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Becoming a Brother

It begins with desire. We welcome questions and encourage visits from men whose desire to know, love, and serve God has led them to investigate the possibility of religious life.

As a community, we have recently redesigned the process by which inquirers will experience, then possibly become novices in our community. The first step in the process is what we’re calling the “Monastic Experience Program,” a one year experience of our shared life.

If you think that God may be calling you to monastic life, we invite you to prayerfully explore the links below:

• Monastic Experience Program
• A Rule of Life for Aspirants
• Norms for our Community

 

Monastic Experience Program

Men between the ages of 25 and 45 who are interested in exploring a monastic vocation can apply to the Monastic Experience Program, a one-year program designed to offer an experience of monastic living.

• What is the Monastic Experience Program?
• Will I become a novice?
• How do I apply?

 

What is the Monastic Experience Program?

Men in the Monastic Experience Program live within the enclosure and participate in the community’s common life. They keep the same daily schedule as the Brothers, joining us for worship, for meals, and for some community meetings. Specific times during the day are designated for study and for work. They will attend regular classes given by the Director of Formation on such subjects as prayer, monastic history, Scripture, the SSJE Rule, and aspects of monastic life. Like Brothers do, they will complete various tasks and have daily duties in the monastery. Lay men are trained as acolytes and begin to serve at the daily Eucharist. Men who are priests will preside at the Eucharist. All participants in the program receive training and formation in preaching and will begin to give weekday homilies as they are ready. After at least a month of living in the monastery and adjusting to our daily routine, participants work with the Director of Formation to identify some kind of part-time ministry outside the community in which they would like to become involved. During the Monastic Experience Program, the Society is responsible for their health insurance and for providing for their other needs (room, board, clothing, monthly allowance, etc.).

Will I become a novice?

Some of the men who are accepted into the Monastic Experience Program may feel a call to test their vocation further. They can begin to discern this call with the assistance of the Director of Formation and the community after a period of six months. When a man is so strongly attracted to our Society that he seeks admission as a novice, we shall look carefully for signs that he is in fact ready to test his vocation: a desire to seek the face of God in prayer, a yearning to serve, and a willingness to rise up to the demands of life in community.

How do I apply?

The application process includes visits to the monastery, interviews, application forms, medical and dental check-ups, a background check, and a psychological evaluation. For more information, please contact vocations@ssje.org.

A Rule of Life for Aspirants

The word “Rule” comes from the Latin, regulare: to regulate, direct, guide. We brothers live by The Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, a document that is both a description and a prescription for our life together. The purpose of a Rule of Life is to strengthen our abiding in Christ by bringing rhythm, discipline and order to our discipleship. The Rule helps us to offer the whole of ourselves to God each day and keeps us open to God’s love and will for us.
           
During this period of time while you are discerning God’s call to test your vocation in our community, we would commend you to be intentional about a Rule of Life. If you are already living by a Rule, it might be helpful to see if the Rule is still reflective of the whole of your life. Does anything need to be added, modified or deleted, given where you find yourself at this moment? If you are not currently living by a Rule, begin. Write your Rule in a form and length that makes sense to you. We would suggest your incorporating the following areas into your Rule:

Parish Membership How is it that you remain an active participant in the worship and work of your parish, mission, or chaplaincy, and contribute to its life a share of your time, talent, and money?

Eucharistic Worship We understand the Holy Eucharist to be the principal act of worship on Sundays and other major Feasts. To what schedule are you committed?

Feasting and Fasting We commend you to incorporate into your Rule the rhythm of feast and fast days set out in the Calendar of the Book of Common Prayer. The discipline of regular fasting and abstinence helps to maintain a spirit of detachment, simplicity, and solidarity with the hungry and needy. Likewise, gratitude for the gift of creation and joy in the Risen Lord are nurtured by observing the Church’s feast days with appropriate forms of celebration.

Prayer We commend you to pray the Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer each day. Our practice is also to include time each day for personal prayer and meditation. Whether you are drawn to meditation on Holy Scripture or to the lifting up of your heart in contemplation, you are united to Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. This union will find expression in the offering of adoration, thanksgiving, penitence, and prayer for your own needs and those of the whole world. Keep a journal or “log” of the movement in your prayer.

Confession A brief self-examination made daily is helpful. On regular intervals, make a more thorough examination where you prayerfully call to mind the grace that has been given to you, acknowledge specific sins, and seek God’s mercy. We also commend you to seek sacramental reconciliation and counsel through the Reconciliation of a Penitent at least twice a year.

Care of the Body God sanctifies the whole of human life through the gift of the Incarnation. Care of the body – including responsible diet and physical exercise, rest, recreation, and medical attention – is an integral part of our stewardship of God’s gift of life. How should you be reverencing your body?

