Oak Grove Abbey News

Last night Jason and Heather took the vows (the Oaken Oath), thus completing the original six Abbey-dwellers' ceremonies. Once again, there was a joyous and vibrant spirit among us as they told of their saint-of-choice and we witnessed their vows and prayed over them. Here is the 2nd of the 4 "legs" of the the Oath:

*As an inseparable part of our devotion to God, we commit to a life as Anawim.

Anawim is the Hebrew concept of “the lowly ones,” or “the groaning ones.” Jesus expounds upon this Old Testament concept in His Beattitudes, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We believe in dedicating ourselves to a spirit of meekness, living as the poor of God, in total dependence on Him.
We commit to living simply and humbly, seeking first the Kingdom of God and remaining unencumbered by excessive possessions.
We commit to living in a spirit of humility, through unnoticed actions in a life of service to others. To lead a simple life that prioritizes people. We struggle to place the needs of others before our own selfish desires.
We unite ourselves with poor, oppressed, and marginalized peoples, befriending and learning from them, standing in unity as we eat, drink, and commune together.
We value children, recognizing that they have much to teach us, and living humbly as examples of Christ’s love for all people so that they will live on in that kind of love for others.
We resist the natural urge to coddle insiders and strive to prioritize our time with outsiders to the faith.
We practice contentment, thankful for work and expressing creativity as co-creators with God.
We value and participate in the local economy, as caretakers of this Earth and its peoples.
We commit to a life of intercession and groaning for the poor in spirit, being a voice for the voiceless, an advocate for freedom and justice.

I bind to myself this day and for all my days a vow to be Aniwim.

ALL: May God preserve and empower you according to His pleasure.

Posted by gdwill at 6:31 PM | Permalink |

*As an inseparable part of our devotion to God, we commit to a life of Shema.

Shema means “hear” or “obey” and is the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which says Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

We commit to remain in a posture of listening and obedience before God. We pledge to approach life in a holistic manner with God as our center. We will seek the counsel of those who hold the wisdom of God and will be faithful to teach all with grace, passing on the Traditions and Customs of Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit.
We commit to a life of community, that we will do life together with others in a mutual spirit of availability and vulnerability, living in close relationship with those around us, loving our neighbors as Christ loves us.
We commit to the disciplines of a contemplative life: practicing prayer for others as well as our selves, times of solitude with Christ, fasting to remove obstacles to the worship of God, learning from all who enter into our lives, taking instruction in the Words of Christ, and Meditation on the Holy Spirit, on Christ's goodness, and our life in the ever changing body of Christ. A life of Shema is a life that is set apart, consecrated for holiness and for mission.

I bind to myself this day and for all my days a vow of Shema.
ALL: May God preserve and empower you according to His pleasure.

Posted by gdwill at 6:43 PM | Permalink |

Oaken Vow Ceremony

*Is it necessary, or even appropriate, for a tiny group of people to make life-long spiritual vows?

*Ultimately, it is only necessary to give oneself wholeheartedly to the Lord Jesus, to profess with your mouth and believe in your heart that He is the Holy One of God, and to follow Him with your all. This is what it means to be called a “Christian.” However, we believe that it is increasingly appropriate for self-proclaimed Christians to articulate precisely what they mean by a term that has lost its edge in a post-Christian Western society. We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is more interested in action and embodiment than He is with lip service. Therefore, we have determined to clarify for ourselves the praxis that most sufficiently expresses how the Spirit has forged our souls in Him.

*Jesus calls us to His way. The way of lambs among lions, the way of salt and light in dark and dry places, the way that points to the city on the hill.

*Jesus calls us to lead others to green pastures just as he has lead us. To forgive as we have been forgiven and love as we have been loved. To eat, drink, and commune with the marginalized and poor. To lead a simple life that values relationships more than money or power. To develop the strength to live this life from the power of his suffering, death, and resurrection.

*The way is not easy, but the burden is light. We recognize our need for one another in this journey of discipleship.

*Thus, we commit ourselves to God as the Grove of Oaks, bearing jubilant fruit within a spiritually famished world.

