Cowley Magazine - Summer 2006

Volume 32 • Number 3

Summer 2006

“The preacher must first draw from secret prayer what he will later pour out in holy sermons; he must first grow hot within before he speaks words that in themselves are cold.”

St. Francis of Assisi

Photo credit: Gary Andrew Smith

Cover photo: Br. Tom Shaw, Bishop of Massachusetts, and the Rt. Rev. Philip Baji, Bishop of Tanga, at Korogwe, Tanzania.

Tom and Br. Curtis Almquist were hosted by Bishop Baji and his family and staff in Tanzania in March 2006.

The brothers enjoyed a reunion with Bishop Baji at the June meeting of General Convention in Columbus, Ohio. We also look forward to welcoming Bishop Baji and his family to SSJE and the Diocese of Massachusetts in October 2006. ©2006 by The Society of Saint John the Evangelist, North America

A Letter from the Superior Dear Members of the Fellowship of Saint John and SSJE Friends, Curtis Almquist, SSJE

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ive SSJE brothers – Geoffrey Tristram, Tom Shaw, Kevin Hackett, Timothy Solverson, and I – participated in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio, June 10-21. Tom met in long, daily sessions with his sister and brother bishops and the deputies from the Diocese of Massachusetts. Their sessions included the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as our next Presiding Bishop, for which we give many thanks. The other four of us brothers participated in various meetings and gatherings, greeted many Friends of SSJE from near and far, and staffed our Cowley Publications’ booth in the Exhibition Hall.

Our attention was particularly rapt in the church’s ongoing discussions about Millennium Development Goals – the commitment to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, combat disease, achieve universal primary education for children, and ensure environmental sustainability. These goals are informing the SSJE brothers’ prayer, the stewardship of money, and the focus our ministries, and are likely to do so for many years to come. We commend you read more about “Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation” at www.e4gr.org The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Brs. Kevin Hackett, Geoffrey Tristram, Curtis Almquist, and Timothy Solverson at the SSJE-Cowley Publications’ booth in the Exhibition Hall of General Convention, Columbus, Ohio, June 10-21.

In March Tom and I traveled to Tanzania, hosted by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Philip Baji, Bishop of Tanga. Throughout the diocese we witnessed the fruits of the Spirit in great abundance – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness – and we witnessed considerable economic poverty. Both of us brothers were invited by Bishop Baji to meet with clergy of the diocese, the beginnings of what will be a multiple-year program of continuing education. Tom and the diocesan Jubilee Committee are already at work addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis, working with Tanzanian (and also Kenyan) Anglicans to fund, plan, and administer testing and caregiving programs, and to provide orphan feeding and educa3

Brs.Tom Shaw and Curtis Almquist with Bishop Philip Baji in Korogwe,Tanzania.

tion. Two teams of SSJE brothers plan to return to both the Diocese of Tanga in Tanzania, and to Saint Philip’s Theological College at Maseno, Kenya in January 2007 to share in teaching and the ongoing spiritual formation of Anglican seminarians and clergy.

These are opportune times for the SSJE brothers. We are ever-mindful of our founder’s vision, in 1866, that we be “men of the moment, precisely up to the mark of the times.” We welcome many into the sanctuary of the monastery guesthouse and chapel, and to Emery House to pray, worship, retreat, and receive teaching and spiritual direction.

We give witness to Christ’s life and light and love as we travel to minister in dioceses, conference centers, and school campuses in North America, the British Isles, the Middle East, and in 4

Africa. We bear the spiritual cost with joy, sustained by prayer. We bear the financial costs only with your help. We have recently established the Friends of SSJE, men and women who value our witness and support us by contributing to our Annual Fund. We need your help to be faithful to God’s call. More information about the Friends of SSJE may be found on pages 22-23. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel.

Faithfully yours,

Curtis G. Almquist, SSJE Superior

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SSJE African Ministry Update

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n the spring 2006 edition of the Cowley quarterly, Br. David Vryhof wrote of a January trip to Kenya where he and Br. Tom Shaw were teaching seminarians on subjects of prayer and spirituality at St. Philip’s Anglican Theological College in Maseno, Kenya.

