The Wilderness Way Community seeks a world wherein sharing and sustainability are the norm and where poverty, violence, and oppression have no place. This is a world where all living things are set free to become fully themselves, and at the same time transformed to be in life-giving relationship with one another. This vision manifests in many traditions, in many sacred writings. One version of this vision occurs in the writings of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, chapter 11:
Then the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will like down with the young goat;
The calf and the lion cub will graze together,
And a little child will lead them…
There will be no harm, no destruction
Anywhere in my holy mountain.
The Wilderness Way Community seeks to embody the mission of Enough For Everyone. This mission statement is left intentionally short and general. “Enough” implies enough of everything needful for abundant life: food, clothing, rest, work, security, money, time, solitude, community, and much more. “Everyone” implies human beings as well as the more-than-human world that surrounds us: plants and animals, mountains and rivers, the oceans and the atmosphere and the land itself. This mission has its source in the natural world and is realized in human life through science, philosophy, religion, economics, and many other vocational paths. One story of Enough For Everyone comes from the Christian Gospel according to the apostle Mark, chapter 6:
When Jesus went ashore, there was a large crowd waiting for him, and he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. His disciples said, “Dismiss them so they can go and buy something to eat.”
Jesus replied, “Give them something to eat yourselves.”
They answered, “You want us to spend a half a year’s wages on bread for them to eat?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
They reported back, “Five, and two fish.”
Jesus broke the loaves and handed them to the disciples to distribute among the people. He also passed out the two fish. They all ate until they had their fill. The disciples gathered up the leftovers and filled twelve baskets. In all, five thousand families ate that day. |
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