New Connections and Next Steps

Photo by Etienne Girardet

January 2025

This Chat overflowed its time, big time, with a small group staying on for a whole extra hour.

Just as in December 2024, the standard format of our Chats was partially set aside. Fernando, a regular participant, had invited Jonathan Cahn (Edgar’s son) who in turn had invited Councilwoman Janet Diaz from Lancaster, PA to join the chat to get a sense of timebanking from our informal format.  Timebanking is new to her, so Jonathan asked for an explanation of timebanking for her before we took up our regular format. Ebenezer from Nigeria then stepped in to say that he, too, was new to timebanking and hoping to get a sense of how timebanking can be set up and what kind of software would help in the Nigerian context. 

Christine provided that brief explanation of time credits, how they have been used, and the core values. She shared how timebanks have mostly helped to make more caring and resilient communities – but have also been organized for specific purposes like youth courts, education, and more as highlighted in Edgar Cahn’s book No More Throw-Away People. 

We then held our usual small break-outs to say hello to another person present – but the time was going by fast, and we kept the break-out time shorter than usual. 

Coming back from the break-outs, our conversation jumped around fast!

• Jonathan asked for information on the timebank in Reading, PA, which Krista provided. 
• Councilwoman Diaz stressed the social needs not being met in Lancaster, PA and her hope that timebanking could be helpful.
  • River talked of her work with the Venezuelan refugee community in San Antonio, TX, and the importance of community organizing and offered to share her experience with Jonathan and the councilwoman.
• Ebenezer spoke to the need for a simple timebanking app to help timebanking lead to more exchanges of skills and capacities by community members to make all better off. 
  • Chris said that a successful timebank in Cameroon may provide him with a model, and that she will put him in touch with its founder. 
• (In her break-out session, Chris met Fernanda, a new timebank founder who seeks to support the growing of new trees in her community, and they agreed to have a conversation about her vision and plans.) 

Our hour was rapidly running out, and noting that, Paul Breslow pointed to the need for us to open up additional lines of communication to continue the conversations that get started in the Chat and carry them forward. He suggested Slack. We discussed that possibility and how it would work for some but that others would not have the skills to use it.  Krista noted that TB.Org’s upcoming new website will be incorporating a podcast/blog which will coordinate with the chat and the coordinator call which in the past has provided a forum for timebank leaders to come together, share their questions and helpful timebanking hacks. But we agreed that that would not provide the dynamic interaction that people would find really helpful. Chris suggested WhatsApp. 

Last of all, Chris noted that this session had originally been planned to have a discussion about whether and how we might change the format and substance of the Chat, and that Paul’s query and the comments it had prompted folded into that. We did not have time for the discussion of how the Chat might be changed or added to, but will send out an email to the Chat mailing list to seek ideas and input,  and will jumpstart that conversation via email.