Agape Community

Founded in 1982, the Agape Community is a lay Catholic residential community that is interfaith in practice and outreach. Located on 34 acres of wooded land in Central Massachusetts, we are a community of contemplatives in action, committed to embodying sustainability and justice. 

Land Acknowledgement: Massachusetts is located on unceded territory of Mohican, Nauset, Nipmuc, Pawtucket, Pokanoket, Pocumtuc, Wabanaki Confederacy, and Wampanoag Peoples, who have stewarded this land for hundreds of generations. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide, forced removal and attempted erasure from this territory.  Agape is situated on colonized Nipmuc land.

Community Vision: Our fundamental community vision is born out of the lineage of gospel-based nonviolence, beginning with Jesus through Dorothy Day and embracing anti-racist, gender-inclusive values. We encourage training in and practice of the nonviolent methods of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. 

In this spirit, we endeavor to live in peace with our sacred earth and all of its inhabitants by practicing:

Gospel Nonviolence

• Practicing nonviolent communication
• Teaching nonviolence and conflict resolution to college students and adults
• Engaging in public witness in opposition to violent practices and systems including war, systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, capital punishment, and persecution of migrants, immigrants, and refugees

Sustainability and Justice

• Practicing sustainable living by cultivating an organic vegetable garden to support our vegan diet, relying entirely on solar energy, driving an electric car, using a composting toilet, and heating our houses with wood from the land
• Standing in resistance to practices, policies, and systems that produce social injustice and environmental degradation 
• Collaborating with communities and movements working to promote a more just and sustainable world, including Freedom Farm, our sister community 

Simplicity and Service

• Eating food from the community garden constituting 65% of our meals
• Endeavoring to live free of fossil fuels
• Serving the poor in our midst by providing financial assistance and employment to marginalized low-income individuals and families in our immediate area
• Offering hospitality for those wishing to find solace and healing in nature

Contemplative Prayer

• Praying each morning with daily scripture readings, sacred chants, and personal reflections 
• Offering residents and visitors a space for meditative silence in our hermitage
• Meditating before lunch with inspired readings, and in silence in the evenings