“Raymond is the best little town in New Hampshire.”

“Raymond is the best little town in New Hampshire.”

“Raymond is the best little town in New Hampshire.”

This is the saying on the T-shirts John and I bought in 1999. We moved from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire in November 1999, and our first meal was on Thanksgiving 1999. How blessed and true is that… even more now than in 1999.

Now, in 2015, I am here to say that Raymond is stepping up to demonstrate this truth.

Boldly stepping up to make the “Tiny House” Experiment possible, it brings Dancing in the Streets (a way to share the joy in the community), and it lives the willingness to embrace change and new ideas in many forms. Raymond is setting a high bar for the other “tiny towns” around the state.

Human beings top the structure of rules and restrictions here in Raymond!

Raymond is rippling out in truth and life. Human beings are supported by the living system of Raymond, New Hampshire! I am so proud to be a resident of Raymond, New Hampshire.

WPI celebrates and elevates the vision, courage, and wisdom of The Raymond Board of Selectman, the Building Inspector, the Fire Chief, the Planning Board, and especially the Town Manager – all of whom are now extending an indirect invitation to all the other small towns and town governments in NH to dare to be visionaries in a state that claims for itself… “live free”!

This is now no longer an empty turn of phrase.

To live free is to honor, support, and encourage our fellow human beings.

As we say at WPI, it takes a village to live a life, to heal from strife, and to celebrate a full and glorious life.

Here’s to the village of Raymond.