collectiveprovidence.church

The Church of Collective Providence

The Church of Collective Providence is a made up institution for anyone who wants an excuse to form a church-like community without requiring adherence to any particular religious beliefs. It’s an idea that gives people a reason to gather and support each other.

The only requirement to join is a commitment to practicing reciprocity, otherwise known as The Golden Rule. Reciprocity is what makes collective providence possible.

Stone Soup

In the story of Stone Soup, a group of hungry travelers arrive at a village and ask the villagers for food, but the villagers refuse. So the travelers set up a pot of boiling water with some stones in it and tell the villagers that they are making stone soup, which they will gladly share with the villagers, but they need some additional ingredients to make the soup taste better. The villagers agree to share their ingredients and everyone enjoys the soup.

One of the key ingredients in collective providence is commitment. Getting individuals to commit to supporting the collective is often necessary for the collective to be able to support its members. But often individuals are hesitant to commit before they see evidence that the collective will reciprocate. The story of Stone Soup illustrates one way to solve this chicken-and-egg problem.

The stones allow the travelers to call it “soup” rather than just “hot water”. And once the villagers perceive that there is soup, that perception is enough to free the villagers of their hesitance, allowing them to commit to sharing ingredients.

The Church of Collective Providence is similar to Stone Soup. This church is just an idea. But by calling it a church it becomes joinable. Once people join, it becomes a true church just as stone soup becomes a true soup.

What is collective providence?

Collective providence is that which allows a collective to provide for its members more than the members could provide for themselves as individuals.

Unlike divine providence, which is by definition beyond human comprehension, collective providence is tangible and even measurable. Collective providence is something we can cultivate intentionally.

You can read more about the concept of collective providence at collectiveprovidence.org.

What is reciprocity?

Reciprocity means doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, and it is a common value found across many cultures and religious traditions. It is also a key enabling factor in the cultivation of collective providence.

When everyone practices reciprocity, helping anyone helps everyone.

How to join

Members of the Church of Collective Providence are united by one thing: our commitment to reciprocity.

All that is required to become a member is to join a congregation (or start your own) by creating a commitment document as described below.

1. At the top of a physical piece of paper, draw the symbol of the Eyes of Providence as shown above (one large triangle made of three smaller triangles, each containing a circle/eye). This symbol represents collective providence.
2. Beneath the symbol, write down your heartfelt commitment to practicing reciprocity in support of the congregation you are joining.
3. Sign the document yourself and get two existing congregation members to co-sign the document as witnesses of your commitment. If there are no existing members available to co-sign, you and two other people can start a new congregation and all join the church simultaneously by co-signing each other’s commitment documents in bootstrap fashion.

Once you have written down your commitment under the Eyes of Providence, along with your signature and the signatures of your two co-signers, you are now a member of the church.

Practice discernment and clarify expectations

One risk that comes with commitment to reciprocity is the risk of exploitation. If someone knows that you’ve made a commitment to treating others kindly, they might take advantage of your kindness without reciprocating. Remember to practice discernment when choosing to join a congregation or co-sign a new member’s commitment document. Trust your gut.

Another risk is that of misaligned expectations about what reciprocity actually looks like in practice. When people agree to support each other, the implementation details matter. Good intentions don’t automatically translate to good outcomes. Make sure to clarify expectations early and often, set clear boundaries, and be prepared to engage in conflict resolution when disagreements do arise.

About this website

This website is created and maintained by Dan Allison, but Dan claims no ownership over these ideas, nor does he claim any position of authority within the church. The Church of Collective Providence is an idea that belongs to everyone and no one, and there is no centralized leadership body.