Who Are We?

Walter and Nancy met in Shiloh. Now, twenty-eight years and two grown children later we recall the good times in Shiloh.

“We’ve wondered: Is it too late to join a similar community? People move all the time from house to house and for many reasons, including to follow a job, to reduce commuting time, or to be near family. They often move into a house in a neighborhood that has no genuine community. Would it be a big thing to move to a community of the type we are planning? Based on our experiences in Shiloh, we can see many benefits in doing so.”

Walter and Nancy are active in the local Orthodox church. They moved to their new Bartimaeus home from their long time residence in Poulsbo, Washington. Walter is an electronic engineer for the Federal Government. Nancy is a CPA who manages the Poulsbo office of Clarke Whitney CPAs. Walter and Nancy have shared their lives and home with a variety of people over the years.

Rich and Barb met at L’Abri in Switzerland in 1971. L’Abri was then a three-month stay which included intensive studying, working four hours a day on community chores, and eating together with lively discussions. Although they were both Christians at the time, L’Abri gave them a more radical form of “church” that could speak to the culture at that time. Thirty-two years and two adult children later, they want to again do something more radical like L’Abri. Rich is a psychologist who also preaches at church on Sunday. Barb has been involved with social work, specifically in job readiness workshops for single parents on welfare. She is currently active with local ministries for families in transition, including Shepherd’s Sanctuary – which owns the guest unit at Bartimaeus.

Rich and Barb moved to Bartimaeus from the nearby Silverdale area. They have far too many books for any one house. The Buckhams have two grown children and have raised a teenage girl who is going to SPU in the fall.

Christine and Guy met in their mid-30s, and he knew he had found what he was looking for in a wife – someone whose values led her to spend time outside of work in volunteer service. On their second date, Guy took her to an abandoned elementary school and began outlining his ideas for turning the buildings into the makings of a residential community. Christine was so “impressed” that she went home after the date and told her girlfriend she was not going to see him anymore; his ideas were too weird. After listening patiently, the girlfriend told Christine that the ideas actually sounded pretty good. So Guy got a second chance...

The Coes have followed the developments of the cohousing movement for over ten years now, and Guy is convinced that it may be the best model available for whole-life discipleship in this culture. Once Christine got the chance to visit several cohousing communities in action, her enthusiasm grew independently of his. With two young children, it’s the perfect time to begin taking advantage of the benefits of raising children in community. The Coes hope for a multigenerational group from a diversity of backgrounds, and lots of other children for everyone to enjoy, all serving and loving God together.

Guy loves to sing, tell bad jokes and do theology; Christine loves sewing, Creative Memories and is a loving mother. Their son is the most talkative little boy you’ve ever heard, and their daughter is the sweetest little “special needs” child you could ever hope to meet – she has vision and speech problems, but loves to sing and hug anyone in sight. Together they make up one noisy little family.

Joel and Anne met in 1982 while they were both in college. Both were very involved in Christian ministry on their campus (he with Campus Crusade for Christ and she with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship). After college, they got married, and after attending graduate school, they both worked for the same environmental engineering company. Joel is an environmental engineer and Anne is a public health specialist.

In 1990, they took advantage of an opportunity to work overseas, in the (then) Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan. While there, they experienced the breakup of the Soviet Union and watched Kazakhstan become its own country. One thing led to another, and the Adamsons lived and worked in the former Soviet Union for 14 years. During those years, God blessed them with two children.

While living overseas in various residential communities (both Christian and secular), the Adamsons came to see the value and benefits of intentional communities and they thank God for the Bartimaeus Community.

Kay is a retired city planner who works as a “wordsmith” at a local software company. She serves on the Central Kitsap Community Council, grows geraniums, and loves to play piano (and a little banjo) with friends. Kay has two grown daughters and two grandchildren.

Pinky is a retired electrician, and once ran for the United States Senate. Until recently he was a full-time gardener and house-husband. Pinky has been a music lover since the third grade; one of the joys of his life was playing flute in the Bremerton Woodwind Quintet, which he founded. Pinky has one grown daughter.

