On June 6th the Anglican Church remembers Ini Kopuria, who founded the Melanesian Brotherhood in 1925. Ini gave his land at Tabalia on Guadalcanal Island to the Brotherhood to be their headquarters. I visited Tabalia when I visited the island in 2023, and was charmed by its tranquil setting, cooling breeze and large shady trees (of the 7 mango trees planted by the original brothers 6 still survive).
The brothers and sisters of the 4 religious orders in Melanesia very rarely make life vows, but instead spend a few years living in the communities before returning to their villages to marry. At first I didn’t really understand the rationale behind this, but as I met and chatted to more of the young men and women in the communities I realised what a blessing the years they spend there are. Often it means greater literacy, protection for girls from early marriage and child birth, but also an experience of being part of a prayerful community. At an important time of their development these young adults are given the opportunity to live life at a deep spiritual level.
Once upon a time our own nation was covered with monastic houses: the spiritual engine rooms of the country. Say what you will about corruption and the way wealth was handled by the larger monasteries – at the heart of society was the steady daily rhythm of prayer. With the Dissolution of the monasteries the work of daily prayer fell to the parish priests. There is a faint echo of the monastic tradition in what we call the Daily Office – morning and evening prayer which clergy are meant to say publicly each day. But trying to maintain the practical nature of running a parish with the spiritual responsibility of prayer can easily fail.
We can’t turn the clock back, nor do we live in a place like Melanesia, nor are clergy called to be monks and nuns. But it is important that parish clergy and the congregations that they serve remember that before buildings, rotas, safeguarding, funerals, budgets etc etc, comes the calling of being the one who holds a community before God. The loss of monasticism is real. But let’s not lose its wisdom.