Order of the Shepherd's Heart :: Communities Directory

Forming Formed: 1997 Established: 1997

This page last updated:11/21/2012

Order of the Shepherd's Heart

Eureka Springs, Arkansas,

United States

The Order of the Shepherd’s Heart is an ecumenical covenant community which, while being part of the Celtic Catholic tradition, belongs to no particular jurisdiction or denomination. We are Celtic in spirit, ecumenical in scope, and celebrate a deeply mystical and sacramental approach to the Christian faith. Shepherd's Heart is composed of men and women in single, celibate, committed, and or open lifestyles who have been called as a domestic and monastic spiritual family into deep love relationships with and in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our example; the Scriptures are our rule; Love is our law.

The Order does not exist to govern every detail of the members’ lives, but to provide support and love, direction and shared experience, encouragement and constructive criticism in our never-ending quest to become “the glory of God: the human person fully alive.”

True to our motto: “Rege Quod est Devium – Bring Back the Wandering” we strive to offer safe pasture and sanctuary within our Order for all wandering Christians who would seek a more intimate union with God and one another. To these ends we offer our Order to any and all who would want to struggle with us to live such a life of “intentional intimacy,” being radically inclusive and turning no one away.

While recognizing the goodness of all creation and humankind, the life of the community is intentionally counter-culture. We are an alternative society living within and alongside the modern secular society, without being a part of it. We are also an expression of renewal and reform within the Church.

Being inclusive, we practice radical hospitality and do not discriminate and hold no regard for a person’s race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, preference, relationship status, nationality, socioeconomic class, nor a person’s state of grace. We are fully committed to inclusivity and our support for the LGBTQIAPP (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, questioning, intersexual, asexual, pansexual, polyamorous) and anyone who would seek to find a spiritual home within the Shepherd’s Heart is unwavering and unapologetic.

We strive to be a model of ecological living as well as an example of what it means to be a Celtic Christian, following the Prince of Peace in the 21st century. We are committed to nonviolence, egalitarianism, radical diversity, spiritual mysticism, sustainable living, and the breakdown of culturally constructed gender roles.

Status: Seeking Members

Website: http://www.shepherds-heart.org

Contact:

Abbot Brian E. Brown, OSH
P.O. Box 493
Eureka Springs, Arkansas 72632 United States

Community location is placed at the center of the zip/postal code, city/state, or city/country (not based on street addresses)

Former/Other Names: Celi De, Culdees, Compaions of God

This page last updated:11/21/2012

Visitors Accepted

Visitor Process: For more information about visiting or worshiping with our community please email us or write to us.

Statement of Housing Non-discrimination:

Our community does not discriminate in regards to housing based on race/color, national origin, religion, sex/gender, family status (i.e. having children, not having children, or being pregnant), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, ancestry, source of income, age, creed, personal appearance, political affiliation, HIV infection, military/veteran status, unfavorable military discharge, gender identity or expression, receiving public assistance, or being the victim of domestic abuse.

Our community is a legally sanctioned church or religious organization and living in our community is restricted to members of that religion as allowed by law. Our religion does not discriminate based on race, color, or national origin. Housing in our community is non-commercial (i.e. not intended to make a profit).

Our community does not provide land or housing and is therefore not subject to fair housing laws.

Population Members(adults and children): 5 (Currently our membership is scattered in and around the Ozark Mountains.) Non-member Residents: (We pride ourselves on hospitality and welcome all to visit.) Open to new members: Yes (We are always open to new members and those seeking what we have to offer.)	Government Decision Making: By consensus Identified Leader: Yes (We are shepherded by an abbot who has been elected to that office. He acts mainly as a pastor and spiritual adviser to the group.) Leadership Core Group: Yes	Labor and Money Financial Style: Members have independent finances (A donation of a tithe is encouraged for the growth of the community.) Open to Members with Pre-existing Debt: Yes Labor Contribution: Expected (By all conceivable means we seek to make our brothers’ and sisters’ burdens lighter, taking into ourselves sacrificially whatever we can, and making their joy more triumphant.) Join Fee: No Regular Fees: No (A donation of a tithe is encouraged for the growth of the community.)
Land and Buildings Small Town Land Owned By: The community Number of Residences: 1 Cohousing: Yes (We currently do not offer cohousing but hope to in the future.)	Food, etc. Percentage of Food Grown: none (Our goal is to produce much of what we consume.) Share Community Meals: Nearly all dinners (Currently we take most of our meals together but that changes time to time as schedules and or desires change. Break bread together is a big part of our community experience.) Dietary Choice or Restrictions: Diet is up to each individual Dietary Practice: Omnivorous (As a whole we lean toward vegetarianism but diet is left to the individual.) Alcohol Use: Used occasionally (We hope to add wine making and mead making to our list of activities in our community.) Tobacco Use: Seldom used (While it's not prohibited, currently none of our members use tobacco.)	Social Factors Common Spiritual Practices: Yes (While there are common spiritual practices we are still an open and diverse community allowing each of us to discover our own path within the context of our Common Rule of Life.) Which Spiritual Traditions(s): Other (We come from the Celtic Catholic tradition and we integrate all religions from a Christian base, all Christian denominations from a catholic base, and all religious and monastic traditions from a Celtic base. Celtic spirituality is our mother, but we are children born from it into the world in which we find ourselves. We see our Order as a reconciling agent in the world, integrating a call to solitude with a call to community, a call to contemplation with a mandate from the Gospel to the evangelical life. We also integrate various conditions of life into one spiritual community.) Educational Style(s): Other (We hope to offer a K-12 school but also support our local public school. We do offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in religion from our seminary, Whithorn School of Theology.)

Cohousing Details

Cohousing Status:

Seeking Site

(We are currently looking for land.)

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Become an Editor Current editor(s): AbbotBrian

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