What is School for Convserion

School for Conversion exists as an education and formation center for the web of friendships that make up ‘new monasticism.’ Based in Durham, North Carolina, alongside the Rutba House community, SFC was born out of a 2004 gathering where two dozen communities named the ‘12 Marks of a New Monasticism’ that they share in common. Those marks are:

  1. Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire.
  2. Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.
  3. Hospitality to the stranger
  4. Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.
  5. Humble submission to Christ’s body, the church.
  6. Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate.
  7. Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.
  8. Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.
  9. Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.
  10. Care for the plot of God’s earth given to us along with support of our local economies.
  11. Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.
  12. Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.

Our Vision

School for Conversion works for beloved communities that unlearn habits of social division by experimenting in a way of life with Jesus that makes surprising friendships possible.

Our Mission

School for Conversion creates demonstration plots in neighborhoods, prisons, and intentional communities where people learn to honor the shocking beauty of God’s image in the classmate, the mirror, and the stranger.

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