Friday, May 01, 2009
Formation House
My friend Karen Sloan has helped launch a new venture called Formation House in Pittsburgh, which is intended to be a kind of training ground to develop new leaders for intentional communities by immersing them in an existing community for one year. As Karen describes it:
I have met countless people seeking ways to embody missional faith in intentional communities. And my ears have perked up when Emergent leaders validate this part of emerging Christianity. Yet, after a multi-year search of knocking on community doors, I failed in finding long-term new monastic training. What I gained was a number of formative pieces, which equip me for living out a blend of prayer and work with a community. Now in God’s unexpected ways I find myself organizing a foundational year, for others to become leaders with intentional Christian communities, sharing rhythms of prayer and work.I'm really excited about this. There is a lot of interest right now around the whole idea of neo-monasticism and intentional communities, but so many people who would like to embrace this lifestyle have no idea how to get started. That's why I'm thrilled to see some structures being put into place to help train people in this way of life and begin to multiply the movement.
If you want to know more, or are possibly interested in applying to be a part of Formation House, click here.
Labels: emerging church, neo-monasticism
This is very cool - thanks for sharing it, Mike. I wish them well and hope it's around for years to come. Once the student loans are paid off and I'm free of those kinds of obligations (to empire, I can't help adding), this might be really enticing.