New Monasticism

'The restoration of the Church must surely come from a new kind of monasticism, which will have only one thing in common with the old, a life lived without compromise according to the Sermon on the Mount in the following of Jesus.  I believe the time has come to gather people together for this.'

Could have come from any of the recent books, papers and conferences on the subject of Fresh Expressions and new monasticism.  Actually it is from a letter written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his brother on 14 January 1935!  It is quoted by Ray Simpson in his recent excellent book, 'High Street Monasteries' (Kevin Mayhew, 2009). 

The book is well worth a read for those involved in pioneering fresh ways of being church as it includes a really useful survey of the older and more recent expressions of monasticism, describes some contemporary examples, and offers a vision for the future.  I love his idea of 'Villages of God' and the diagram on p.102 is brilliant. It's quite a slim book and a bit pricey at £9.99, but worth getting hold of.