An inter-Mennonite newspaper, putting the Mennonite world together every week since 1923

EDITORIAL

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Many churches in today’s disconnected world preach a gospel of “building community” or of functioning as a “true community of believers.” What this really means varies as widely as the people in those churches, all of whom bring their individual needs and concerns to that effort to come together. Some churches have discovered deep spiritual streams flowing among them in this way. Ultimately, however, the members of most of these churches return to their own homes and jobs at the end of the Sunday service, re-establishing the disconnection they have been trying to combat.

Still, throughout the history of the church, starting with the body of original believers in Jerusalem, communities of faith that truly are communal — sharing everything and living and working together on a committed basis — have persevered in one form or another. This is a trend that can be seen in communities emerging even today, including two in places as far-flung as France and Tasmania.

According to its Web site, the Community of Courtiron Anabaptists (www.courtiron.fr/en), near the village of Marçon, France, about 150 miles southwest of Paris, stands for a very traditional approach to Christian communalism, similar in many ways to the 500-year-old Hutterian Brethren. But where the Hutterites — once communalists of a particularly radical bent — have mostly foresaken mission work today, Courtiron places a special emphasis on outreach.

“Life is not a mad race for money, pleasure or success,” the community, which has about 20 members, declares online. “Life has a meaning that is far above these things. The meaning of life lies in relationships: love for God and love for each other. Each generation has to learn that truth and thus find the secret of happiness.”

Though claiming to know the secret of happiness might be presumptuous, the people of Courtiron say they take this mutual love as a fundamental article of their faith. Showing this love to others is one of the community’s basic goals.

“To those who do not call themselves Christians, we want to bring the Word of God in all its purity and truth, that they will find the same solace, liberty, morality and comfort that we see on every page,” according to the Web site. “To our Christian friends, we must exhort, encourage and share what we have lived, encouraging by word and deed, the life of godliness in all.”

Meanwhile, a hemisphere away in Tasmania, the Rocky Cape Christian Community (www.thecommonlife.com.au/home.html) espouses these same goals and also identifies with the greater Anabaptist movement. Established on the grounds of a former Bible camp by conservative Mennonite author Peter Hoover and several families from the Elmendorf Hutterite Colony at Mountain Lake, Minn., Rocky Cape also includes a number of newcomers — believers for whom the way of community is still relatively fresh, perhaps even a little uncertain.

“While we have close and direct links to other Anabaptist communities like ours, we seek fellowship with all serious believers — regardless of their background or credentials — that know Christ and follow him,” according to the Rocky Cape Web site.

While both of these communities work from a mostly rural, agrarian model, urban church communities also are thriving. These often take the communal lifestyle in new and unexpected directions, frequently with a focus on social justice and public activism. Because they see themselves as offering a radical departure from materialism and self-pursuit, many of these communities also identify with the Anabaptist movement, or at least its heritage.

Though living communally can be rife with just as much error and tension as any other group of people in close quarters — in some, an insular “ghetto mentality” can pervade like a crippling smell — it also can be a life of many blessings.

Though no community can rightly claim to be utopian or even remotely perfect, those who live in this way typically feel a deep personal calling to share with others not only their faith but their material goods. This calling is an old one and, despite the persistent human drive for isolation and wealth, it is still being heard. — Robert Rhodes