In March, Brs. Curtis Almquist and Tom Shaw traveled to the Anglican Diocese of Tanga in Tanzania to offer a continuing education course to clergy of the diocese. We are pleased and thankful that these relationships are growing and deepening. This July at the monastery we are hosting Elphas

Wambani, a faculty member at St. Philip’s, for a research project. In January 2007, we have been invited to return to Kenya and Tanzania to continue this ministry of spiritual formation.

If in addition to your continuing support of SSJE’s annual fund, you would have an interest in supporting this developing ministry, we would be very grateful. Details are provided on our website – www.ssje.org – or by your telephoning Jamie Coats, Director of the Friends of SSJE, to find out how you can help: (617) 876-3037, ext. #57.

Priests of the Diocese of Tanga,Tanzania, who met with Brs. Curtis Almquist and Tom Shaw at the St. Barnabas Training Center in Korogwe,Tanzania, in March 2006.

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In a Nutshell: Reflections on Preaching, Biblical Scholarship and Personal Devotion Mark Brown, SSJE

Some went down to the sea in ships and plied their trade in deep waters; They beheld the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. [Ps. 107:23-24]

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went down to the sea a few days ago. I watched some kids playing at the water’s edge. Some played with a live crab; some made sand castles and puddles; others dashed in and out of the surf. They all seemed pretty much unaware of the sheer vastness of what was splashing at their feet.

Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number, creatures both small and great (Ps.104:26).

But, like children playing at the water’s edge, we are often too distracted to notice the great and wide sea splashing at our own feet.

These reflections are on preaching—the thoughts of one preacher from the water’s edge. One of the purposes of preaching is to draw attention to the sheer vastness of the Divine Life—which, even now, splashes at our feet. Like in the Psalm, preachers “ply their trade in deep waters.” So often, however, in the attempt to be comprehensible and practical, the preacher risks making deep waters shallow. The preacher risks making the great and wide sea a mere puddle. (A puddle is so much more manageable than the great and wide sea, the wild and uncontrollable Divinity.)

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At Emery House, the Artichoke River which skirts the eastern length of our property, flowing out into the Merrimack River, on the northern side of our property.

We human beings do have a way of wanting things manageable, put “in a nutshell.” Julian of Norwich did just that when she compared the whole of creation to a hazelnut in the hands of God. I would choose a little bit larger nutshell: I would call it a poem. The cosmos is a poem, spoken into existence by its poet.

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The cosmos is the work, the creation of a poet. We say so in the Nicene Creed: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” The Greek word for “maker,” (poietes), also means “poet.” God, the Father Almighty, poet of heaven and earth. God is maker and “poet” of the cosmos; the cosmos is God’s creation, God’s “poetry,” God’s “poem.” In Genesis God speaks the world into existence. In John the creation comes into being through the Divine Word, the Logos, who “was in the beginning with God and was God.” (And who became flesh and dwelt among us–the Poet become poem!)

The creation is God’s poem; we are part of this cosmic poetry. We can also think of the Bible as a kind of poem.

It contains many poems, of course, in the usual sense of the word. And many passages are poetic, in the usual sense of the word. But the whole thing, the whole library of ancient texts is, after all, something made, something created, and, therefore, “poetry” in the etymological sense of the word. The Bible is our “poem” about God’s Poem.

The Bible is about the cosmos and its maker (its “poet”) and our place in the grand scheme of things.

Our place in the grand scheme of things is to enter ever more deeply into the poetry of the cosmos and ever more deeply into the very life of its poet.

This, in a nutshell, is the purpose of the human enterprise. To enter ever more deeply into the poetry of the cosmos and ever more deeply into the very life of its poet, i.e., the life of God. It is by entering ever more deeply into the poetry of the cosmos that we enter ever more deeply into the life of its creator, its poet. The preacher’s vocation is to The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

help others find their way into this life, the life which is the life of all life.

