After nearly 30 years of teaching at a private college, I am
seldom blown away by a chapel service. You could say I am jaded; I have seen it
all. Today was an exception. Anton Flores-Maisonet from the Alterna Community in Lumpkin,
Georgia, was the speaker. While explaining the ministry of their community, he
told stories of “Glimpses of Conversion: The Immigrants’ Rights Movement in
Georgia.”
I was impressed that Anton lives with his family in a
community, that the community owes several houses on the same street where
members live. I was moved by how the community worships together and works for
justice among the marginalized immigrant population. I was captivated by how
the community is made up of both marginalized and mainstream people. I also couldn’t
believe that Anton had given up a tenured professorship to work in this
community without remuneration. I was convinced that this community shows how
God’s kingdom can be lived on earth, and as such is a sign of what could be to
the world and the powerful.
What fascinated me about the brief encounter I had with
their ministry, was how closely they lined up with Ronald Rolheiser’s
definition of a balanced spirituality in his book The Holy Longing. Rolheiser’s categories were for individuals, but
they could easily be applied to groups as well.
The first essential for a healthy spirituality for Rolheiser
is private prayer. This prayer elicits a deeper relationship with God. It is
more than a quick prayer before a meal, or a long list of demands for God’s
intervention in your life. This relationship involves contemplative prayers,
silence, retreats and spiritual direction. Anton talked about his own practices
in these disciplines, and that without them he wouldn’t be able to sustain his
life of activism. Most churches advocate some levels of this essential.
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| Anton Flores-Maisonet leading a prayer vigil |
The second essential is social justice. Their whole raison d’etre is to work for the
marginalized; particularly the undocumented immigrants in their community.
Their work includes leading vigils and marches, visiting immigrants held in
detention centers, legal advocacy, and visits to Central America to connect
families who have been estranged for years because of their “illegal” status in
the US. Far too few churches advocate for social justice as an essential.
The third essential is belonging to a community of faith.
Not only do they belong to a community of faith, they live in one. They worship
together several times a week, have meals together, and invite their neighbors to
eat with them once a week. Most churches advocate worshiping together, but few
emphasize living together as a community.
Rolheiser’s final essential is mellowness of heart. Although
not specifically mentioned in Anton’s chapel address, I could tell by his
countenance that he didn’t take himself too seriously. When you are involved in
social justice, it is far too easy to wear the burden of the injustice you see all
around on your shoulders. In addition, the community lists celebration as
one of their ways to balance their spirituality. Most churches add rules and
regulations that mitigate against mellowness of heart.
I would add that this community not only embodies
Rolheiser’s four essentials for a healthy spirituality, but also that it
embodies the principles of Anabaptism. They list their values as “generous
simplicity, hospitality, reconciliation, community, environmental stewardship,
nonviolence and a balanced spirituality.” It can’t get any more Anabaptist than
this.
God’s kingdom is breaking out in many ways and in many forms
as we move from a Christendom model of religion to a post-modern multiplicity
of religious expressions. The Alterna Community is a fresh Christian approach to a
movement that is as old as the early church, revisited by Waldensians,
Anabaptists, Quakers, Franciscans and many other groups since. They are a sign pointing to
God’s kingdom on earth. They are a witness to what could be if we, the church, took Jesus’
message seriously.
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