“Blessed are you who formed us with wisdom and created within us many openings and many cavities . . ”
“From “Prayer for Going to the Bathroom”, One of the many prayers from Urban Monastery, a good Wiki based site. Other good prayers are there, such as Prayer for Washing the Dishes
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Our Celtic urban monastery experiment in uber-urban San Francisco (1997) was a good experience. Urban monastery is an attractive concept and the monastic form has many advantages over an ecclesiastic form of church. Urban is convenient for city folk, since we already live there . . . BUT . . .
. . . there is still something to be said for getting away to a non-urban monastery. I was reading Thomas Merton last weekend at Spencer Burkes house. Merton said that in going to a retreat, we do not go away from the city to leave people, but to learn how to find people. To leave the city for a while is often to learn how to see it again with fresh eyes.
Maybe we need both. The urban and the rural, the city and the island, the rescue center and the restorative center.
Just thinking . . .
This is my first TSK comment although I’m a long time reader.
I truly believe we do need both. ‘Both/and’ is one of my life mantras. Very little in life is or has to be ‘either/or’. Different mindsets, different wiring require different approaches.
I’m wired fast and feed off the rush of an urban environment. I have a close friend who is wired very slow and needs the reflective atmosphere of an rurul environment. We inspire each other to look at life & faith through different eyes.
BTW, I love this blog. Thanks Andrew.
Prayer for going to the bathroom
“Blessed are you who formed us with wisdom and created within us many openings and many cavities. If but one of them were open that should be blocked or blocked that should be open it would be impossible to stand before You…Urban Monastery via Tall S…