Residential Companions: The residential Companions program is an immersive opportunity to experience a contemporary monastic community rooted in the Benedictine tradition. It is open to women aged 21 and up regardless of Christian denomination.
Companions live, work, and pray alongside the sisters, learning from them but also sharing each companion’s own gifts with the sisters and their ministries. They will:
- Learn to cultivate peaceful and creative ways of living in a diverse intentional community
- Appreciate silence and solitude as well as community and service for a healthy life
- Put down deep roots of spiritual intimacy with God and each other
- Develop a personal path to ongoing spiritual growth
- Discern individual gifts and vocations.
Companions Online: Open to women of all Christian expressions, Companions Online is an opportunity to become “monastics in the world,” living a Benedictine rhythm of prayer, work, study, and recreation. Online Companions learn to develop practices that support and nurture their spiritual life from the comfort of their homes.
They meet regularly for classes and discussion groups and commit to times of personal prayer at home. They share in book studies, participate in online worship and screen films relevant to spiritual growth and self-understanding. Online Companions also develop spiritual disciplines that follow the liturgical year.
Application start and end (both programs): January 1, 2023 – May 15, 2023.
Cost: Residential Companions: sugg. $100.00/month.
Companions Online: sugg. $50.00/month.
If cost is a hindrance, assistance is available.
To learn more about either program, or to apply, email Shannon Frank-Epp, Program Coordinator, at companions@ssjd.ca, or phone St. John’s Convent: 416-226-2201, ext. 342