urban trappist devotionals
hand crafted, heart powered
Martin Buber once noted that the only way to convince anyone of the beauty of Marc Chagall's stained glass windows at Hadassah-Hebrew University is to lead them into the synagogue. Urban Trappist devotionals hope to be a guide map. Not Google Maps, but the hand-drawn, napkin-based variety that leads you infallibly and personally to a new friend's. (Note: Urban Trappist devotionals may or may not be printed on napkins; however, they are not, generally, hand-drawn.)
The Trappist monastery Westvleteren in Belgium produces what is widely considered the best beer in the world. Yet, they don't expand the operation or export. In fact, when you buy it, you sign an oath not to sell it. They maintain this low level production because they want their monastery to be about God, not beer. It also ensures perfect quality, as the monks have been fermenting from the same recipe for ages.
Urban Trappist devotionals have the same small-scale intent. Even better, we'll brew one up for your specific tastes. While beer aficionados and plenty of wine connoisseurs would appreciate the infinite nuance in a bottle of Westvleteren, not everyone enjoys such a heady libation. So if you'd prefer less contemplation and more Bible study, it shall be so.
in focus
Identity
Growing up is a bit too vague of a term; I prefer growing into. We weren't made as ambling vines winding haphazardly through gardens, up columns, or all over outfield walls (nice though that is). We're more like topiaries, intended to achieve a certain shape. Adolescence is a crucial time for this sort of self-discovery, so Urban Trappist journals will aim questions not just at the students, but into them. Finding the answer provokes introspection, a key step toward growing into God's image.
listening
Journals provide mental direction without personal interference. Youth can very easily switch from a studious mindset into a reflective one as the devotional may call. Where group times of listening bubble over with distractions, journals offer a private opportunity to shut up and hear what the Lord is saying. Considering contemplation's centrality in my life, I never fail to infuse devotionals with it.
discernment
When Solomon, boy-king, made his one request of God, he wisely chose "a discerning heart", because such a tool was what he needed to be the king and not just a boy on the throne. It's obviously preferable to have this gift imparted by God, but having a journal which calls for careful thought is a way to train this trait.
samples
nicaraguatheories
identity crisis
This concept exists in a way that is best described as Frankenstein's monster turned zombie. It came to life, with some amount of awkward stitching, as a Sr High Bible Study series. Thus the bones, muscles, and sinews. However, I never codified it or developed it beyond a string of conversation pieces. Thus, it died, yet it still lurches around the graveyards of my brain. It could live again, and probably in a prettier form, even if monsters can show us something.
choose your own adventure
While the Nicaragua devotionals claimed to be "Choose Your Own Adventure", this new madness will actually mimic those classic books of my generation's youth. One page will not lead to another; one page will lead to several others, each of which will lead to its own myriad offspring. While this sounds like a publishing nightmare, it's really just a page-turning convolution, with forwards and backwards in arbitrary patterns. As far as the content goes, students will have chances to pursue various themes within a singular devotional. Perhaps they aren't really dealing with familial strife, but they are dealing with scholastic stress. On that day, they'll lean toward the devotional that addresses ora et labora (see, monasticism really is compatible with the city).