I have been tagged for the 1-2-3 Meme by Mark at Jesusmanifesto.com. The game is to grab the book nearest to you and turn to page 123. Find the 5th sentance and share the next 3 sentances with everyone. Then you tag five people.

My sentence is from Seasons of Celebration by Thomas Merton a book I picked up this morning because of it’s brief chapter about Ash Wednesday .

Seasons of Celebration – p. 123, sentece # 5

Blessed and sanctified by the sign of the cross, the ashes become a “remedium salubre” (health-givng medicine) and they bring sanitas (wholeness,cleanness) to the body, as well as protection to the soul (animae tutelam), both of these availing for the remision of sins.

I tag Jason, Christine, Pat, Matt and David.

Update : Justin and Eugene were tagged first by Steve.

 Read more about our dreams and vision for Mustard Seed Associates, the Mustard Seed House and the Celtic Community Project -

Monks, Community & Rule of Life « Godspace

Yesterday the Boston Globe printed a great article The Unexpected Monks, on the move towards monasticism by many evangelicals. It is something that resonates very deeply with me personally as well as with all of us at MSA. In fact we are in the process of reimagining MSA as a network of communities with a common rule of life. We believe that God calls all of us to embody an incarnational faith in all aspects of our lives but we all need spiritual disciplines that enable us to live that out.

After the New Conspirators conference we plan to spend a extended time fleshing out what our rule of life should look like. Below is an outline I wrote for our Board meeting last Saturday that outlines some of our reasoning on Why Community? Even though we have been working on this for years we feel we are still very much in the early stages and would appreciate your prayers and comments as we move forward. Tomorrow I will post some thoughts on Why a Rule of Life? Lent – the season for reflection and self examination seems a good time to grapple with these issues.

Read more…

What chores would Jesus do? – Los Angeles Times
Some monastic communities pool their resources and renounce private property. The Billings friends chose to control their own finances, though they shared equally in rent, utility and grocery bills. They all said they wanted to consume less, spend less, so they could give away more. Yet they found it unexpectedly hard to give up little comforts.Each family had come to the house with a refrigerator, so they now had two. They sat on a leather couch to watch Bible study videos — and Jennifer Aniston comedies. Their pantry was filled with bulk beans, but they splurged on kiwi fruit, reduced-fat Cheez-Its, mint-chip ice cream.

Read more…

I met Jeromy last year at one the School For Conversions hosted at The Church of the Sojourners in San Francisco. On the last night in San Francisco, Jeromy, myself and a few other new monastics walked around the Mission District sharing our dreams about our communities. I’m glad his dream is alive and sustained by the Spirit.

Dear Sen. Obama,

Puerto Rico have been a colony of the USA for 110 years. 110 years! We are practically the oldest colony in the world. That’s quite shameful.

We want change. Puerto Rico want change. We have the right for self-determination. Are you going to stand up for that right, against an oppressive colonial system?

I’m listening…

The unexpected monks – The Boston Globe
New Monasticism is part of a broader movement stirring at the margins of American evangelicalism: Evangelicals disillusioned with a church they view as captive to consumerism, sectarian theological debates, and social conservatism. Calling themselves the “emerging church” or “post-evangelicals,” these Christians represent only a small proportion of the approximate 60 million evangelical Americans. Yet their criticisms may resonate with more mainstream believers. A recent study by Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois – one of the most influential megachurches in the nation – discovered that many churchgoers felt stalled in their faith, alienated by slick, program-driven pastors who focus more on niche marketing than cultivating contemplation. The study suggested that megachurch members know how to belt out jazzy pop hymns from their stadium seats, but they dont always know how to talk to God alone.Read more…

My friend Mark Van Steenwyck is quoted in the article. Mark will be one of the conspirators at The New Conspirators: Festival of the Imagination in Seattle, later this month. Check it out.