Our Rule of Life

The Rule of Richmond Hill is a modified form of the Rule of St. Benedict — a document created by Benedict of Nursia in the 6th century to help monastic communities live a healthy life together. While Benedict drafted 72 “rules,” we have narrowed our list down to these shown here. Each week during Evening Prayer, we reflect on one aspect of our Rule of Life together.

  • Conversion of Life (Conversatio): Living one’s life as if it were a conversation with God, in a commitment to personal spiritual disciplines.
  • Obedience: Living one’s life in response to God’s will, in a commitment to the mission of the community.
  • Community: Living one’s life as life together, in a commitment to shared mission and a common life.
  • Simplicity: Living one’s life without excess, in a commitment to a modest use of resources that resists greed and consumerism.
  • Humility: Living one’s life in perspective, in a commitment to assess and honor one’s own gifts and those of others.
  • Hospitality: Living one’s life in service of others, in a commitment to welcome guests in love and a spirit of prayer.
  • Prayer: Practicing a spiritual discipline that includes daily prayer for metropolitan Richmond in concert with the Richmond Hill Community.
  • Racial Reconciliation: Examining oneself, paying attention to the particular wounds of race in metropolitan Richmond, and to the setting right of racial wrongs.
  • Healing: Committing one’s own life to inner healing and to the healing of the larger community of metropolitan Richmond
  • Ecumenism: Honoring all expressions of Christian faith, respecting in Jesus’ name all persons of other religions and faiths
  • Christian Social Transformation: Praying and working for the coming of the Kingdom of God in metropolitan Richmond.
  • Stability (Stabilitas): Pledging to pray and work for the permanent transformation of the metropolitan city.