The Monasatic Fling

So, I was reading the New York Times at the Tea Lounge in my neighborhood this morning, and starting reading an article on the changes happening to social networks, you know, like MySpace and Facebook. There is a growing trend for more interactive and inter-connected social networks. An example of “Ning” was given, so I thought I would troll over and see what it was about.
There are several of us clergy that gather every Thursday at The General Theological Seminary on Thursdays for Evensong and then dinner. We hang out. Most of us have high-church, if not Anglo-Catholic, sympathies. I am a Curate and a wonderful and growing Anglo-Catholic parish. (I feel the need to specify that his parish is more progressive than some that have become quite reactionary against womens ordination, etc.).
Anyway, my clergy group has been discussing what kind of future Anglo-Catholicism has within the Anglican Tradition, and more specifically within The Episcopal Church (TEC). Anglo-Catholicism has alway made up a small minority in TEC. I read recently about an extensive study done by and issued by The Alban Institute, an Episcopal tank-tank dealing with issues of church growth, among many other things. Anyway, the report covered future growth trends and evangelism. From what I understand, Anglo-Catholicism is regarded as one of the very positive avenues of growth within TEC, particularly among the young and I suspect among immigrant populations. Go figure (actually, from what I’ve been reading about the younger generations and what I’ve experienced over the past several years, this doesn’t surprise me!)
Alright, I went to Ning and created a new social network called “The Monastic Fling.” The purpose may be anything, but I stated that it is a place where those who are frustrated with American Christianity might find the ancient monastic traditions a bit more helpful in our desire for a deeper experience of God and our faith than the trendy and sometimes shallow American Christian experience.
Check it out, if you want. I created the space to just kind of play around, but it may turn into something – who knows. The Monastic Fling