Welcome to SSJE
We are a community of men giving our whole selves over to living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rooted in the ancient monastic traditions of prayer and community life, and critically engaged with contemporary culture, we seek to know and share an authentic experience of God’s love and mercy. We live a common life shaped by worship, prayer, and our Rule of Life.
We invite you to explore these pages to learn more about how we live and pray, the tradition that grounds us, and the call that draws us onward day by day.
Worship Schedule | Rule of Life | Meeting Jesus | Catch the Life
What do you most long for – what is your deepest desire? When you come to receive holy communion, offer that prayer, that intention to God. For it is in the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ that we can know the most profound moment of encounter with God.
-Br. Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE
Monastery Chapel
Silence. Flickering candlelight. Sunlight streaming through stained glass. Soak in the beauty of our sanctuary, open morning to night. Pray, ponder, or participate in the Brothers’ daily office. Service Schedule >
Guesthouse
Sleep in. Pray. Savor wholesome food. Nap. Read. How might a stay in our Monastery Guesthouse recharge you and open you to God’s call? Workshops & Retreats >
Emery House
Birdsong. Meadow grasses waving in the breeze. Stars overhead. At our rural retreat house, we invite you to pray as you hike, light a fire, weed the garden, and bask in the beauty of Creation. Retreat information>
Recent Sermons from the Chapel
Hope – Br. David Vryhof
“Perhaps you are among those who have experienced or are experiencing a deep sense of despair about our country and our world. The causes of our despair may vary, but many of us find ourselves just now in need of a word of hope.”
At a time when hopelessness looms for many of us, Br. David Vryhof shares a stirring word of hope, encouraging us to keep the dream alive – of what can be, of what ought to be, of what will be – in God’s good time.
Healing – Br. Luke Ditewig
“Let yourself feel the shock, loss, grief, anger about the disasters, the violence, whatever breaks your heart and overwhelms you. Share your pain honestly. Let another to listen. When we are listened to, our body chemistry shifts. Our bodies instinctively heal.”
Br. Luke Ditewig draws on the wisdom of trauma experts to suggest how community and communication can help us to heal in troubling times.
Peace – Br. Curtis Almquist
“I’m not talking about making peace. There is plenty of peace that needs to be made all around our world and on our streets and campuses and over the airwaves. That is undeniable. But ‘peace receiving’ precedes ‘peace making.’ Receive the peace of Jesus.”
Br. Curtis Almquist offers practical, inspirational wisdom on how we can receive peace in such troubling times.
Be Love – Br. Lucas Hall
“We are not means to an end. We are not tools used to accomplish something greater. We are not defined by the performing of a function, however good and noble that function might be.”
Br. Lucas Hall ponders how the truth of Christ’s identity allows us to know the truth about ourselves.
Cultivate God’s Word – Br. Sean Glenn
“The soil of our heart is indiscriminate. It will nourish sin just as readily as it will nourish life.”
In Jesus’ parable of the wheat, Br. Sean Glenn hears the reminder that Jesus has not called us to be reapers, exercising judgment between good and evil, but rather simply to yield ourselves to growing wheat for the Kingdom.