The New Monastery

There are four basic "types" of members in The New Monastery: New Members, Full Members, Associate Members, and Remote Members. Only the first two types of members New and Full are currently described in our Guidelines and Customs. A new document will be developed in the future that more fully describes the latter two types of membership Associate and Remote.

Here is a brief description of the four types of membership in the New Monastery:

1.New Members
Those who live near enough to a New Monastery in order to participate in our daily prayers and life together and -- after an initial period of getting to know us and our way of life -- have made a formal, one-year commitment (renewable annually for up to five years) to live out our way of life as written in our Guidelines and Customs.

2. Full Members
Those who have been New Members for 2-5 years and, after a period of discernment, have made a "lifelong," formal commitment to live out our way of life in the New Monastery as described in the Guidelines and Customs.

3. Associate Members
Those who, either because of age (minimum age to become a New Member would be 21) or because of the remoteness of location from a New Monastery, have expressed interest in sharing some or all of the aspects of our Christian "spirituality" and our way of life as written in the Guidelines and Customs.

As an Associate Member, the person's actual daily prayers and the level of commitment to living out the Guidelines and Customs can vary widely. Some participate rather fully in our specific daily prayers and activities. Others can simply form their own schedule of daily liturgical prayers that best fits with their actual day-to-day life and try to put into practice other aspects of our way of life that they feel comfortable with and can accomplish.

It is also important that Associate Members keep in touch with others in the New Monastery through regular communications via e-mail, regular mail, periodic phone call, and even personal visits to the New Monastery when possible. These regular communications are a very important part of the life of the New Monastery and play a key role in the ongoing formation of all of the members of the New Monastery, not just the Associate Members!

Some Associate Members may desire to make a more "formal" commitment by participating in a "Commitment Ceremony" wherein they declare their intention to God and to the Abbot of the New Monastery -- as witnessed by other members of the New Monastery -- to join the New Monastery as Associate Members and to respond to this "call" from God to live out our way of life as best they can in their local setting. Such a "formal" commitment ceremony for Associate Members can either be in a community gathering in person or remotely via telephone or Internet hookup. In either case, the Associate Member will also receive a cloth "yoke" as a sign of this commitment. The yoke will normally be worn after that, when possible, during times of prayer throughout the day.

4. Remote Members
Those who have made a commitment similar to a New Member or Full Member but live in their own home remote from a New Monastery and have a "Rule of Life" similar to our Guidelines and Customs (adapted for their local situation). The Remote Member would develop such a "Rule of Life" with the assistance and approval of the Abbot of the New Monastery. More than likely, there would be two "phases" for such a member, similar to the categories of "New Member" and "Full Member" of the New Monastery as described in the Guidelines.

A Remote membership usually involves a higher level of commitment to the life and spirituality of the New Monastery than would be typical of an Associate Member. In addition, the formation program and process are comparable to that of a New Member and, later, a Full Member. Periodic visits with other New and Full Members of the New Monastery are recommended for Remote Members.

Of course, it is very possible that an Associate Member would later feel called to become a Remote Member. In addition, it is possible that a New or Full Member would change their membership to a Remote Member, either through a necessary change of location or through a call to a more solitary way of life in the New Monastery.

A New Monastery can be formed in a new location when there are at least two people who agree to live out our way of life as expressed in our Guidelines and Customs by getting together to pray regularly, preferably each day. They may or may not live in the same household, but they need to be close enough to one another so that they can gather for prayer together at least several times a week and share our way of life together.

Types of Membership in the New Monastery