“The church, then… must be above all a school of love. If it’s not that, it’s nothing. Its goal is not simply to pump knowledge into people, but to train them in the “way of love,” so they may do the “work of the Lord,” empowered by the Holy Spirit, as the embodiment of Christ.”
– Brian McLaren: A New Kind of Christianity
This quote puts words to the purpose of our community. We believe that Jesus taught a unique kind of love, as the Christ. And, as his disciples, we are called to learn that deep and holy Way of relating to God, others, Creation, and self, and to live it every day, as best we can. Like all sacred work, this takes practice, intentionality, constant learning, and work. It also takes those who will walk with us, support us, and love us on the journey!
At Companions on the Way, this is what we do. We dedicate ourselves to learning how the Christ Spirit teaches us how to relate to the world with a greater love, in our everyday living. We do this in a variety of ways:
• We commit to our common Rule of Life, and help one another work on it
• We learn relational skills through our “School of Love”
– We read the scriptures with a particular eye on seeing how Jesus teaches and models healthy relationships for us
– We study the way the Christ Spirit works in other faith traditions and wisdom teachers to deepen our understanding of relational skills.
– We practice relational skills together in hands-on ways
• We engage in learn about and engage in “Contemplative practices,” as we see Contemplation and Relationships as intrinsically linked
• We connect daily through our Morning and Evening Offices of Prayer (at 9:00am, or upon rising, and 9:00pm, or upon resting, respectively)
– We also offer a weekly “live” praying of the Morning Office on Zoom, each Thursday at 9:00am
• We support each other through “real-life” challenges in trying to relate to people in our lives, including responding to real-time prayer requests, shared via our closed WhatsApp group
So, if you’re looking for a community in which to transform or maintain your faith as a way of life, rather than a set of beliefs, we hope you’ll join us to see if our community is a fit for you! All are welcome to come and see!