Welcome from Br. Keith Nelson

Hello and welcome to our annual St. John’s Day video report! I’m Brother Keith Nelson, the Superior of SSJE. In just a moment you’ll hear from several Brothers about the shape of our life and ministry at present.

The past nine months have been a time of significant, ongoing transition in the life of SSJE.

First, it’s been a time of leadership transition. In March of 2024, our Brother James took a leave of absence as he neared the end of his final term as Superior, and as his Deputy I became the acting Superior. In September, my Brothers elected me as the new Superior of the Society. The role of the Superior is multifaceted, and requires leading, supervising, administration, pastoral care, ensuring the wellbeing of each individual Brother, stewarding the Society’s resources, and fostering our collective vision. There is a steep learning curve! I have been so grateful for your prayers and your support as I live into this role day by day. I have also been grateful to Br. Jack, whom I appointed as Deputy Superior, and Br. Luke, whom I appointed as Assistant Superior. My intention is to make the role of Superior more sustainable by relying more actively on these support roles.

Second, it’s been a time of staff transition. It became clear to me shortly after I was elected that we needed to implement a new staffing structure. We said farewell to three staff members, engaged with volunteer consultants to assess our needs, and have now actively begun a hiring process, which we hope to have completed by the end of the summer.

In addition to generational shift at the level of leadership, the care and thriving of our elders has been a significant priority. Brothers Jonathan, David, Curtis, and Geoffrey all remain active and passionate contributors to our ministry, as you will hear from them. We have also begun more deliberate conversation about their needs and capacities at this stage in their lives.

Attracting and forming new vocations is, as ever, an urgent priority. In January I asked Br. Jack to become our new vocations Brother, a role to which he brings energy and enthusiasm. We are blessed to be a truly intergenerational community, and our prospects for new vocations remain promising.

Finally, I’m very excited to have begun a variety of structural enhancements to the Fellowship of St. John, which you’ll hear about in more detail from Br. Jonathan. Fellowship members bear an important witness to the wider Church. In the coming year we hope to facilitate greater depth of connection between Fellowship members and to draw upon the wisdom and experience within the Fellowship in the formation and support of its members.

We Brothers could not rise up to the demands and invitations of the religious life in this day and age without the support and love you show us so generously and faithfully. Thank you for the great joy it is to follow Jesus alongside you!

Br. Jack Crowley on Vocations

One of the roles I have here at SSJE is the Vocations Brother. As the Vocations Brother, I help shepherd men through the process of discerning their call as an inquirer. I was an inquirer only seven years ago, so I still remember what a unique journey it is to be an inquirer.  

One of the joys of being the vocations Brother is getting to talk to men about discerning where God is calling them. We have inquirers from a variety of backgrounds and ages, yet the one thing they all have in common is a sense of calling from God. My hope is that through the inquiring process, they come to a better understanding of where it is that God is calling them.  

The journey of an inquirer is not a short one and it is certainly not an easy one either. Our hope is that when an inquirer finally moves into the monastery and becomes a postulant, they have entered into a new stage in their journey with God. We Brothers rejoice when an inquirer has taken such a courageous step.  

I am happy to announce that we currently have several promising inquirers so please continue your prayers for new vocations to SSJE in the coming year.

Br. Luke Ditewig on Mission beyond the Monastery

We are grateful to go on mission beyond the Monastery. We have strong rhythms at home, and it’s energizing for us to travel. Hearing one another report graces from trips encourages us. We like to see some of you in your own parish, school, or region and to make new friends.

We have preached, taught, and led Quiet Days here in Massachusetts and beyond. This year we went to New Hampshire, Maine, Washington D.C., Texas, and up to Toronto and Algoma. Going out on mission is also part of our formation. We further learn to teach. Sometimes we travel in pairs. We receive and build relationships.

It is humbling and gratifying to visit people at home or gathered in their region, to hear the impact we and those before us have made, and to be together. Thank you for your support as we go out in person to share good news.

Br. Lain Wilson on Student and Young Adult Ministry

We Brothers are blessed in having students and young adults to pray, worship, live, and work with us.

We invite them to join us on Tuesday nights for the Holy Eucharist and shared conversation over a simple supper. Our monastic residents enrich our lives in both their contribution to our ongoing ministries and their gifts of creativity, and we look forward to welcoming a summer cohort for an intensive period of work, prayer, and formation.

We have aimed to expand our own reach through three new and ongoing initiatives this year. The first is a retreat scholarship, which covers the cost of retreat, including travel. The second is a monthly Quiet Day program, which is open to all but has been particularly popular with those who may not have the flexibility in their schedule to come on a weekend or week-long retreat. Finally, Brother Jack and I introduced SSJE to the faculty, staff, and seminarians at Seminary of the Southwest in November, as part of our Seminary Project initiative.

It has been an absolute privilege to get to know the next generations and to introduce to them our life and ministries.

Br. Jonathan Maury on Structural Enhancements to the Fellowship of Saint John

Over the last months, Br. Keith and I participated in enlivening online gatherings with several hundred members to envision the future for the Fellowship of Saint John and it’s growth.

