Paul Hood, Wounded and Triumphant Wisdom Keeper (1926-2017)

by Dinah Starr A vivid picture in my mind is that of Brayton Shanley standing with Paul Hood under the portico of the Cambridge Friends Meeting.  It was 1979. Paul invited me to join a Bible study group focusing on peace, the start of a journey which would change my

White Supremacy, Christian Supremacy, and the Need to Change Our Lives

Jim Robinson Behind the altar of the Agape chapel, a driftwood cross twists around the icon of Christ Pantocrator. The 6th century writer of this icon depicts Jesus as the ruler of the universe, conveying his power not with a crown, or glistening jewels, or any of the other accoutrements

Another Lesson Learned

by Brayton Shanley It was Sunday afternoon, and we at Agape were hosting students from Harvard Divinity School for the day.  We were having a discussion about nonviolent lifestyle and simplicity as I was describing some of the physical toil that goes into a life choice of operating a rural

Reflection From Visitor Marjorie Corbman

Jim Robinson brought his friend and fellow Fordham PhD candidate, Marjorie Corbman, to Agape in late July. The two of them delighted the community with kale salad and crispy tofu! Marjorie offered this poem to the community as a reflection on the half week she spent at Agape:   Prayer

Everything Is Real Customer Appreciation Day

Allah Mathematics Allah is the founder and main barber for the Everything is Real Barbershop at 182 Dudley Street, Roxbury.  Here are photos and reflections on Everything is Real Customer Appreciation Day, July, 2018. Brayton and Suzanne have known Allah since he was seven, and his sisters Julie and Chele

Solar is Agape’s Sole Power

As of June 2018, both of the houses and the electric car at Agape run solely on solar power. In 1999, Agape began its commitment to solar energy when the community built the Straw Bale House with five solar panels, providing a fraction of that house’s energy demands. In 2011, the community

Annual Agape Workday June 2018

This year’s Work Day included a memorial to Pat Tracy, who, before his passing last fall, had come to every Work Day to drive groups of students, serve refreshments, haul wood nonstop, and make everyone laugh. Friends of this “Agape pillar”, as Brayton and Suzanne described him in a tribute in last

Stonehill College Rural Immersion

A Stonehill College H.O.P.E. service trip, originally scheduled for two weeks in Nicaragua, had to change plans when a travel advisory was issued, so the two faculty members and nine students came to Agape from May 21 to May 26. Students were dismayed that their Nicaragua planning sessions never came

Comments from Iona College

Here’s what students from Iona College had to say about their retreat in April: “This is the only extended field trip I’ve ever been on at Iona and I wish professors did more activities like this one that removes the classroom atmosphere to apply it to the real world.”  

Iona College Rural Immersion

This post comes a few months after the fact due to a combination of Brayton and Suzanne’s writing sabbatical earlier this year, transitions in community members, and lack of website expertise. However, after a full year without regular blog posts, we will be eager to make more posts this summer.