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LONGWOOD CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY:
2009-2010 INFORMATION
Interested in Christian Community Life?
LCC Boston is a lively community of medical/dental students, residents, nurses, PhD candidates, Public Health students and post-docs.
Longwood Christian Community, Boston
Intentional Christian Community for Christians in Medicine and Related Fields
Located in
Longwood Medical Area in Boston, MA
Our mission is to be a vocationally focused community where Christian hospitality is practiced in an academic medical sphere that is occasionally hostile to faith and often indifferent to the true Christian meaning of caring and curing. We welcome followers of Jesus and their families from different ages, ethnicities, denominations, and social backgrounds. Our goal is to accompany and aid in the Christian formation of people who are training or working in fields related to medicine (particularly in doctoring, nursing, public health, and research).
History of LCC
The community began in 2003. The founders were led by God to purchase a house across the street from the Harvard medical campus in Boston’s historic Mission Hill triangle. Mission Hill is a diverse city neighborhood full of convenience and challenges associated with city living. God clearly opened doors to position our community in a strategic and visible place across the street from the hospitals and medical campus.
Since 2003, a total of thirty-seven people have lived in the community. Almost everyone has had some vocational connection to medicine as either training in or practicing in the profession as nurses, physicians, or public health. Boston University, Tufts, Boston College, and Harvard have all been representative schools. Housemates have attended more than a half-dozen churches. In 2005, the community expanded by adding a second house. In 2008, the community expanded again when a third house was rented for community members. A fourth house was added in 2009, and a fifth house is expected for 2010. Currently, there are 27 community members living together, including three married couples, and five children.
Why Live in Christian Community?
Living within a Christian community can play an important part in a one’s spiritual and personal formation. We believe that the question is not, “Should I live in Christian community?” because it is not an option according to Scripture. The real question is “In what specific way is God calling me to live in Christian community?” As you consider participating in our community it is important to consider if this is the best way for you to participate. It may not be, so there is a process of discernment regarding this. The key question when it comes to community is not if but with whom? and in what manner?
What is the reason that we exist?
The Longwood Christian Community exists for three basic reasons. First, academic medical work is time consuming causing spiritual isolation. As a simple answer to the problem of time, it has been our approach to have Christians live closely with one another. Having other believers in your house creates opportunity for fellowship and encouragement that most Christians who are working and training in Boston otherwise miss. A second problem, the onslaught of secularism in the university, requires that each one of us seek relationships with others where we can pray together, share our doubts, offer insights from our day, and teach one another what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in the thick of medicine. The community exists, not to escape secularism, but to build one another up in the faith in order to not fall victim to secular modes of thinking. Finally, we exist together as witnesses to the academic medical community in Boston. Through hospitality, friendship, and through team efforts, we work together in the mission of bringing the gospel to others. In other words, we do not exist only for our own flourishing, but desire individually and corporately to live and speak the good news of Jesus Christ. There are no presubscribed formulas or additional practices expected of each person in our community. Rather, we do ask that you agree with this basic mission, and find ways – according to your gifts, time, relationships, and opportunities – to bring Christ to those who are around you. This mission is not your personal, individual responsibility, but collective.
Spiritual Growth
Spiritual formation is often engendered by two different but related entities:
Community practices help form us to be closer to God.
Life experiences, especially in relationship with others, offer transformational spiritual opportunities.
We hope that each person practices a regular time of Bible meditation, prayer, fasting, and actively participates in accountability group or discipleship relationship. The community also holds a voluntary prayer and Scripture reading time from 9-9:20 pm on Monday – Thursday nights.
The rub of living with one another also serves as a powerful time for sin and redemption. For example, a housemate might be going through some symptoms of depression. It is in the context of conversations and prayer that naturally occur within the home that a housemate will be uplifted and gain new insight about God and his/her purpose in life. Another example might be two members of a household who strongly disagree over bathroom cleanliness. They struggle with resentment toward one another. Can bathroom etiquette really be a spiritual experience? Yes! Because relationships with other believers, especially in all of our differences, create tensions, struggles, resentment, and anger. Living in close contact with one another is an awesome spiritual opportunity for God to do His work! Part of the community role is to walk with others in unresolved conflict, explore the underlying spiritual issues causing conflict, and come to watch new life and love grow in our hearts. Such a journey in our community is not taken alone. We help one another and shepherd each other into a deeper and more wonderful relationship with Christ.
