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 LifeCatch the Life

Covenant

We have all broken covenant with God more times than we can count, but it is the very essence of God to be faithful to us. When we have lost our way, all we have to do is ask for help, and God will show us the way home.

Br. Jim Woodrum, SSJE
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Recent Sermons from the Chapel

You Are the Glory of God -Br. Curtis Almquist

By Br. Curtis Almquist | March 23, 2023 |

“You are the glory of God, God’s unique dwelling place, like in none other. And so our invitation in life is create a space within us where God’s glory can dwell, and from where God’s glory can swell. Create a space where God can be at home within you.”

Br. Curtis Almquist urges us to claim the truth that we are the glory of God.

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Blind See – Br. Luke Ditewig

By Br. Luke Ditewig | March 19, 2023 |

“Dear friends, what is your poverty? Where are you in touch most now with your fragility, your weakness, your need? As to the one born blind, Jesus comes here, particularly in these places, to meet you with power in mercy and compassion.”

In Lent, Br. Luke Ditewig encourages us to admit the ways that we are blind, so that we can trust Jesus to meet us there and help us see.

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Insight – Br. Luke Ditewig

By Br. Luke Ditewig | March 18, 2023 |

“Distractions can be good, bad, or just busy. Distractions untethered can take us far afield such that we forget where we are and where we meant to be. We can end up trusting in ourselves rather than trusting God.”

Br. Luke Ditewig invites us to consider where we might be off track.

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Living Water – Br. James Koester

By Br. James Koester | March 12, 2023 |

“The story of the Samaritan woman is a story of longing for connection and reconnection, not only to the communities from which we come, but a connection to God who calls us from our past, into a future, God’s future, where we know ourselves to be born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”

Br. James Koester dives deep into the story of the Samaritan woman, to find a reminder that we are invited to become God’s children, no matter what.

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God Does Not Acquiesce; God Celebrates – Br. Curtis Almquist

By Br. Curtis Almquist | March 11, 2023 |

“Every single one of us is more than the worst thing we have ever done. There is a child inside each of us whom God knows and adores, and that is by God’s grace. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve but which God desires.”

Br. Curtis Almquist reminds us that we belong to God, no matter what.

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