John and Pam were introduced by the pastor of their local church in 1989. Three years later, they were married and on a journey to liturgical worship and service. When the group first started talking about living in community, they thought “commune – not interested.” Five years ago, however, when talk turned into prayer, they joined in the process of seeking God’s will for their role in the community.

After two years of involvement in meetings, planning and training, they realized there was “no way” to participate financially – so they prayed. John found that the Lord was leading him to build a garage, which increased their home’s value and made it possible to buy their unit. Now they are here – participating in meals, fellowship, prayer and work parties. God has even made it possible for John to have garage space on the property, to work on his hobby car.

John has worked at Keyport as an electronics technician for the last 40 years, while Pam's teaching career has spanned 36 years in public and private school. They've served on their church board for 10 years, and have both taken short-term missionary trips. They enjoy working out at the YMCA. John is a sports enthusiast, and Pam enjoys playing the flute, gardening and reading.

“For years I have been intrigued with the idea of cohousing. I have always enjoyed neighborhoods that have both kids and older adults – and everything in between. In graduate school, I studied geriatric nursing and found that the people who tend to age the best have a lot of social support, i.e. connections to their immediate community. I have found this to be true both personally with my own aging parents and professionally with my clients. Connection is what cohousing is all about – or ‘where it’s at’ as we boomers used to say.

“Middle age is the perfect time to take up a new challenge. A few years ago I started tap dancing and since that time I have been in a couple of musicals and several recitals. With grown children and young grandchildren, I now get to make them go to grandma’s performances. (Payback for all those years of piano recitals, soccer, football, baseball, choir trips!) I also learned the joys of landscape design and gardening. It’s very centering, which I find I need more and more in my hectic work life.

“I look forward to the challenges and joy of living in a small, diverse community within a larger community here in beautiful Bremerton.”

Peter is originally from the Bay Area in California, and now works in Seattle. He enjoys both being a spectator and a participant in a variety of sports. Paraphrasing Will Rogers, one of his mottos is “I never met a sport I didn’t like.” He also loves science fiction of all types, although he draws the line at donning Romulan or other costumes at SciFi conventions. Family connections (Christine Coe is his sister) and a desire for community are among Peter’s reasons for joining the Bartimaeus group.

“Cohousing is a type of neighborhood that seeks to blend some of the traditional benefits of home ownership with a much stronger sense a community. As someone who has been a renter all of my adult life, I have rarely even known the names of my ever-changing cast of neighbors. I feel that this built-in sense of community will be a major benefit for me. It’s interesting how life sometimes takes you down different paths – or even in a circle. The idea of breaking away was part of my motivation for leaving California and now, almost twenty years later, living in the same neighborhood with my sister and her family was a major factor in my decision to join.”  

Amalie and Corey met as members of their local church choir – where Amalie still sings. She is a Bremerton-area native. Corey, originally from North Dakota, is a Nuclear Machinist Mate, 1st Class, with the Navy. They have two very active children, and are avid sail boaters. Both were intrigued by Meadow Wood’s site layout and floor plans – designed to promote social interaction. They were also drawn by the group’s mission statement.

“We wanted to live in an environment where our faith would grow and be passed down to our children. This is a great opportunity for us and our kids to grow up in a supportive environment. Because this is a healthy and safe place to live, they can become the whole persons God intended them to be.”

Jim has four awe-inspiring grown children. He grew up among Quakers in Eastern Pennsylvania. Last November, he moved to Seattle after thirty-five years in Nashville, Tennessee. Before that, he has lived in Rochester, NY, Berkeley, CA, and Delaware, OH. He is a self-described entrepreneur, with a passion for social justice and unique solutions to problems. After discovering Bartimaeus on the web, Jim decided the community was the right fit for him.

“A rainforest of angels? Bartimaeus is a uniquely rich and wholesome community in which to now nest, giving forward and back, residing near beloved family and friends, while I explore many other life-long interests.”