CLC Models: Grassroots Spirituality Movement
Grassroots Spiritual Movement Model Commonweal Local Communities (CLCs) started as a grassroots movement. Commonweal provided readers with a webpage to link up with established CLCs, or to initiate a new one for their area. Most of our members were Commonweal subscribers generated by the web site; only a few knew each other beforehand, and only a few were recruited by members. Religious movements grow through the personal relationships of social networks (family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc.) not through mailing lists of unrelated consumers of products and services. According to the website, “ Commonweal fosters rigorous and reflective discussions about faith, public affairs, and the arts, centered on belief in the common good.” CLCs “gather in their local communities for critical conversation on the issues that matter most. Each community determines their goals, set-up, meeting times, and the readings best suited for them. As for the conversat...