Ora et Labora: The Rule of St. Benedict for the Christian Creative

Elizabeth Wickland

The Rule of St. Benedict has been guiding Christian communities for hundreds of years, offering structures that support growth in faithfulness through working, worshiping, and living side by side with others. It shapes the life of the individual as well as the life of community. As Christian creatives, it can be challenging to balance the individual and communal aspects of work that is worship, creating something for others out of our own experience with God. Is there guidance in the Rule of St. Benedict for us as Christians in creative community? In this session, Elizabeth Wickland will guide attendees through St. Benedict's Rule, drawing out time-tested principles that provide a trellis along which creativity in community can grow, drawing on the wisdom of Christians who have been living at the intersection of work and prayer for centuries.