Abbey Rhythms
If you come to our “Green Valley Abbey” (what we’ve deemed our home; a Christian communal living/ neo-monastery), you’ll find a group of us just starting to live into becoming a spiritual family for each other. We don’t have it all figured out yet – not even close! – but our goal is simply to begin implementing intentional rhythms of life together. Here are some things we’re trying so far:
Morning Vigils have been a way for all of us to gather together and center on the Lord and minister to each others hearts in the morning before we head off to our various activities. Since our goal is not to spend all of our social life together (thus cutting us off from others we could reach out to and draw into Christ and his community), we see this time as our way of daily fighting for one another’s hearts. Our morning vigil is focused specifically on who is present, and inviting Christ to lead us through our day in his presence.
Evening meals around the table have naturally become a centerpiece to our community. Almost every night of the week we gather around the dinner table and share a meal together, discussing the day’s events. Some nights the conversation is light and playful, other nights we engage in theological dialogue, other nights we may not say anything at all…
Each Sunday, the ladies divvy up who will cook on which nights, and write out grocery lists for the upcoming week. Living together allows there to be nights off from certain tasks, and gives opportunity to bless others by cooking or cleaning up after them. (Guys need to take over cooking sometime!!!)
Most Abbeys have a garden that all the members tend to for food and beautification of the grounds. While the ladies may have the food part down, the men are working on the outdoor gardens. Tilling, planting, mulching…the closer you are to the Earth, the better you are able to get to know your brother. This has been especially fun for me, and slowly and surely, we are working into a rhythm for mowing, watering, etc.
Finally, and most importantly, we don’t want this to be “all about us”. We are constantly inviting others over to experience this communal life. It’s a lot of fun! So far we’ve had a Fourth of July cookout, and there are plans for future days of celebration (that may correlate to the Christian calendar). In addition to these, once a month the Abbey grounds open up for visitors interested in hearing from God. Early Saturday morning, people arrive in quiet and simply find a place, indoor or outdoor, to sit and listen. Some lay out in the grass, others keep their nose in a book. After an hour and a half or so, we ring a bell, and invite everyone to breakfast, where we can share what we heard from the Lord that morning. So far, it has been some of the most encouraging conversations we’ve had in our Abbey.
We are calling this a “holy experiment” because we really don’t know how all of this will turn out. Truly, we just want to be transformed by Jesus, and our conviction is that we find great opportunity in the midst of a community fully centered on Him. Whatever we do – we want it to be life-giving, rather than rote or just busy-ness. I’d love feedback, and of course, suggestions on other things we could try implementing into our life rhythms together.