Among the structural enhancements proposed for the FSJ and its Rule:

• A web of regional FSJ chapters to provide members with connection, community and formation apart from the monastery in Cambridge. Members would participate actively by attending monthly gatherings in person or online and offering their services as a regional chapter coordinators.
• An annual FSJ retreat hosted by one of the regional chapters with a couple of Brothers traveling to that locale to lead that retreat.
• Appointment by the FSJ Director of regional formation coordinators, those with experience as spiritual directors or in the spiritual formation of others, longtime FSJ members to assist the brother director in forming new members.
• Enrichment of the annual reaffirmation of FSJ members’ bond with the Society and commitment to the Fellowship Rule through writing twice-a-year letters of prayerful self-examination to their regional formation coordinator for the support and encouragement.

We invite your prayers for the fulfilling of this work in Christ. By your witness may you draw others to share in this relationship with the SSJE brothers and other “beloved disciples” in the Fellowship of Saint John!

Br. David Vryhof on the Civil Rights Pilgrimage

In January of this year, Br Curtis Almquist and I were privileged to accompany a group of 28 FSJ members and other friends on a four-day pilgrimage to Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery is the home of the Equal Justice Initiative, founded by Bryan Stevenson, which has erected three important sites in downtown Montgomery that remember the history of slavery and racial injustice in this country and explore its ongoing legacy: The Legacy Museum traces the history of Black people in America from 1610, with the arrival of the first slave ships, to the modern era, noting how slavery’s legacy continues to the present day. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, often called the “Lynching Museum,” commemorates the thousands of Black people who were lynched during the period following the Civil War up to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s. Finally, the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park is an outdoor collection of art works that recall Black history in the United States.

Visiting these three sites is a powerful and sometimes daunting experience and our group found solace, support and creative energy from encountering the ugly truths of our past together. Curtis and I hope to lead a second pilgrimage in 2026, this one specifically for young adults.  Watch the SSJE website for further information. For a look at the three EJI sites, visit legacysites@eji.org.

Br. Geoffrey Tristram on Latino/a Ministry

During this past year I have continued to take part in the life of the Spanish-speaking community called the ‘Orden de la Epifania’. Members live in the US as well as Colombia and Ecuador, and thanks to Zoom I have been able to take part in discussions and to help in teaching the novices.

Nearer to home, I have been involved in ministry with the Latino/a communities here in the diocese of Massachusetts. On August 3 I led a retreat with Deacon Ema Rosero for the Vestry of St. Luke’s – San Lucas, Chelsea at Adelynrood. It was called ‘All my fresh springs are in you.’

Then on March 15 this year we led a retreat for ‘Las Damas de la Fuente’ a group of women from Chelsea, which was held at Allston Abbey, and called ‘Descansar en el Abrazo de Dios’.

On April 12 we led a bilingual retreat for members of St Anne’s Church Lowell, Trinity Church Haverill, and Grace Church Lawrence. It was called, ‘Do not fear, for I am with you.’

It has been a great privilege for me to share in this ministry and in the lives of our Latino brothers and sisters, who are among those who are most affected by these uncertain and fearful times.

Br. Curtis on Prison Ministry

My Brother David and I share in ministry in a state prison and in correspondence with prisoners.

• a matter of obedience. We read in the Letter to the Hebrews: “Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.” I think we read that as a command, a mandatum, a Maundy.
• an experience of revelation. Jesus says (in the Gospel according to Matthew): as we treat the least, and the last, and lost, we do this to him. We meet Jesus in prison and among prisoners. Someone shared with me recently how their spiritual life seemed so unfocused and unanchored. Did I have a recommendation? I told them to go to prison.

The USA has 5% of the world’s population but nearly 25% of its incarcerated population, and that number will increase dramatically. Several weeks ago President Trump announced his intention to add $45B (=$45,000 million) to expand immigrant detention.

Pray for prisoners and their families, for judges, for ICE officials, and for prison guards. And go to prison. You will serve Jesus and see Jesus in prison.

Br. Jamie Nelson on SSJE’s Eastertide Formation Offering

In past years, we have often released a formation offering for Lent. This year, we released one for Eastertide instead, entitled “In Your Light.” You can view it on the SSJE website.

“In Your Light” focuses on the lives of the sixteen figures depicted in our chapel’s clerestory windows. These men, our ancestors in religious life, span sixteen centuries of history, ranging from Anthony of Egypt in the third century to SSJE’s own founder, Richard Meux Benson, in the nineteenth century.

Several times each day, we Brothers gather underneath the gaze of these icons in glass to pray. Our days begin with the sun rising behind their faces during Morning Prayer and conclude at Compline, their faces shadowed by nightfall. Each service, our silently faithful iconic companions join us, inviting us through the witness of their lives to remember the light of new life in Christ that shines through his death and resurrection.

Through incredible drone-shot photos of the stained-glass windows, video narratives recorded by each Brother, and reflection questions to spark your prayer and contemplation, we invite you this Eastertide to join us in reflecting and praying with these figures from our monastic family tree, for as we read in Psalm 36, “In your light, we see light.”