Welcome
to The Abbey
A Holy Untamed Garden of People, Place, and Possibility
Why An Abbey?
Presence
People
Abbeys are grounded in physical location, an abbey is a place of presence. Beyond the simple building and grounds however, it also encompasses a distinct way of living within them. We are devoted to the land and the ideals we sow upon it and must do so with eyes and hearts open. An abbey is not simply a garden, a place of worship and rest, an intentional community, or a teaching facility, an abbey is a sign of intentionality, to grow towards each other and towards our relationship with the earth. An abbey is a commitment, a vow.
An abbey without its people is an empty shell. We are all deeply touched with the divine need for each other, we have evolved as social creatures ever seeking the comfort and care of others. This is not a reality we believe in running from in the search of destructive and illusory independence. Instead, we have made a conscious and constant search for greater and more healing relational interdependence. We seek to meet needs as we have ours met in kind. To find our daily communion from common source and common abundance.
The Basics
Like many people, you might be wondering what exactly an abbey is or why someone might live in one. This might even be your first time encountering the word. So here are the basics.
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1. What is an abbey?
An abbey is an ancient type of religious community.
Taken directly from Wikipedia: An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing...
The concept of the abbey has developed over many centuries from the early monastic ways of religious men and women where they would live isolated from the lay community about them.
Religious life in an abbey may be monastic. An abbey may be the home of an enclosed religious order or may be open to visitors...
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Abbeys are often self-sufficient while using any abundance of produce or skill to provide care to the poor and needy, refuge to the persecuted, or education to the young. Some abbeys offer accommodation to people who are seeking spiritual retreat. There are many famous abbeys across the Mediterranean Basin and Europe.
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There are also many other abbeys, monasteries, and monastic communities located within the United States.
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2. What is a religious order?
Abbeys serve as a homes to monastic orders and as community gathering spaces for the people they serve. While most religious orders that use the abbey model are buddhist or christian we are certainly not the first interfaith order to live in one, as the abbey model encourages lives of contemplation and dialogue.
A religious order is a community of people that have dedicated their lives to living into a religious vocation. While some who are part of an order may be ordained clergy, such as the abbesses who lead the services at Earthfire Abbey, ordination is not a requirement. Rather, what is required is the taking of vows, the acceptance of a rule, and dedication to a life of service and religious practice.
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Here at Earthfire Abbey there are two vows required, a rule we strive to follow, daily hours that are kept, and a weekly service that is provided for the wider community. If you believe you may be called to a life in service within an intentionally interfaith community and wish to visit the Abbey we maintain space for providing hospitality for guests.
In that same tradition, we provide hospitality for clergy who require a time of discernment, are looking for a spiritual retreat with a focus on land stewardship, or who simply need rest in a beautiful and vibrant location.
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If you are interested in either of those forms of hospitality, please contact us. (availability is limited)​​​
Support Our Community
Whether we are stocking our "Take what you need, Pay what you can" veggie stand from our gardens and laying hens, stocking our 24 hour roadside Free Food Pantry, or simply feeding anyone who stops in; The Abbey is constantly producing and preparing local food for people looking for a bite to eat and an escape from economies of extraction.
When you support us, we support our community.
It's just that simple.
Do not exalt any path above god. There are many paths that lead to god. So people are capable of finding and following the ways that suit them, provided they do not stand still.
Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi