Rule of Life

Following up on yesterday's post, here is my emerging personal OSS rule of life. It looks a lot like what I'm already doing, which is I suppose okay.

Prayer

The disciplines of listening and speaking with God. Community with God in the rhythms of life and intentional acts.

Goal: Cultivation of a life where God is recognized as present.

Principle Commitments:

1) Participation in corporate prayer. St. Margaret’s, St. Mark’s, COTA, Multifaith Works.

2) Participation in contemplative prayer: Walking my environment weekly with the intention of seeing God in nature and humanity, including my own.

3) Daily prayerful study on a range of subjects, Scriptural, spiritual, and secular. Finding God in all truth.

4) Writing: formulation and communication as prayer. Blogging, journaling, and writing as methods to distill what I've heard in prayer.

Community:

The disciplines of relationship. Knowing others and being known. Loving others and being loved.

Goal: Cultivation of a life where others are seen as essential, and where individualism becomes communitarianism.

Principle Commitments:

1) Intentional cultivation of family relationships. Time devoted intentionally to my wife, family and close friends.

2) Intentional cultivation of relationships with those whose experience is dissimilar from mine. Volunteering and working with Multifaith Works, youth ministry, etc.

3) Mentoring and being mentored in the recognition that I have something to teach and need to learn. Participation in Spiritual direction, youth ministry community, Discernment process.

4) Engagement in my local community. Participation on Capitol Hill through musical and community events. Buying local.

Service:

The disciplines of improving the lives of others.

Goal: Cultivation of a life where the needs of others are recognized and met.

Principle Commitments:

1) Intentional work with the ill, isolated and infirm through Multifaith Works.

2) Intentional work in the church community at St. Margaret’s, St. Mark’s and COTA. Youth Ministry, Theology Pub, etc.

3) Commitment to responsible living. Simplicity, vegetarianism and ecological responsibility as service to the community.

4) Participation in my local community, including my housing co-op.