DISPATCHES FROM UTOPIA (UTOPIAN FUTURES SERIES #2)
One can quite easily argue that life at the Community of St. Mary, an Episcopal Benedictine convent in Sewanee, Tennessee, is utopian. The convent itself is perched on the edge of the scenic Cumberland Plateau. The grounds include walking trails and an organic garden. The Sisters are diverse in age (20s, 30s, 40s, 70s) and college-aged interns are an ever-lively daily presence. Seminarians and professors from the local School of Theology are frequent guests in chapel and at the breakfast table.
The Sisters at St. Mary’s are vowed nuns, following “The Rule of Benedict,” a sixth-century instructional text endorsing a modest, minimalist, egalitarian, disciplined, self-sustaining, counter-cultural, biblical, and faithful life in community — an idealistic vision, to be sure.
But also, take it from those who know: Utopia is hard. Utopia is a lot of work.
Even if the vows of personal poverty (look at me now, Marie Kondo) and celibacy (goodbye Hinge, I shall not miss you) are naturally your jam, there’s still the patience-testing, herculean task of sharing all possessions in common and respect the communal decision making process. Imagine sharing a shower with your boss, a bedroom wall with your priest, a kitchen with
your most fastidious friend, and a laundry room with your most chaotic sibling. Most of the time, you won’t get the privacy you want. All of the time, you won’t get your way.
In monastic life, putting the community needs ahead of one’s own requires discipline and sacrifice. It’s staying in your habit to go pray Compline at 7:30 pm when all you want to do is get into your sweatpants and watch trashy television. It’s doing a mountain of dishes for a meal you didn’t enjoy eating. It’s not being able to do a last minute errand because the shared vehicle is in use. It’s missing out on fun activities when friends are in town.
It’s also laughter-filled movie nights, a fruitful chapel life, encouragement of one’s individual creative gifts, and reliable companionship — not to mention the reclamation of the mental energy previously allocated to worrying about mascara, abs, or the latest iPhone.
Utopian models, particularly Christian utopian models, challenge this era’s individualistic habits, uncharitable belief systems, and frantic sense of urgency. We offer this photo essay as an attempt to illustrate our ancient yet contemporary, bizarre yet sensible, ever-frustrating yet inspiriting way of life — how we try our darndest to balance utopian ideals with the gritty and tedious everyday reality of living in community.
P.S. On January 26th, 2025, the Episcopal Church celebrates “Religious Life Sunday.” Support vowed residential monastic communities by visiting a convent or monastery, following them on social media, or inviting a member to preach at your parish!
