[Matt's mom]

Good Day,

Has anyone in Vermont any information of the Twelve Tribes in Rutland, Vermont? I am looking for feedback and information on them. Thanks for the reply.

Matt's Mom

[OhBeeHave]

There was another thread about Twelve Tribes on the VT forum a while back. You might have to dig around to find it.

Never mind -- found it:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/vermo...ve-tribes.html

It goes astray at the end and turned into a religious conversation so the moderator locked it.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by Matt's mom

Has anyone in Vermont any information of the Twelve Tribes in Rutland, Vermont? I am looking for feedback and information on them. Thanks for the reply.

A Twelve Tribes community owns several houses within a block of my house. We frequent their restaurant and store. They participated in a wellness fair I used to coordinate. My husband and I have always found them neighborly and helpful.

That said, years ago we researched the TT theology and found it highly offensive: authoritarian, racist, homophobic, and sexist. For several months we lost our appetite for eating at their restaurant. Then we realized they were kind people serving us delicious food in a town that doesn't have enough of that. We considered that if we learned too much about the lives of other business owners, we might lose our taste for their wares, too. We figure it's an imperfect solution in an imperfect world.

As far as I can tell, no one is living in the TT against his/her will, but it's not like I've gone undercover to investigate and confirm this or anything. To my husband and me, the kids seem happy, playful, well-adjusted, and very affectionate with their parents, as TT parents generally seem to be with each other. We've seen the kids be rambunctious and get nothing more than a gentle chiding.

We banter playfully with TT members and many seem sharply intelligent. They also interact easily with us "worldly" folks. For example, a woman we chat with frequently at their store stocks lovely cat greeting cards she makes because she knows how I love cats. She was also very open to literature I offered about alternatives to selling Nalgene plastic water bottles, which are made by a company that specializes in horrific devices used to torture animals in laboratories. Additional factors may have led to the TT store now carrying a more eco-friendly (and animal-friendly) water bottle line.