Retreats Periods of silence and reflection are an important part of the spiritual life. Just as our daily quiet is valuable, so quiet days and times of retreat are essential in the rhythm of prayer. What schedule works for you? Where can you go?

Stewardship and Simplicity of Life We believe it is important to keep economic injustice at the forefront of our minds. What are practical ways for you to take responsibility for avoiding waste and extravagance and to find ways of embodying in your life the simplicity and generosity of Christ?

Study How do you continue to develop your understanding of the Christian faith in the contemporary world, deepen your knowledge of the Scriptures, and nurture your spiritual growth through regular reading and study?

Friendships SSJE is a community of friends who looks to the witness of the Beloved Disciple, whom Jesus loved. Where do you make time in your schedule and your heart for friendships? Do you have a friend, pastor, or spiritual director who could help you with the writing and maintaining of this Rule?

Norms of our Community

We pray that men will hear God’s call to test their vocation with our community. We also pray for the gift of discernment to know who should be encouraged and invited to accept this test, and who should be directed elsewhere. What follows is a listing of some norms which, over the years, we have found to be general guidelines for aspirants, our prospective new members.

Age Aspirants are normally between 24 and 45 years of age.

Denominational Ties We are an Anglican religious order whose life of prayer and worship is ordered by The Book of Common Prayer and by the doctrine and discipline of the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada.

Academic Preparation Most men enter the community with at least an undergraduate education. The formation during the novitiate begins an on-going program of directed study intended to equip the new brother for life and ministry in the Society.

Financial Obligations If a man is indebted because of academic loans for higher education, SSJE will assume his monthly payments for as long as he remains a member of the SSJE community. An aspirant must otherwise be debt-free.

Ordination Some men are already ordained when they enter the SSJE community. Others may eventually have a sense of call to Holy Orders. The community joins together in discerning this call, a formal process that could not begin until a brother makes his Profession in Life Vows.

Recovery from Addiction A man’s addiction is not necessarily a barrier to his exploring this vocation. If there is an addiction, we expect that the aspirant give evidence of sustained sobriety for at least the previous two years and that he be actively engaged in some kind of support program.

Sexual Orientation One’s sexual orientation is not a determining factor in our discernment. We expect an aspirant to be on the path toward a mature self-understanding and sexual integration, and to demonstrate a sense of call that includes the gift to freely embrace the celibate life.

Previous Marriage or Committed Relationship For a man who is widowed or divorced, or whose committed relationship has ended, a sufficient period of time for grieving and healing needs to transpire before a discernment process with SSJE can begin. We expect a man to have already had a sustained period of time experiencing freedom and fulfillment in living the celibate life prior to exploring a vocation with us.

Citizenship Because of the current visa policies governing U.S.A. Homeland Security, we are only able to consider men who are citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.A.

Skills and Personal Qualities We have come to recognize that certain qualities and skills are essential for a man to be able to join and thrive in our community. Though we do not expect to see all of the following qualities and skills fully developed in those aspiring to our life (nor, for that matter, in the present membership of the community), we do look at least for the capacity for these to develop.

Spiritual Maturity A personal faith in Jesus Christ; a devotion to Holy Scripture; a sense that he is truly seeking God in community, i.e., he sees community life as a channel of grace and conversion; a sense of God’s presence in the movement of his life; a desire to pray both in community and alone with God; a valuing of the sacramental character of Anglicanism; a responsiveness to the demands of the Gospel for social justice; an acknowledgment of the diversity of beliefs and practices within the Church.

Skills for Living in Community Evidence that he knows and accepts himself, his strengths and limitations; the ability to live in solitude and silence; the evidence of continuity in personal relationships; an ease in relating to women; an ability to accept community life as it is without immediately wanting to reform it; an ability to wait and persevere in the face of ambiguity and trials; evidence that he is in touch with his emotional life and willing and able to develop skills for compassion, intimacy, trust, and vulnerability.

Skills to Join in Our Work The evidence of a stable work history; an interest  to study and an ability to learn; an interest and openness to theological questions; an ability to listen to others and to accept both praise and correction; an ability to work cooperatively and interdependently with others; a zeal to offer ministry to others; physical and emotional health; a willingness to do humble tasks; an inclination and availability to accept new challenges; a readiness to enjoy rest and recreation.

Aspirants should become familiar with The Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (Cowley Publications, 1997), which is the most complete description of our life together at SSJE.

The Rule is available on our website in audio and PDF formats, or may be purchased from its current publisher, Rowman & Littlefield, Inc.