July 27 – The New Monasticism

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

This evening some of us viewed an interview of Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. In 2003, Jonathan and his wife Leah co-founded the monastic community “Rutba House” in the Walltown neighborhood of Durham, North Carolina. He is also the author of Strangers at My Door: A True Story of Finding Jesus in Unexpected Guests, and several other books related to “new monasticism.” In the video he spoke about key aspects of community life at Rutba House. After watching the video we discussed “new monasticism” in modern society contrasted to the initial desert monasticism of Egypt, seeking God through engagement with the needy and abandoned in “urban deserts” in contrast to prayer in the withdrawal to silence and solitude, and the reimagining of the church by monasticism.

 

from Ratio Institutionis – The Community as Formative

13.  Communal discussions and dialogues, forms of Gospel sharing and fraternal correction, can be important means in the formation of the community.  In these and other ways, members of the community are trained to listen to others, exposed to different viewpoints and encouraged to develop skills of self-expression.