The Yellow House was started in 2011 when a small group of young adults moved into Highland–one of Shreveport, Louisiana's more at-risk neighborhoods–to begin building an intentional, new monastic community together. It has been a long and colorful journey ever since, but it has been the full-life kind of existence for which we were searching. Since moving in, we have officially become part of Com
munity Renewal International (CRI), which has been doing brilliant relational work in our area for 20 years. They have shown us how to learn and live with our neighbors, so that we might love our neighbors. In 2013 we started a 9-month long residential internship for young adults, which is proving to be a valuable experience for many. We have seen immense growth throughout the first 2 years of internship–in the interns, in our leadership, and on good days even in our neighborhood. We do a few things through the internship:
-We equip interns with the space, healthy conflict management, and relationship-building tools to live like a family with their housemates.
-We take interns through a 9-month study and practice of 12 themes/values, which include: Relocation to the abandoned places of empire, racial reconciliation, hospitality to the stranger, shared economics, peacemaking in the midst of violence, commitment to a disciplined contemplative life, submission to Christ's body the Church, etc. For a complete list visit our website.
-We offer a daily opportunity to serve as mentors and friends to the neighborhood children and youth in one of CRI’s 10 Friendship Houses in 5 of Shreveport-Bossier’s at-risk neighborhoods. Interns also participate in regular neighborhood gatherings, host guests in our hospitality space, and take part in periodic retreats held at the Yellow House throughout the year when folks come to experience a microcosm of communal life.
