Common Prayer

I've said for quite some time now that rather than having Anavah House be a gathering of political dissenters and activists, as is common with new monastic communities, I would much rather share in a community of prayer and common worship.

Today, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove announced the upcoming release of a collaborative project called Common Prayer. It's essentially a liturgical prayer book that cycles with the Christian calendar year. I just thought I would share this with you--part of the opening portion of the book is available for free download (PDF) through the book's website.

Perhaps, when we get all settled down in a house somewhere in Kansas City, this will become our daily office handbook. There is something miraculous that can occur when people come together at a fixed time for prayer; but I think that decades of individualistic, anti-traditional evangelicalism has discouraged this sort of rigid life schedule. However, this has only led to disunity, the worship of a "me and God" relationship, and a general breakdown of order in which people are so obsessed with being "free to worship as I want to worship" that nobody ends up getting any worshiping done at all.

We're well on our way to establishing a monastic rule!

Pax,

Joshua