants can reconnect with themselves, each other, and the wider wholes of which they are part.
Filling some part of the niche once occupied by church services in the Western world (and by community rituals and celebrations throughout human history), projects in the network directly address the fragmentation, loneliness, and longing for meaning and connection in our postmodern societies, while opening a doorway to deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in life and the universe.
In this work, we aim to create developmental spaces that are both deep and pluralistic: not embedded in any specific worldview or metaphysical ideology, and therefore capable of being spiritual sanctuaries and spaces of insight, growth and connection for humans from many backgrounds, belief systems, and walks of life.
Context
The church of interbeing in Berlin began as a step into the unknown, a question about what was possible, and a lightly-held hypothesis that something different was ready to be born.
Two years on, while still an experiment and still learning, the Berlin church of interbeing gives a strong indication that the hypothesis might be true.
The network is another layer, and another phase, of the experiment. In a world where loneliness is epidemic and churches are shrinking, we offer a vision of how humans, without going backward to authority belief systems, can go through and beyond the spiritual barrenness of secular modern society and into a field of possibility that combines the tools and wisdom of spiritual and religious traditions with openness, curiosity, and epistemic freedom.
Governance road map
Pilot
In the first pilot phase of the network, decisions will be made by the core team in consultation with our advisor circle. This allows a fast, agile, rapidly iterating approach to building a network of communities of interbeing.
Structure
In the second phase, we introduce a formal governance council. This will be made up of representatives from the communities within the network, network core team members, and advisors.
Community
In the final phase, the community of members becomes the foundation of network governance, appointing stewards from within projects in the network, in consultation with advisors.
Team
Adam Francis McKenty was the initiator and first host of the church of interbeing project in Berlin. A former software developer, musician, entrepreneur, and collective process geek, Adam has been developing a curriculum for contemporary ritual design and facilitation through his project the Art & Science of Ceremony.
Liza Simonova is a successful entrepreneur with experience building and scaling organizations, and a passionate explorer of dialogue, relational, and self- development practices. She was the first host and curator of the Berlin church of interbeing’s weekly practice lab, a frequent host of Sunday services at the church, and is a strong advocate for epistemic integrity and a culture of learning and feedback in the project.
Advisors
Our international advisors circle supports the interbeing network with wisdom, connections, and guidance. Among others, the advisors circle includes:
Tomas Bjorkman
Joana Breidenbach
Elizabeth Debold
Ben Haggard
Rupert Sheldrake
Thomas Steininger
Sonja Vera-Schmidt