Values and Practices

The deep roots that sustain Kendal are found in Kendal Values and Practices. They help ensure that Kendal’s residents and staff share the spirit of community and collaboration and the respect for each individual that flow from the principles of the Quakers.

Kendal is independent and is not part of, nor sponsored by, any religious or other social institution. It was founded, and continues to grow, with intentional regard for the principle of the Quakers.

Our Values

To enhance the quality of life and vitality of those we serve and to foster a sense of community, treating each person as a valued individual and in an atmosphere of mutual respect and caring
To promote an environment of continuing learning, encouraging lifelong growth for staff, community members, boards, and volunteers
To encourage and welcome all people without regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by law; to live in our communities; and to serve on our staffs and boards
To provide high quality wellness programs and health care services, treating each person with dignity
To provide physical settings that are sensitive to the aging process and that enhance quality of life, security, and wellness
To engage in practices that sustain and improve our environments and our planet
To employ financial designs that contribute to security and serve our social objectives to make our services and communities affordable, to the extent possible, to a range of economic capabilities
To foster a high quality work experience for staff, recognizing that Kendal must be a good place to work if we are to offer good places to live and to provide high quality services
To strive for excellence in management and governance, seeking and developing board and staff dedicated to our mission and values, and building partnerships with those we serve
To value participation, transparency, and consensus building by nurturing careful listening and effective decision making
To take responsibility in the larger community, maintaining extensive and mutually supportive relationships and sharing our resources and experience
To continue to grow by engaging in ongoing evaluation and staff development, and by seeking and responding to new opportunities to further our mission;
To take an active role in aging issues through professional dialogue, research, public policy, and other means, thereby contributing to improved services for all older people
To foster a culture of generosity, encouraging and developing full use of our time, talent, and resources;
To maintain integrity and high ethical standards in everything that we say and do.

Kendal values fall into three categories of Practice:

Serving

Administering

Sharing

For a full description of how these values turn into practice, click here.

Monthly Kendal Query

From Hildegarde Gray, KoH Resident Council Chair

The Kendal Values are described in Values and Practices. They describe the core of a Kendal community — including ours. For some of us, it’s why we came to Kendal. For others, it’s a vague “Oh, yeah, that rings a bell.”

The Kendal Values are great in the abstract, but how do we live them — or do we really live them? If you turn back to Kendal roots, you’ll find a Quaker tradition: Advice and Query. Loosely based on that concept, the Residents Council will pick one of the values each month and challenge residents: How might you live out that value over the next month? No score keeping. All anonymous. Find something interesting? Something you’d seen, heard, or done? Want to share? Just send me an email (grayvacher@yahoo.com), drop a note in my box (cubby 3112) or mention it in passing, over lunch or dinner or a cup of coffee.

November Query

This month’s Query is based on Kendal’s 1st principle: To enhance the quality of life and vitality of those we serve and to foster a sense of community, treating each person as a valued individual and in an atmosphere of mutual respect and caring.

And now for November’s Kendal Query

What’s one small act ofkindness you can do every day for yourself, for fellow residents, for staff, that might strengthen our community?

October’s Query

This month’s query asks you to cultivate more gratitude.

And now for October’s Kendal Query

Find three things every day to feel grateful for. They can be small—something you ate that tasted really good, something you read—anything large or small that brought you joy that day. Write them down if you like; share them, if you like; or just enjoy smiling when you think about them. And after a coupe of weeks, see if this small habit has an impact on your general sense of well-being.

September’s Query

And now for September’s Kendal Query

Given the divisiveness in our society today, how have you reached out to those whose views differ from yours. Think about how you are listening. How are you trying to build bridges? The 3rd Kendal Value is to encourage and welcome all people.

June’s Query

And now for the June Kendal Query

As we move into summer — a relatively quiet period here at Kendal — we sometimes get in a rut. Days are filled with the same activities week after week. The 2nd Kendal Value is to promote an environment of continuing learning and encouraging lifelong growth.

We know we have that kind of environment here. So the challenge for June is to find something new, something you haven’t done before and do that. Maybe it’s reversing your usual path thru Rockwood Park, maybe it’s finding a buddy to regularly go to the gym with, maybe it’s looking through the non-fiction section of the library or going on a trip.

Just let your imagination take hold: What new, fun and/or challenging thing will you do between now and September?

May’s Query

And now for the May Kendal Query.

We residents have a unique opportunity here, to shape the culture and social aspects of our community. This is what differentiates us from most other retirement communities, and for many of us was a key reason we decided to live here. We can be grateful to the KoH Founders for coming up with the structure of activity committees and interest groups that make this work so well, and it is up to each of us to contribute time and energy to keep that model healthy and high functioning.

A thriving community requires each of us to do what we can in the interests of the whole. It’s fun to participate in an art class, go to a Monday night program, or listen to a concert. And I ask you now to consider joining a committee, or perhaps leading a committee when asked. Or consider running for a position on the Residents Council.

The Kendal Query for May is: Over this next month give some thought to how you can help shape the culture and social aspects of our community. How will you contribute to the life of our community?

April’s Query

One of our Kendal Values asks us to “value participation, transparency and consensus building by nurturing careful listening and effective decision making.”

It takes effort and time to come to consensus, a kind of ungluing myself from my opinion, my preference for a particular decision. The final decision may be the one I like, but, for sure, it makes the most sense for the group as a whole. There are no winners, and no losers.

One way to move closer to consensus is to listen to each other and ask “why?” or “please tell me more about your position.” Practicing more curiosity and less judgment, may lead us to greater understanding, and a path to find common ground.

This month’s Query is 2 fold: How will you practice more curiosity and less judgment in your conversations?

Or, if we focus on meetings: How will you practice more curiosity and less judgment in your efforts to listen and speak, with the goal of consensus?

March’s Query:

One of our Kendal Values is to engage in practices that sustain and improve our environment and our planet. This reminds us to think about our role as steward and to be aware, educate and practice Conservation, Sustainability and Leadership. Some examples of things each of us can do: Use less water, turn off lights, choose reusable goods, check out the monthly Give and Take Table, choose to compost, choose to use fewer paper items.

Please take some time this month to ask yourself: What am I doing to conserve earth's resources? As the Kendal Value says: How will I “tread ever more lightly upon the earth”?

February’s Query:

Think about the Moment of Silence that begins the Residents Council meetings and so many others held here. It’s a Quaker tradition where Sunday meetings are held in silence. William Penn, a famous early Quaker who founded Pennsylvania said: “True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body: nourishment and refreshment.”

Silence isn’t just the lack of sound. It is a deep quietness to clear the heart and mind in preparation for the meeting. Reflection allows us to contemplate and separate our own preferences from what may be a different, better idea, commitment, or plan.

January’s Query:

One of our Kendal Values is to enhance the quality of life and vitality of those we serve and to foster a sense of community, treating each person as a valued individual in an atmosphere of mutual respect and caring.

We build community here in big and small ways: sometimes it’s in a chance meeting with fellow residents and staff, sometimes it’s through an activity committee or interest group, sometimes it’s in a compliment or a thank you.