By William Steele
I spent two years participating in the Faith and Leadership House. These were two very formative and revealing years for me in terms of spiritual growth and personal development. This was a time filled with mystery and revelation. Before I lived there I possessed misconceptions about what the Faith and Leadership House (FLH) was supposed to be about. I assumed the house was a monastery the house was only for Catholics, and that living in the house was going to be easy. By the end of my two years I can firmly state none of those are true.When I entered the house I had this idea the house was going to be like all the members of the house had taken religious vows and we would all just spend tons of time alone in prayer with God. I realized I was way off the mark. One of the main goals of the house is for its members to live in community with one another. This was a challenge for me because community goes deeper than just living under the same roof. I had to learn how to communicate and express myself to my housemates and how to let my housemates express themselves to me. For me it was a tremendous exercise in vulnerability and being willing to open up. For example, in my first two months in the house I experienced the death of my grandmother, a broken leg, and my mother being involved in a serious car accident. This was a tremendous struggle for me because all I wanted was to be alone. Despite this powerful urge for seclusion, I forced myself to be present to the community and share with my housemates what was going on with me. In return, their compassion and understanding helped my healing process go as smoothly and peacefully as possible. The FLH is a lot like a family. Some days are harder than others and by no means does everyone get along all the time. When things are going well, there seems to be no limit to what can be done. When things are challenging, the world can seem to stop. This is also true when members of the house experience life on life's terms. If someone is up the house can feel it and when someone is down the house knows. Everyone's lives become connected in an intricate web of human spirit. Even though the FLH has a religious reputation it has a social justice core. It is through close interpersonal relationships that humans learn about the human condition. And it is through understanding of the human condition that we learn how to deal with suffering in the world and as we learn how to deal and accept suffering we better learn how to heal suffering. I have seen what a group of like-minded people can accomplish when they put their hearts together. It is astonishing: from collecting and distributing hundreds of pairs of socks and meals to the homeless of Portland to organizing an event designed to teach about right relationships between men and women. I am not sure I could measure or even begin to quantify the magnificence of my time in the FLH but I know I am a better man from having been a part of it. I encourage any and all who desire to live in a community focused around social change in the spirit of Christ to consider applying to live in the Faith and Leadership House.
