ORIGIN, VISION & MISSION :
On December 29, 2015, Abbot Alberic Bruschke osco handed over the keys of the abbey complex (7500 m2 built area) Sion from the Cistercians of the strict observance to the ten initiators of the New Sion Foundation. These initiators – both Protestants and Catholics – had found each other in the ideal of continuing in the footsteps of the monks. They wanted to preserve the cultural and religious heritage of the monks who lived in this place for 125 years. In a Vision & Mission document this was expressed as follows:
The former Abbey Sion (now Monastery New Sion) is and will remain a place where people can come closer to God, to themselves, to their fellow man and to nature through prayer and contemplation, silence and simplicity, manual labour and hospitality, based on a Christian contemplative spirituality.
To concretize the Vision & Mission, the following six core values were formulated:
The first important core value of the Nieuw Sion foundation is the prayer life . The familiar prayer of the hours of the monks takes shape in a contemporary way in the community of the prayers of the hours.
The second important core value is hospitality . This place invites to share with others, with people who want to participate in the (re) destination of this important religious and cultural heritage. Guests and those involved in the community of Klooster Nieuw Sion are welcome to pray and work.
The third important core value is simplicity and durability . In praying and working together, each with his own skills and responsibility, we work from respect for nature and the environment and we strive for sustainable action and development.
The fourth important core value is encounter . Nieuw Sion offers space for in-depth encounter – with yourself, with others, with nature, with God – which is facilitated by male and female hosts and members of the community of the hours of New Sion.