Will it be fun and rewarding?
For many of us this experience has been fun and rewarding! But it will require some spending time with one another and trying to do some fun things together; being willing to share your ugliness; being willing to be Jesus’ instrument in one another’s life; and finding ways that your spiritual gifts can work together for God’s glory. Living in community is not intended to be a burden but a delight – and it can very much be this if you allow it to take root in your heart!
How do we practice our community meals?
On Sunday nights the community gathers for dinner, sharing, and prayer. This is the central expression of our communal practice together. It needs to be a high priority for everyone and should only be missed because of unavoidable circumstances.
The responsibility of cooking is to be spread out to everyone who regularly attends so that no one is unduly burdened each week. Using a calendar, everyone will sign up to cook for a meal on a rotating basis (it will probably average about once every 2.5 months). You will only agree to cook for what works according to your schedule.
The cook for the night functions as the host. The general pattern is to give everyone an opportunity to share, include a time of prayer, and offer a Scripture reading or short devotion. The host has the option of delegating some of these tasks to others so they are not doing everything that night.
Each week we hold community meals together, currently on Sunday nights from 6 – 8 pm. We alternate weeks in which individual houses meet together and the whole community meets. On individual house nights, we welcome guests to join us for dinners. It is up to each household to decide how they want to handle the coordination of guests. For whole community dinners, we generally avoid inviting guests because of the large number of people already involved.
Located in Longwood Medical Area, Boston
LCC is located right by:
1. -Harvard Medical School (HMS)
2. -Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
3. -Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM)
4. -Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)
5. -Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)
6. -Boston Children’s Hospital (Children’s)
Other major academic centers are easily accessible by public transport and/or free shuttle services:
1. -Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH, 20min by T)
2. -TUFTS Medical Center (TUFTS, 15min by T)
3. -Boston Medical Center (BMC, 10 min drive)
Houses and Rooms
Houses
1. -Four adjacent, renovated townhouses
2. -Six to seven rooms per house
3. -Each house with modern kitchen and shared community space
4. -Connected backyards
Rooms
1. -24 individual rooms, 2 per floor
2. -Mix of furnished and unfurnished rooms
3. -Gender specific floors and houses
4. -One bathroom with shower per floor (shared by 2 rooms)
Rates
1. -Monthly rates range from $600 - $900
2. -Move-in dates June 1st, July 1st; September 1st
Application
1. -If you are interested in Christian community life, please submit your written application in the Contact section
2. -We look forward to meeting you and sharing life and living with you
HOME
FAQ
Why live in community?
Every Christian is called to be a part of a community of believers in some way or another (see Romans 12:1-16, Ephesians 4:1-16, Colossians 3:12-17, Hebrews 10:19-25). Living in an intentional Christian community provides consistent and frequent opportunities to practice the principles of Christian living, to receive encouragement from other believers, and to learn from each other. Ultimately, these experiences help us as we seek to “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
Who lives in LCC?
Students or practitioners in health-related professions, their spouses, and their children live in LCC. Fields represented in LCC include medicine/dentistry, nursing, public health, biomedical research, and occupational health. Those who live in LCC are at various stages in training, ranging from recent college graduate to attending physician.
Is LCC a cult?
No. LCC is founded on and adheres to Christian theology and principles that are widely accepted by the main Christian denominations. Our community has been specifically endorsed and spiritually supported by Park Street Church, Boston. Additionally, community members attend a variety of local, established churches. The community does not exist for itself as might be found in a cult, but exists to support Christians in their role of being salt and light in the world.
Is LCC a church?
No. Although our community is an outflow of the church and exists in part to support the church, it is not a local church itself. We seek to be submitted to local church leadership and offer to it giftings and vision within the area of health care. In this way, our community model is similar to an “order” which has roots in the early church and has brought to the church a specific calling and gifting.
What is our theology?
