Community Structure

At the core, Community of Peace is a monastic Christian community.  Br. Stefan is the Abbot and leader of this community.  He has many years of experience living in monastic communities around the world.  His experiences at the Taizé community in France are a strong influence on what he is creating with us all here.
More than just a lot of religious rules, a monastic community is a way of life that is vibrant, peaceful, joyful, and loving.  It is primarily based on living the teaching of Jesus on how to live happily and peacefully together in love.  And to foster a constant following of our inner longing to know God better.  It is about developing a rhythm of daily life that practically follows and strengthens these goals.  Centuries of monastic traditions have experimented with and developed solid methods, based on experience.  Br. Stefan works to blend the best of these with modern living in our community.

Levels of Participation

I. Vowed monks (all genders) - Core members who are fully committed to the community for life and who take vows, including a vow of celibacy, to fully and faithfully serve God through this monastic community’s purpose to promote peace and justice in the world. This is the deepest level of commitment to the monastic tradition. Those who are interested will talk with Br. Stefan about these deeper levels of commitment. This is intended to be a relationship of lifelong mutual support.

II. Vowed residents - Members committed to permanent residency within the community who vow to support the vision and the mission (outreach) of the community and to live their lives in interaction with all others in a Christ-like manner. But they may not want to commit to the vows of a monk in the community. This is intended to be a relationship of lifelong mutual support.

III. Interns - Those who are pursuing spiritual growth for a period of time, up to a year. They currently include International Exchange programs, Workaway, and WOOF programs as well as individually made arrangements. Interns are expected to heartily join in the shape and rhythm of our days, including our practices of prayer and community living as generated by our monastic core, and to commit to our community vision and purpose for as long as they are in residence. They are included as equal members of the community while here, participating in the house meetings which help cement (bond) our community together.

IV. Visitors - A visitor may be any person seeking to come to prayer, or to just hang out here, or come on retreat. They will understand and respect that we are deeply spiritually oriented and that our daily rhythm is important to us. Visitors are invited and welcome to join us at prayer, work and/or meals whether visiting for an hour, a day or making a month-long retreat. For a longer stay, they will talk with the Abbot, Br. Stefan, in person to arrange their visit.

Good to know - We do not require any particular religious or spiritual alignment, or any defined belief in God at all by those who wish to come here. A desire to share in happy, joyful living and/or to be on retreat to discover your own experience of Something Greater in life is all that is requested for visitors. We are Christian and we conduct our prayer times in a Christian monastic tradition, however we do so in a refreshingly unique way. We attempt to bring the Jesus of the Gospels alive and relevant to the way many people live today.

Visiting may be for a day, weekend, week, or up to one month. Personal discussion during visits will determine the possibility of a longer visit. Each person’s situation is determined individually.

We are looking forward to your visit!

Our daily routine

Monastic living creates a peaceful life. An established rhythm for the day frees both the spirit and time itself. The structured segments of the day are like a slow deep drum beat. We know what will be happening on each beat. So we work when we work, and then set aside all thoughts of the work when it is time for the next beat. The mind is not plagued with conflicting desires of what to do or how much to do, it is peacefully measured out. And there is space between beats that are fully free for the individual to use as they desire for personal interests.

8:00 am - Morning Prayer

9:00 am - Breakfast / Morning meeting & House Meeting

10:00 am - 12:00 pm - Morning work time

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm - Lunch

1:00 pm - Midday Prayer

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Afternoon work time

6:00 pm - Community Supper

7:00 pm - Evening prayer

10:00 pm - 8:00 am - Silence

Prayer - We practice sung prayer three times a day, seven days a week. Each 45-minute session includes song, silence, sacred reading, and more song. Morning prayer is at 8 am, Midday prayer is at 1 pm and Evening prayer is at 7 pm. Visitors are asked to respect these prayer times, maintaining silence in the community house during these times. Attendance at payer is optional for visitors but we encourage them to do so. It is required for most long-term residents to the extent possible and agreed upon. While it is required, it often becomes a deep desire of the heart to be present at prayer.

Morning Meeting - Every morning at 9:00 am, we have a meeting where we talk about work needs of the day and everything else what is happening. While we talk we also eat breakfast.

Work - Every resident or long-term visitor participates in work or service during their stay. Contributing to the needs of the community through work strengthens the connection and bond between all in the community. 20 hours of service per week is specified; 4 hours a day for the five weekdays. Typically, people work 2 hours in the morning after prayer and 2 hours in the afternoon after prayer. House meetings are considered service time, but prayer time and community meal times are not. Service may consist of any of a variety of tasks the community needs done – administration, outdoor work, cleaning and shopping are a few examples. We attempt to find a good fit between peoples likes and abilities and the needs of the community.

Lunch - We do not have a specific time where we eat lunch together. Between prayer and work everyone can decide for oneself when and what they want to eat. We have a community kitchen and pantry which we all use. You can take whatever you want as long as it is not labeled with another name.

House meetings - Every week on Mondays after the Morning Meeting, we have our weekly, about an hour long house meeting. Everyone who is living at the community at this moment attend these. Visitors are allowed to join too. The meetings are conducted by the Abbott, Br. Stefan, who is always present. These meetings serve a variety of purposes, and are designed to strengthen the web of our shared community life. We share personal things we may be dealing with, report on the progress of our work projects, and deliberate on problems or issues that arise for the community.

We also talk about different questions and issues concerning the whole community. Most of the problems can directly be solved but sometime we do not agree and for that case we have a decision making process:

  1. Anyone here can share ideas at a house meeting.

  2. We attempt to move toward consensus or a mutually acceptable agreement.

  3. A council of fully and permanently invested members in the community may further discuss the issue if necessary.

  4. If an agreeable solution is not reached in a timely manner by consensus of the members or the council, the Abbot will make a final decision as he believes best meets the needs of the community.

Community Supper - Dinner is daily at 6:00 pm. All those present are expected to share supper with the community. It is a core part of being in community. If occasional needs require someone to be absent, they should inform the community so we are not waiting for them. Each person present for a week or more will be asked to prepare a meal on a rotation schedule; meal preparation is part of their service time. Cleanup after dinner is done by all those who did not cook that day. Saturday is traditionally pizza day and Sunday is “leftovers” day.

We attempt to prepare food to meet the requirements and needs of everyone. Our basic diet is omnivore, with consideration allowed for food allergies. Strong preferences, and life style choices are accommodated to the extent we are able.

Silence - Each night from 10:00 pm until 8:00 am the following morning, silence is observed. No talking or playing music; the walls here are very thin so we respect that some of us enjoy this sustained period of silence each night. If you must talk with another, in person or on the phone, please leave the building and talk outside far enough away not to be heard.

Additionally, we hold Silence in Sophia House every Friday from 10 am to 3 pm.