ETC: New Monasticism - No Habits Needed
February 10th, 2006 by AjI attended a breakout session facilitated by Karen Ward, ěAbbessî of Church of the Apostles located in the Fremont district in Seattle (hey: Iíve been there! To Fremont - not so much to the church, sadly). It was hard to choose which breakout session to go to: I was looking for one that fit with evangelism (since thatís the Board that helped sponsor my trip so that I will do a workshop at Yearly Meeting), but none spoke directly to it - probably because evangelism should occur as a bi-product of listening to Christ rather than something we try and teach ourselves, eh? Karen is one of the few female voices I hear out in the emerging blogosphere, and she lives so close, so I wanted to connect with her. Plus, what Quaker wouldnít be drawn to monasticism?!! Seriously.
Karenís story.
Karen was an ordained priest (Episcopal or Lutheran) in Chicago, trying to plant a church, but wasnít getting a good vibe from the higher-ups. She went to Seattle where her ache to create a church where non-churched friends could find the welcome/hospitality of God - a prodigal church - open space - a safe place to ask questions.
Karen believes that there is one Christian/catholic tradition rather than overlays of different practices/theologies. Basically, denominations have a certain attentiveness to different elements of Christianity. Each denomination is similar to an order in the Catholic church (Dominican, Franciscan, Quaker, Lutheran, etc.). Questions to ask would be ěhow do you go deeper into/become more attentive to the traditions of my order? What needs to be lifted up?î We donít necessarily need to look to new traditions: lift up the old/practiced. Rather than calling traditions ěnon-Christian,î they are simply ěnot part of this communityís tradition.î
Her gathering has forms that they follow: they look at the rhythm and intent of life. They seek a way of living more attentively. The gathering follows the yearly/seasonal calendar - it sets the rhythm for the church year. Holistic living: everything is worship.
Just like an abbey, they have different levels of belonging - from visitors to pilgrims (extended visitors) to monks (four men actually live in the building).
Their building has a steeple - something that calls the community to worship (noon day prayers, etc.).
They focus on being incarnational rather than missional: incarnational acknowledges that we are all being constantly converted by Christ, and out of that we invite others to participate (missional).
They are developing practices and a rule of life - this is more than a mission and/or vision statement: itís a covenant within the community. Itís a way to describe bonds within the community: not if, but how do you belong.
Exclusion is not an option: participants are agreeing to embrace a certain way of living. Lifestyle is a doctrinal statement: no ělifestyle agreementî other than the greatest commandment - love God and love your neighbor. Because it is a lifestyle, there is no programmical courses - not because they are opposed to it, but rather because they are continuously talking about reflecting. They practice the embrace of God - itís not our welcome, but God welcoming us; therefore, there can be no exclusion (the parables of the wedding banquet and the prodigal son are very important to them).
They school themselves in the traditions of monasticism before they have created their rule - rules can vary from vague to very practical (this is when you put the gardening tools away and how to do it). They are working these rules into their own lifestyle. They try to exercise discipline within community: not hierarchical, but rather listening and discerning in community. Giving freedom for the Spirit to lead the community to Truth can be messy, but itís what weíre called to do.
Monasteries are self-supporting; therefore, they are looking to do something to be self-sustaining in a way that reflects their community (which happens to be a community of artists, so theyíve got some crazy artistic plans happening).
Resources:
Schools of Conversion: 12 Marks of Monasticism
New Monasticism
Celtic Monasticism
Rachelle Mee-Chapman
The idea of living such an intentional life greatly excited me: I know of many peers who ache for such a life. I wonder how it could be lived out in the suburbs . . .
Posted in Emerging |