Our community is ecumenical in the sense that we have not aligned ourselves with any one denomination or contemporary creed. A personal commitment to Jesus as Lord and Savior and to a local church has been the basis of beliefs in order to fit within the community. We adhere to the historic creeds of the ecumenical church (Apostles’, Nicene, Chalcedon), have been deeply influenced by the Reformed tradition, and are warmly open to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. We openly accept the Bible as God’s written Word (although we recognize that the Bible is a complex book and cannot always be interpreted literally), and believe that a right interpretation leads to a belief in the mystery of the Trinity and confession that Christ is Eternal Son, begotten not made, and is the only Way to the Father. Finally, it is part of our goal to develop a theology of vocation-in-practice in which members of our community learn how to be disciples of Christ within their specific health related field.
What’s the vision behind LCC?
The vision of LCC is to be a place where students and practitioners in health-related professions can live together in an intentional Christian community where we can grow spiritually, encourage and pray for one another, learn how to integrate our faith with our profession, demonstrate hospitality to others, and share the redeeming love of Jesus with those around us.
How much privacy will I get?
Each single person has his or her own room, which provides a good bit of privacy. Married couples typically have two rooms (which are usually used as a bedroom and a living space or nursery) on the top floor of a house, which also provides the couple with privacy from the rest of the house. The kitchen, dining room, and living room are shared spaces, so there is generally not a lot of privacy in these areas. The common living areas provide excellent space for spontaneous encounters or scheduled fellowships.
Are house dinners optional?
No. Since weekly house dinners are the main times for the whole community to gather for fellowship, teaching, sharing, and prayer, those who live in LCC are expected to attend house dinners unless there is an unavoidable reason for one’s absence (e.g. working; traveling for work, interviews, or vacation; illness; etc.).
Are prayer nights optional?
Yes. While attending the short prayer times on Monday-Thursday nights is highly encouraged, we recognize the fact that the demanding schedules of health professionals make it difficult for members of LCC to commit to regularly attending nightly prayer times.
Parkstreet Church, Boston
www.parkstreet.org
City Life Church, Boston
www.citylifeboston.org
Vineyard Church, Boston/Cambridge
www.bostonvineyard.org
Morning Star Baptist Church, Boston
www.msbc-bos.org
Calvary Chapel of Boston
www.calvarychapelboston.com
Christ the King Presbyterian, Cambridge
www.ctkcambridge.org
Local Churches
Wikipedia: Longwood Medical Area
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longwood_Medical_and_Academic_Area
City of Boston
www.cityofboston.gov
The Boston Globe
www.boston.com
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
www.mbta.com
Christian Medical and Dental Association
www.cmda.org
www.cmdaboston.org
The Institute of Faith and Medicine
www.faithandmedicine.org
Christian Associations
Boston and Surroundings
HOME
Testimony
Living as a community means genuine relationships with Christ’s love and service at its core. Commitment to each other shows our love for Christ in real ways. The fact that people sacrifice their total independence in order to serve others, in great or small acts, reveals a quality of care that only the most devoted family can know. There are countless times where people have encouraged me when I felt down, given me some food when I felt too tired, offered assistance when I was sick, prayed for me when I expressed concerns, listened when I was frustrated, shared in my joys, given me hope and provided wise counsel. I am a better person when I give and accept these kind acts that show our humility with interdependence, yet reveal the strength of our corporate testimony.
This rhythm of living is foreign to most people, especially people who have grown up in America. Thinking and acting in an individualistic way is what most people are accustomed to. God has given us each other to take care of each other and the world around us. People who do not have others that genuinely know or care about them in close proximity usually are curious or drawn to the idea of intentional people who do strive to create a place of community. At Longwood Christian Community, it is our hope to invite people to share this experience with us and in turn reveal Christ’s love to them. We are striving to be an intentional community that, as we serve each other and share this with others, will impact our neighborhood and professions with the healing truth Christ gives us.
Amanda
What strikes me most about living in Christian community as part of the LCC? Daily, my eyes are opened to see how broadly and vastly the gospel shapes and influences the practice of healing: caring for patients, interacting with colleauges, teaching students and doing research. I learn from the experiences of my fellow LCC members through seeing the ways that the gospel uniquely and purposefully intersects with the work that they are doing. These interactions convince me regularly of the reliability and breadth of the Good News.
What challenges do I face? It is challenging to realize that I can agree so deeply with community members regarding the centrality of scripture to our lives, yet disagree so easily about the proper order for household items. All I can say is, life is messy, but there is blessing behind these challenges: they highlight the power of grace and the benefit of practicing (daily) forgiveness.
Mark