Shape of Life at Songbird Abbey.
A REFUGE FOR PEOPLE GOING THROUGH TOUGH OR UNCERTAIN TIMES.
A Rule of Life
A Rule of Life is a pattern for living, shaped by a personal/communal set of priorities and aspirations, sometimes underpinned by a promise. If creeds are what we believe, and Christ is why we believe, a Rule is how we seek to live out that faith, day to day.
Rule's can sound problematic, even repressive, legalistic, and controlling. But, like a doctor prescribing what medication to take, how often, what to do, and when to do it, a Rule of Life can be reassuring, liberating, and even life-giving. A Rule of Life then is a framework for freedom - a means whereby, under God, we take responsibility for the pattern of our spritual lives.
3 Principles
True to Christ
Kind to All People
Take the Gospel to the Nations
6 Practices
Prayer
Creativity
Justice
Hospitality
Learning
Mission
CUSTOMARY
A customary is added to the Rule of Life as a practical explanation of how the Rule of Life is to be worked out in practice.
A place of refuge for those who are hurting by making room for wayfarers.
Setting an extra place or two at the table for wayfarers to sit with us at mealtimes. Keeping an extra bed open at night for those traveling through.
A place of community by opening our home and inviting people into our living room and lives.
The focal point of the home is the living room, leaving enough chairs for everyone to sit without distraction or noise (no television or loud music being played).
A place of provision through cooking and sharing meals together.
Dinner is an important part of the day, leaving space and time to cook and clean up together, enjoying the slowness of a meal cooked with others.
A place for family to flourish by adopting others into our lives even as our Father in Heaven has adopted us into His Kingdom Family.
Everyone is a son or daughter and finds space at the table regardless of who they think they are, what has been said about them, or past trauma/abuse.
A place of prayer by keeping rhythms and devotions.
Pausing before each meal to bless and give thanks to the Creator who sustains us, reading devotions together in the morning and keeping a weekly rhythm of chapel.
A working place where we find purpose and meaning through manual labor.
Each person has a task and a way to contribute to the family through work on the farm, in the home, and/or on the land.
A place of restoration by bringing the land to health through sustainable farming practices and our bodies into health through eating whole, home-grown, foods.
Recognizing health needs of all present, we cook gluten-free, dairy free meals, and, however slow or "backwards" they may seem, we follow sustainable farming practices including rotational farming, small scale homesteading, and livestock management.
Our Inspiration
Windsor Hill Wood
Windsor Hill Wood is a place of acceptance, of mutual sharing of skills, and somewhere to recover and grow. We take time managing the woodland, growing vegetables, looking after animals, cooking communal meals, doing carpentry and other activities too depending on the abilities of those living here at any given time. It is a place where all can give and all can receive.
The Order of the Mustard Seed
The Order of the Mustard Seed is an ecumenical, lay-led, dispersed community of over 300 members, inspired by the original Moravian OMS of the 18th Century. Today’s OMS shares the wider objectives of the 24-7 Prayer movement, to revive the church and to re-wire the culture, through the mobilization of prayer, mission and justice.
24-7 Prayer
24-7 Prayer is an international, interdenominational movement of prayer, mission and justice; a non-stop prayer meeting that has continued for every minute of this century so far, in over half the countries on Earth. 24-7 Prayer started in 1999 when a simple student-led prayer vigil went viral and groups all over the world joined in to pray. Now, over two decades later, thousands of communities have taken part in 24-7 Prayer in churches, communities and cities in over half the countries on earth.
Our Stories
Tony - 2022
"...Every week there is opportunity to grow closer through honesty, discovering pain points, and overcoming differences. In all of these moments, Songbird Abbey has been a safe place to enter into. Never have I felt unsafe, rarely have I felt un-heard, and I always feel seen and cared for. This has become a safe haven for me, a place of refuge. Songbird Abbey is pursuing faith based living, heart driven habits. They have created an environment that someone like myself going through extreme trauma and pain can step into and feel completely safe to truly recover and envision a healthy future."
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