Community.  It was not a new word to me, nor a new experience.  I have always been a member of a community, and multiple communities from family to work to my faith.  This course increased my appreciation for these communities through an immersion at St. Andrews Abbey in Valyermo, California. 

 

I drove down to the immersion with my wife, and we visited my family (community) before and after the experience. 

 

During the immersion, we were participant observers.  We followed the schedule of the monastery, participated in the services (vigil, laude, mass, laude, and compline/benediction). 

 

We participated in the silence from compline through breakfast then next day.  The greatest take away from this immersion was the sense of community, the silence, the contemplation, and one shared statement that impacted me most – “we don’t have to like everybody, but we are commanded to love another”. 

 

The experience has changed my view on my faith community and resulted in a renewed commitment to become an active member again.  Wrapping up this course, we are preparing a final paper that shows our view of community, how it has changed, and how we put new actions in place in our own communities – as modeled by the Abbey experience. 

 

This was my last course in the MA Organizational Leadership program, and I am glad I saved this course for last.  It was a great way to remind myself of my communities, and my roles inside them.

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The representative artifact for this course - for now - is our group photo.  I am currently finalizing this course as of the completion of this portfolio.