Last spring in the wake of the Lent and Easter season, I found myself pretty worn out. I was still going through the motions of ministry, but soul felt dry and I needed a break. Luckily, several weeks earlier, I had followed through on a desire that I had been carrying for many years to spend some time at the Saint Meinrad's Archabbey, a Benedictine monastery in Southern Indiana. So the day after Easter, I pointed the Corolla north and made my through Kentucky into the rolling hills of Indiana. 

It was a formative week for me in many different ways, but perhaps the most important thing I experienced during my time at Saint Meinrad's was participating in the daily prayer times with monks of the Abbey. Monastic communities are a church tradition going back to at least the 4th century. They arose in the desires of faithful persons who withdrew from normal life to the deserts of Egypt in their search for God. Over time these "desert fathers and mothers" would gather together in communities focused around the Godly life, and the practice of prayer. Prayer became the first priority of these communities, and monks today continue to pray according to a schedule of "divine hours" which involves gathering together anywhere from 5 - 8 times daily for communal prayer. It was this practice that I experienced and came to love at Saint Meinrad's. 

Every morning I would awaken between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. to get dressed and ready for the "morning office" (also known as Matins and Lauds). Then I would make my way into the grand and gothic Archabbey Church, sometimes sitting in the dark until the bells began to ring and the monks arrived for prayer. We would then pray together, using the Psalms as our guide. The monks would be chanting the prayers according to a simple musical system, and then would read three complete Psalms responsively. It was a structured time, but I found it to be a holy time when God seemed near. Most important, the gathering of a community for prayer both held me accountabile to the practice, but also helped me to recognize that I am not engaged in the life of faith on my own, but rather in a community of love and support.

In comparing monastery notes with a community friend a few weeks ago, we both quickly recognized the longing for a similar experience in "the village." I recognized that this form of prayer isn't for everyone, but it offers and structured and communal means of connecting to God, and so we agreed to give it a shot, to gather at 6:30 a.m. every morning to pray a single daily office. 

Trust me, our prayer time is based on the monastic tradition, but it isn't a slave to it. We have our own unique Old Hickory spin, but we've rooted what we are doing on the praying of the Psalms and offering up prayers for one another and our community. It's a short service -- 20 minutes or so -- but it draws on the ancient traditions to help a new generation of folks connect to the holy. 

I hope you will come check out our prayer time some time during the Advent season, or maybe even commit to joining us on Monday through Fridays. 

In doing so, I believe that you too will come to see the value of prayer in community.