Live your Life in a City with an Urban Rhythm

Where we live gives shape to the rhythms of our lives. We choose to live within the chaos of the city with a monastic calm. We live our Way of Life against the rapid currents of our cities. For one to be an Urban Monastic, and not a sojourner, one must live in a city

We are neither called to live in isolation (as an anchorite or eremitic) nor in a cloistered community. Both of these are part of the Christian monastic tradition. They have a rich history and continue to this very day. An Urban Monastic is one who lives in their city while being a part of our global community. In this way, we are a part of the cenobitic tradition. It may be helpful to imagine the boundaries of a city as the metaphorical walls of a monastery. Within the walls of our cities we seek the presence of God and devote ourselves to prayer.

We live this Urban Monastic Way of Life within our cities. Where we live informs our lives, our practices, and our rhythms. Every rhythm we have in our lives takes more than time. Every rhythm is something that we do. The things we do are given shape by where we do them. Our monastic practices and rhythms are shaped by where we live and work. Living in a city is not a statement of values or superiority. For the first time, city living is now the reality for over half of humanity. Urban Monasticism makes a monastic life accessible to anyone who loves Jesus and lives in a city.

There cannot be a monastic life without the incarnation. The incarnation of Jesus, the Immanuel, vividly calls us to live in our bodies in the places we are. The body of Jesus placed Him within creation. Jesus was embodied, and the shape of his life was defined by His space and time. Every life is defined by the space and time we inhabit; within which we are incarnate.

The essence of our faith transcends space and time. The practical realities of our faith are wrapped up within them. Where and when we live informs how we pray, fast, make silence, love our neighbors, and love God. The places we live create context for the ways we can live, move, and be. Where we live defines much about how we live, but not the way we live. Across time and place, our lives will share similarities and differences. Every place and time allows us to be present with God and others. There is no transcendent way of life. Every way of living is embodied. A way of life is only useful if it can be lived by real people in their everyday lives. Our Way of Life is only one of many ways someone can walk with Jesus in the city. It is our Way of Life that grafts us to our monastic siblings and ancestors.

Christian monastic practices and rhythms transcend space and time, but Urban Monasticism has chosen to place ourselves in cities. Anyone who does not live in an urban context cannot fulfill this part of our Way of Life. This is because living outside of an urban setting changes the context of one’s life too much. With this in mind, this Way of Life is written for those of us living an urban life. It is up to each person to decide if they live in an urban context or not. Urban Monastics live in big cities, like Paris or Berlin, as well as smaller cities all around the world.. The fundamental difference between urban and rural life is the closeness and density of people. All other differences flow from here. Everyone can benefit from the fruit of monastic life. Those who do not live in a city will need to carefully contextualize and adapt this Way of Life. Anyone is free to do this. If you decide that you do not live an urban life, we welcome you to participate as a sojourner.

• Pray for our God to share with you the way He looks with love upon your neighborhood and workplace.
• Reflect on how living in your city gives you stress and anger. Pray for God to increase your grace, forgiveness, and love for those situations.
• Contemplate the ways God moves in and through the rhythms of your urban life.
• Meditate on the ways your life is different now from where and how you grew up. Ask God to show you the ways your faith and life have not yet adapted to where you now live.
• Celebrate all the beauty you see in your city (people, art, buildings, nature, interactions, food).
• Take a walk through part of your city and give God praise for every person and business you see. If you are struggling with someone or some businesses, ask God to share something praiseworthy with you.
• While you live in the midst of so many, pray that Jesus would expand your capacity to love all of them.
• Grieve how you, and others, live in ways that harm or neglect your near neighbors in your city.
• As we live in more dense cities, there are more moments where we are wronged. Practice responding first with grace and forgiveness. The Love of God forgives all things.
• Contemplate the ways God invites you in your city, a place of rich diversity, to be a blessing to those unlike you.
• Meditate on what it means to reject acts of violence in your city today.
• Meditate on how God’s love for creation helps you live within the created world around you.