*Through vulnerability and availability to God and man, we strive to live and act in blessed union with all of creation. We struggle to place the needs of others before our own selfish desires. We invoke the Kingdom of God through the proclamation of justice through peaceableness. We invite all peoples to share the Eucharist as part of our table communion. We seek to live simply and humbly, in unity with God and each other. We commit ourselves to be consistently disciplined learners in the way of the Teacher.

[Vow takers will come forward and kneel.]

*Jesus read the following words in public at the beginning of His ministry, and said that these words were being fulfilled in Him. We are, then, quite simply the carry over of His life in us.

*Isaiah 61:1-3 says:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called Oaks of Righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.


In the Presence of the Sacred Trinity and Christ’s flock,
I hereby submit myself unto God in view of being transplanted among the Oaks of Righteousness.

Posted by gdwill at 1:27 PM | Permalink |

It would simply be wrong not to give a head nod to this little link from tallskinnykiwi.

Right on.

Posted by gdwill at 1:06 PM | Permalink |

Random Church-going Inquisitor: "So what church are you a member of?"

Oak Grove Communitarian: "Um, I'm not a member of a church. I'm a member of an order."

[silence, look of confliction, possible confusion, possible misjudgement, potentially further inquiry]

Some of us have looked forward to some version of the above nano-dialogue as an opportunity to assert a coded phrase about our identity in Christ as expressed through Abbey-life. To my knowledge, however, this sequence has not happened in actual fact yet. Perhaps it never will. No matter.

My point today is simply to raise the awareness that 4 out of 6 of us original Abbey-dwellers have now taken the Oaken Oath, a vow in the updated spirit of monasticism that we have all agreed to honor - by the mercy of God - for the rest of our lives. Jolie and I took the vow on Pentacost Sunday, and Sean and Melissa took it last Sunday night. On June 25, Jason and Heather will take it. There will hopefully be some more takers pepperred about the course of the next year as well. The intention is to take these vows after living in community for a year. Each of the 6 of us have chosen an "adopted saint" [not necessarily canonized, and not a patron in the Roman Catholic sense; rather, a person in Christian history that we find significant identification with and inspiration from] and done research about our choice. Over dinner, we share the story of our chosen saint as the final task of preparation for taking the vow.

As for the vows themselves, all of us contributed to the praying, talking, visioning and writing process. The ceremony itself is 4 pages long. Perhaps we'll share them here in installments...

Posted by gdwill at 12:46 PM | Permalink |

This monster tomato came from our garden last week. We've also been enjoying green beans and fresh herbs. In addition to a bumper crop of tomatoes, the cucumbers and peppers look like they'll be hearty this season, too!

Posted by Jolie at 7:21 PM | Permalink |

No one cooked tonight, but it is the feast night of Justin Martyr in the Orthodox calendar. He's a figure that looms pretty large in the 2nd Century life of the Church, definitely worth a quick reminder look-see.

In case you are wondering why the Abbey blog has been so scarse lately, there are a host of reasons and I'll mention a few:

We are currently utilizing most of our computer writing moments in preparation for a series of Sunday night vow-taking ceremonies. Jolie and myself will be the first to take these vows this coming Sunday night, Pentacost. When we have finalized the vows, we will hopefully post them as part of a rennovated Oak Grove Abbey website in the near future.

In the mean time, long time Abbey dweller, Sean and his wife Melissa recently moved into their new home over on the East Side. Heather will also be moving in with them in early June. This represents the first grafting of the Oaken vision elsewhere -- the house is apropriately located on Oak Springs road. We are super-exited about what God is stirring in Sean, Melissa and Heather's hearts to embody Christ in a poor and needy neighborhood.

This has made the dynamics at the Abbey in flux, as we are preparing for several new people to move in. Andy, if you recall, moved in over Holy Week. Angelic will be moving in in mid-June. Dave will be moving in later in July. We are still still finalizing at least one more male to move in over the summer as well. All is well...

Posted by gdwill at 6:52 PM | Permalink |