THE author is clearly a fan. She displays an infectious enthusiasm for intentional Christian communities (ICCs), having lived in some, visited others, and researched widely on the current state of play with ICCs in the UK. All that experience makes this book an intriguing overview of this vibrant but sometimes fragile stream of religious life, parallel, but intimately related, to the institutional Church.
Lakshmi Piette Walker’s unashamed goal is to win us over to the importance of ICCs by demonstrating the transformative power of these “dwelling places” where love takes hold and radiates the divine. Her way of doing this is to present a sevenfold typology of such places as communities of hospitality (Iona, Scargill), belonging (Pilsdon), young-adult formation (St Anselm, Craig Lodge), household fellowship (house shares), church-neighbourhood fellowship (Hodge Hill, LoveBristol), centring prayer (Nazareth, 24/7), and lifelong commitment (Chemin Neuf, Bruderhof).
The typology is necessarily a construction that magnifies differences rather than overlaps, concentrating on descriptions of their different charisms and operational structures rather than their similarities. Each chapter offers sample profiles of communities of that particular model, with reflection on some of the strengths to be found there. The reflection is sometimes a little repetitious, but nevertheless useful, focusing on issues such as formation, sustainability, resourcing, programming, and spirituality.
The author examines the different motivations that people bring to community, whether seeking Christian company in a fragmented world, finding a community that takes prayer seriously, or looking for a group committed to offering the radical love of God to a neighbourhood. She recognises the transient nature of many ICCs’ membership as a strength, allowing members to move back into mainstream life with a transformed outlook on faith and life. She also notes that communities of lifelong commitment attract the fewest members but are among the largest and most stable ICCs, giving aspirational models of what committed living together can offer for personal growth.
Walker attempts early on to distinguish ICCs from what many have come to call “new monasticism”, an attempt that is not entirely successful; but that doesn’t really matter, because the value is in the survey and reflection itself. What comes across clearly is that we have a number of lively Christian communities (more than 50 are listed in the appendix) that are offering alternative modes of Christian living that both challenge and enrich their members.
The book has elements of a travelogue, a theological exploration, and a handbook. Above all, it is a plea for ICCs to be noticed and taken seriously. It isn’t of any less value because it emphasises the blessings to be gained from membership rather than the inevitable problems (human beings are complex), but that does mean that there is a definite bias. What the author hopes is that readers will consider exploring further through Dwelling Place, on Substack, and that a proper network of ICCs might soon emerge. She has given ICCs a voice that is both an invitation and a prophetic challenge.
The theologian Howard Thurman said: “Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” For many people, especially the young, these ICCs seem like a good place to start.
The Rt Revd John Pritchard is a former Bishop of Oxford.
Dwelling Places: The practice and witness of intentional Christian communities
Lakshmi Piette Walker
SCM Press £30
(978-0-334-06730-6)
Church Times Bookshop £24