Oneness considers the role monastic life plays within the life of the contemporary church.Using a focus on the life, practice and history of the Shepherds Law community as a starting point, the book broadens the discussion to consider how such communities negotiate the boundary between the solitary life and life within their community.With a foreword from Justin Welby and an afterword from Rowan Williams. Table of Contents:Foreword by Archbishop Justin Welby Prologue by Diarmaid MacCullochPart 1: Setting the SceneIntroduction - Stephen Platten 1. Religious Communities and Their Citizenship - George Guiver2. Northumbria's Long Tradition - Sarah Foot3. Father William's Baton - Peta Dunstan4. Shepherds Law: The Story so Far - Stephen PlattenPart 2: Unfolding the Mystery5. The Skete - Andrew Louth6. Francis of Assisi: A Hermit and His Hermitages - Brother Nicholas Alan Worssam SSF7. The Monastic Sacrament in Life, Liturgy, Saints and Buildings - George Guiver 8. Gregorian Chant and Monastic Life - Dom Xavier Perrin OSB 9. Monastic Architecture and the Building of Shepherds Law: Monastic Life and Architecture - Christopher Irvine and Ralph Pattison 10. Waiting While Running - George Guiver Afterword by Rowan Williams