I have just come home from 5 days being at Mepkin Abbey. You can see a picture of some of the Monks that I was able to pray with this week. This has been an invigorating experience where I was able to practice waking up every morning for prayer at 3am, and then conclude every day with our prayers ending at 8pm. We prayed together seven times a day and gathered for silent meals three times a day. Prayer defined how I understood my time at Mepkin Abbey which was rejuvenating and created space for reflection & rest.
I went with a few questions and with an earnest desire to experience God’s grace through reconciliation and meditation. I was able to spend time with the Abbot and reflected on the mission of The Anchor. His insights into our mission in regards to vulnerability was encouraging and uplifting. I believe that the relationships that we garner at The Anchor are our defining characteristic as a missional outpost here in the city of Wilmington. I believe that we are to welcome people into our midst so that we might serve beside each other and proclaim peace to our city.
We at The Anchor have made a conscious and intentional decision to not focus on buildings, land, and money —— but instead we have decided to take the seed of our faith and invest it into each other. We have learned that this is church. Church is not a building, land, or money —— instead church is defined as sisters & brothers who have been sent by Christ and commissioned to proclaim the Kingdom of God is near. I will be sharing more over the coming days about this missional discipleship that has defined our calling. In the meantime, please check out Mepkin Abbey and consider praying with our brothers who have devoted themselves to a life of prayer. Remember that a theologian is one who prays, and one who prays is a theologian.