Christian Community and Lifestyle
We live in the urgencies of the 21st century.
At Agape we seek to create and to preserve a morally coherent life in fidelity to our faith and to the calling of people of all faiths. While grounded in the practice of our Catholic Christianity, we experience an affinity and connectedness with sisters and brothers from other faith traditions, and those who follow no particular faith tradition, learning from them and seeking to live in harmony with them.
Radical Nonviolence & Witness
Agape’s co-founders live below taxable income to withdraw support of taxes for war. Resistance to violence is part of our lives when called to resist war, pollution of our planet, nuclear energy and weapons, and the death penalty.
Eco-theology & Organic Homesteading
Reverencing the Earth is the art and practice of living as devoted stewards of God’s Earth. We grow our own food, harvest and freeze our vegetables for nourishment throughout the year. In our attempts to discover a sustainable way of being on this earth, we humans must look to invest ourselves in the fullness of life by giving back to the earth and her creatures more than we take from them.
Faith & Daily Prayer
At Agape, the deep stillness of the morning dawn is broken by readings of the Hebrew Scripture and The New Testament. Lunchtime with the community begins with silent meditation. We pray daily together as a community, honoring a contemplative call for periods of silence and meditation. Poetry, music, interfaith readings and celebrations are key to such prayer.
At Agape, celebration is central to our community experience. We sing, play music, and spend time together after a hard day’s work. Music and song are central to our prayer and annual events.
Our prayer life emboldens us to offer hospitality and service to sisters and brothers, especially to the poor, the outcast, the immigrant, and victims of war, thereby resisting the evils of violence so prevalent in our culture.
Voluntary Simplicity
Evangelical simplicity is a Beatitude, a core value which is reflected in our daily life, our actions, and our teachings. Community members who live at Agape immerse themselves in a hard yet wholesome simple life.