Penington is similar to Menno House in that it is both a guest house, and residence for long term residents. However, it has 25 residential rooms (much more than Menno House!), and two guest rooms. Once I realized Menno House had a counterpart, I decided to reach out to them. I wanted to meet some new people, and see how their experience was living in intentional community.
It was great! The residents were extremely hospitable and generous. Even though there are around 20 or so residents, there were about 6 people from Penington that came to dinner. It worked out well, because there were three people from Menno House, and one of them was my friend Monica from college who was just visiting! I was glad they didn't overwhelm us!
Unlike Menno House, their residents are very diverse in age. I saw a resident in grade school, all the way up to residents in their 70's. It was great to see how a house works when there is more age diversity than the young 20-something-year-olds at Menno House. What a breadth of experience the residents at Penington have!
I talked mostly to three residents. One had moved to the city a couple years ago from Denver to be a full-time Grandpa to his grandchildren in Harlem. In his youth, he was a CO in Vietnam during the war. He had a lot of stories to tell! Another resident is an opera singer who regularly sings at Grace Church. The third resident is a retired film director for PBS. During her time, she was the only female director at PBS, and one of four female film directors in the country. While I was only with them a brief time, I was blown away at the amazing experiences and wisdom they had to share. I hope to meet with them again!
Hopefully once things settle down at Menno House, we can return the hospitality!
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