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“What will enable us to follow Jesus with the greatest single-mindedness?” This question framed Shane Claiborne’s November 6th Couillard Memorial Lectures on “Economics of Rebirth,” and has led him, along with other members of the Simple Way community in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, to live out the Gospel in one of the “abandoned places” of our society. The Simple Way is an example of the new monasticism, a loosely organized network of intentional communities that seek to bring vitality and hope to some of the most blighted of America’s inner cities. Yet, contrary to what one might expect, there is nothing grim about this kind of outreach. One of the movement’s hallmarks is the joyful spontaneity reflected in Shane’s motto, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution,” and in such wonderfully oddball events as a neighborhood Runaway Circus (when not writing or speaking, Shane can often be seen practicing his juggling or fire eating) or an occasional “Fashion from Trash” show.
There is a very serious intent behind all this “holy mischief.” The community’s purpose is to live the Gospel in a place where there are few viable businesses, high rates of poverty, and, by most definitions, little hope. Expect to find Simple Way members brewing biodiesel in a basement, gently but firmly exerting pressure to convert a local gun shop to more constructive purposes, or growing tomatoes in a formerly abandoned vacant lot in Camden, where 60% of the kids have asthma, because “It’s hard to believe in a good creation if everything you look at is ugly.” It’s all about growing sustainable communities from the inside out.
In a time of economic dislocation, when many of our major financial and political institutions seem to have stalled out, The Simple Way is retrieving a communitarian tradition that goes back to Acts 2, continues through such groups as the Hutterites, the Bruderhof (did we mention the Moravians?), and the Amish, and has found modern expression in such initiatives as Koinonia Partners and the Catholic Worker Movement. Noting the spontaneous emergence of urban gardens, health cooperatives for the uninsured (one that started in Iowa now has more than 10,000 members), and other expressions of community spirit around the world, Shane noted that “The seeming irrelevance of the Amish is becoming increasingly relevant,” and predicted that such local initiatives will proliferate in the years ahead.
This year’s lectures provided two avenues, one planned and one spontaneous, for interactivity by participants. For the first time, the lectures were made available on streaming video, and several online listeners used the occasion to text questions for Shane to friends in the live audience (we’ll build this option officially into upcoming lectures). The day also featured a practical experiment in communal economics, when the donated van that Shane drove to Moravian blew a tire and was found to need to have all four replaced. An impromptu collection from the crowd covered towing charges and four new tires. Now that’s community! |
