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
Allow the Spirit to touch you through your imagination and reveal to you the truths that lie beyond your rational mind, in the hidden depths of your soul.
-Br. David Vryhof, 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
Worship that Includes – Br. David Vryhof
“The Church’s worship is not for us alone, but for everyone, regardless of language or culture or race. It is meant to unite rather than divide.”
On the Feast of the First Book of Common Prayer, Br. David Vryhof gives thanks for visionaries – from Thomas Cranmer to Dick Mahaffy, a friend of SSJE and president of the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf – who work to offer accessible worship to all people.
Waiting in the Wings – Br. Keith Nelson
“The Spirit dances around the borders or surges as an undercurrent beneath the lives of women and men, palpably felt though never quite glimpsed directly: at times, a blazing fire on mountaintop or altar, whose power is just barely contained; at other times, an almost fluid substance invading a prophet from without; at still other times, a guiding light illumining the dreams or visions of a hero.”
On the feast of Pentecost, Br. Keith Nelson celebrates how the Holy Spirit frees us to receive each moment of life as an opportunity for ever-deepening theosis.
Goodbye is Enough – Amy Nizolek
“We humans are not fond of endings. We would like to step forth confidently on a new adventure with our left foot while keeping our right foot firmly planted on its old familiar turf. But life doesn’t work that way.”
SSJE monastic intern Amy Nizolek uncovers both the weight and the poetry buried in that one small, underappreciated, overburdened, little donkey of a word: Goodbye.
Small Beauties – Lydia Simmons
“We come across things in the world that seem to reach out and grab us by the heart – perhaps a piece of art or music, a holy place, a human relationship, a piece of philosophy or Scripture that brings joy and light into our life. These things are good because they are from God, and we rejoice in them even before we know that God is their mother.”
But what do we do when these things fail us, as they inevitably will? Lydia Simmons, an SSJE monastic intern, encourages us to look past the signposts, toward the Wisdom they reveal.
Refuge – Nathan Leach
“When I am battered and broken and lost, I do not need an idea, I need refuge. I need to know that when everything falls apart, I am not alone, and that death will not have the final word.”
SSJE monastic intern Nathan Leach reveals how love is the ultimate refuge for our broken hearts and our broken world: a solid place to stand when everything seems to be shifting.