The CSA Season of 2007 was a wonderful experience. We enjoyed a great deal of enthusiasm this year for the exceptional programs available and the increasing engagement of our volunteers. I was impressed with the high degree of energy and consideration we all employ to communicate, seek common ground, and make decisions on the many issues that weave our lives together. The staff was well chosen and well prepared to support the considerable schedule of creative programs that we all enjoyed.

Looking forward to 2008, the CSA schedule is yet another palette of opportunity. The Spiritual Life Committee is working hard to match the exceptional quality of this year’s Educator in Residence. Youth is preparing a creative slate to help our young people develop their

own sense of the Assembly Spirit. Our active committees are involved with integrating the community’s inputs and inspirations into the thoughtful framework in which the CSA thrives. The Board of Trustees is strong and working to maintain our community traditions while we continue on a path of testing our policies and administrative activities to best provide a firm foundation. Our efforts are now focused on compliance with applicable laws and tax policies, improving cooperation with compatible local organizations, enhancing our environmental stewardship and, of course, doing our best to foster the beauty that is the Assembly Spirit

Our neighbors on the property formerly know as the “Frankfort Golf Club” have completed measures beyond those required by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to contain the contamination now all too commonly found in Michigan’s agroindustrial legacy. Our friends are now poised to create both a complimentary cluster of homes and also a conservancy set-aside allowing a significant portion of the property to return to a natural state.

The Assembly only works when we participate. I encourage you to consider what brings you back to this place and the gifts that you carry with you. Get involved, set a good example, become active in a committee that suits your skills, find fellowship and trust in good works and rekindle your spirit beneath the birches.

- Joel Buzzell