Agape Community promotes simple living, tries 'energy fast'

Published: 2006-08-08

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Members of a Catholic community in the Diocese of Springfield, Mass., who follow a Franciscan way of life added another element to living simply this summer -- they went on an energy fast, spending three days without using any fossil fuels. While the energy fast was a voluntary act, Casey Stanton, a summer intern at Agape Community who will be a senior in the fall at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said, "For people all around the world, this isn't a choice. Our energy fast was an act of solidarity with their suffering in such a small, small way." The mission of Agape Community in Ware, Mass., includes simple living and promoting nonviolence. It was founded in Brockton, Mass., in 1982. Co-founders Suzanne Belote Shanley and her husband, Brayton Shanley, moved the community to its current location in 1987. In addition to a main house, Agape has a second building on its 34-acre property. It is a straw-bale structure fueled by solar power, has a compost toilet and wood cooking and heating stoves.

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