companions on an ancient path
TRANSCRIPT
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Companions on an Ancient Path
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Are you contemplating your
life’s journey?
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Do you want to experience life
in community?
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Learn more about prayer?
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Develop the gifts God has given
you in service to others?
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Follow Jesus’ example of action
and contemplation?
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Balance friendship with silence
and solitude?
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Be a change-agent for the
church and a missionary to our
culture?
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Would you like to be part of a
new monastic expression within
an established community of
prayer and service?
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Then consider being a
Companion on the Way
with the
Sisters of St. John the Divine.
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“Thus says the LORD:
Stand at the crossroads, and
look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies;
walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.”
(Jeremiah 6:16)
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The Sisters of St. John the Divine
invite women between the ages of
22 and 40 to join them on an
ancient path,
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from September 2016
to August 2017
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exploring an expression of new
monasticism rooted in the Anglican
tradition.
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Companions will
• develop a rhythm of life including
corporate and private prayer
• share their gifts and find new gifts
• engage in service to others
• develop leadership skills
• find help in discerning future
directions –
while living in intentional community.
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Room and board are provided free at St.
John’s Convent in Toronto, and most living
expenses are covered by the Sisterhood.
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Spiritual formation will be provided through
courses at Wycliffe College, University of
Toronto on topics such as
• Contemplative prayer in active ministry
• Christian classics
• Monastic history and values
• The missional church
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Wycliffe courses:
• may be audited (with no requirement of
papers or exams)
• or may be taken for credit by those who
are in an academic program
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And there will be discussion groups and
individual guidance on topics such as
• Creating a personal rhythm of life
• Discerning your future
• Integrating monastic values into
contemporary life
• Developing leadership skills for a
missional church
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What do the Sisters hope for
from the Companions program?
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The Sisters desire to plant new seeds of
community life and mission that will help
renew monastic life both in the church and
for the church.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that
the renewal of the church will come from the
“ancient future” monastic tradition, taking us
back to the roots of the gospel and giving us
a viable alternative to the consumerism and
individualism of our culture.
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As St. Benedict’s Rule did 1500 years ago,
we believe the monastic life provides a
radical way of following Jesus. Companions
will learn how to make that life relevant to
their generation.
Benedict established “a school of the Lord’s
service,” and that is what we want to do.
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Who is Eligible?
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Companions will be women between
the ages of 22 and 40 with
• a desire to deepen their relationship with
God
• a willingness to follow Jesus in his radical
obedience
• an openness to the leading of the Holy
Spirit on the path of life
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They will
• be members of the Body of Christ,
whether through baptism or intention
• be regular participants in some spiritual or
religious community
• have the ability to live creatively with
others in community
• be in excellent mental and physical health
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Above all, they will be women
who have
• a love of prayer
• a commitment to compassionate action
• a desire to learn
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Who are the Sisters
of St. John the Divine?
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Inspired by the Rule of St. Benedict, we are a
contemporary expression of the monastic life for
women within the Anglican Church of Canada.
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The Sisterhood is young – only 130 years old!
But we follow a path as old as Jesus . . .
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. . . and as new as the sunrise each morning.
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Our Mission Statement:
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Founded in Toronto in 1884,
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we are a prayer- and gospel-centred
monastic community, bound together
by the call to
live out our
baptismal
covenant in
the monastic
life.
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Nurtured
by our
founding
vision of
prayer,
community,
and
service,
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we are open and
responsive to the
needs of the
church and the
contemporary
world, continually
seeking the
guidance of the
Holy Spirit in our
life and ministry.
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During our 130 years in the Canadian
church, we have had houses and
ministries across Canada.
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founded and ministered in hospitals,
homes for the aged, schools, and
community missions.
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and provided hospitable places for retreat, renewal, and spiritual guidance.
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St. John’s Convent, Toronto,
Today, we are located at
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and St. John’s House, Victoria, BC.
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We also serve at St. John’s Rehab (now part of Sunnybrook)
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and we enjoy rest and relaxation at
the Sisters’ cottage in Muskoka.
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Wherever we are,
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Associates and Oblates gather,
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guests come for retreats
and workshops,
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we give and receive spiritual
direction,
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we participate in diocesan events,
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we make decisions together,
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we play together,
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and most important, we pray
together . . .
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. . . which also means choir practice!
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Our current areas of mission
include
• Providing a centre of spirituality, prayer,
worship, and music
• Outreach to others through preaching,
teaching, retreats and missions
• Pastoral and spiritual care
• Education and spiritual formation
• Community life
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Join us as a Companion,
helping to meet the spiritual hunger
and material needs of the world around us.
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What will Companions do?
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share in prayer and worship
with the Sisters,
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sing and make music to the Lord,
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develop community,
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participate in the Sisters’
ministry of hospitality,
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welcome retreat groups,
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share in some household
duties,
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participate in classes and discussions,
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read and study,
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receive individual & group
mentoring,
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assist at
St. John’s Rehab,
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serve others in community-
based ministries,
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and have fun!
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What will a day in the life of a
Companion look like?
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Morning
6 am Early coffee/tea
Individual quiet time
Walk or exercise
7:45 Breakfast
8:30 Morning Prayer
9:00 Daily community conference
9:30 Depending on the day:
Study/class OR
Work in Sisters’ ministries
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Afternoon
12 noon: Eucharist
12:45 Dinner
1:30 Personal time (resting,
walking, reading)
2:30 Depending on the day:
Study/class OR
Work in Sisters’ ministries
Work in neighbourhood ministries
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Evening
5 pm Evening Prayer together
5:30 Supper
6:15 Dishes and clean-up
7:00 Community time / recreation
Depending on the day
with the Sisters OR
among the Companions
8:10 Compline
(night prayer)
8:30 Quiet time
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Time Off (Yes!)
Mondays: Day off
Thursday evenings: Free time
Saturday evenings: Free time
One Monday a month is a retreat day
Four weeks during the year are vacation
One week a year is a guided retreat
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Would you like a year’s travel adventure as
we follow Jesus on the road of prayer,
community, learning, service, and creative
enjoyment?
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then
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BE A COMPANION ON THE WAY
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The Sisters wish to thank
Phil Hamilton for design of print materials
Molly Finlay for writing promotional materials
Karen Isaacs for the Companions website
Barbara Jenkins for facilitating the Wycliffe
course connection
George Sumner and Peter Mason for their
vision and support
Tom Arban, Michael Hudson, and Sisters of
SSJD for photos
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www.ssjdcompanions.org
www.ssjd.ca