The preacher’s calling is to enter the poetry of the cosmos, enter the poetry of the Bible and, in a sense, compose new poetry. New poetry, illuminating the way into the life of God, illuminating in some fresh way truths about the human condition in the larger context of God’s “poetry.”

How, then, do we enter the poetry of the Cosmos? By asking questions. In the spiritual quest, we ask questions, we wonder. We can ask questions about the origin of the universe, the stars,

Brs.Timothy Solverson and Mark Brown in JFK Park, Cambridge, adjacent to the monastery.

planets, cosmic radiation, empty space.

That is astrophysics. We can ask questions about why living things are the way they are. That would be biology.

We can ask questions about why our planet is the way it is. That would be geology and geophysics. We can ask questions about the fundamental components and energies of the universe.

That would be nuclear physics. I could 7

go on and on. Astronomy, genetics, sociology, psychology, anthropology.

Oceanography! These are all ways of wondering that can lead us more deeply into the poetry of the Cosmos – and its creator, its Poet. All these ways of wondering can lead us, if we are so inclined, into the heart and mind and vision of the Poet – God our creator.

As Christians, our quest also means entering more deeply into the poetry of the Bible–the Bible being a “poem” about God and God’s creation. How do we enter the poetry of the Bible?

Again, by asking questions, by wondering. Who wrote this? Why? What was going on at the time? Who is being spoken to? Was it original, or was it based on an earlier text? Has the text been changed along the way? Who had hands on it and why? What do the words mean in the original language?

Was the author writing history, legend, parable, proverb, prophecy, vision, letter, theological treatise, legislation?

Poetry? How long “after the fact” was the writer writing? Who decided this text was “holy scripture”? When? Why? These are the kinds of questions biblical scholarship asks, ways of wondering. But, again, these ways of wondering can lead us more deeply into the poetry of the Bible – and into the poetry of the Cosmos – and into the life of the One who created it. These questions can open our minds and hearts to

new layers of meaning. We depend on biblical scholars to help us ask questions we wouldn’t have thought of ourselves and to show us how to delve more deeply into the inexhaustible richness of the sacred texts.

This is where a preacher’s own devotional life becomes a vital component of preaching. Preachers are most authentic when they ask the questions of the sacred texts that are the most compelling, the most genuine for themselves. That is, we preach most authentically from our own devotional life, our own questing and questioning and wondering. Our own entering more deeply into the poetry of the Bible, our own entering more deeply into the poetry of the cosmos, our own entering more deeply into the life of the Poet–God our creator.

How do we know if preaching “succeeds”? A very simple test: when there is more love and love’s justice in our lives.

Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things to many to number. The Great Sea is yonder and the Great Sea is here: in him we live and move and have our being. The Great and Wide Sea invites us to share in the vastness of his life, the vastness of his truth, and most wonderfully, the vastness of his love.

Behold the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.

SSJE brothers’ Sunday and Feast Day Sermons are now available on the web.

Visit the site at www.ssje.org 8

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Cuddle Puddle A sermon inspired by John 5:30-47

Mark Brown, SSJE

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he place we went swimming when I was a kid had a low board and a high board. I remember going up the steps of the high dive a number of times. But I never actually jumped off.

This is a little like Jesus’ point here where he says, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” You climb the steps, but you don’t jump.

We might think of the scriptures as stairs, or scaffolding, or a kind of trellis – something meant to support our “going up.” Our “going up” to Jesus himself. “Come to me,” he says.

John’s gospel captures this invitation to intimacy in the image of the Beloved Disciple reclining in the “bosom” of Jesus (to translate closely). Echoing

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the Prologue (John 1:18) where Jesus himself is the one being “in the bosom” of the Father.

We are invited into the bosom of Jesus; Jesus is in the bosom of the Father. The contemplative tradition, stretching back at least as far as the Song of Songs, bears witness to this intimate friendship with the Holy One, this cosmic cuddle. This being caught up in and embraced by the greater reality we call the Resurrected Christ, who enjoys such intimacy with the Father.

Have you read the book? the Beloved asks us. Good, he says. Now, since you’ve come all this way up, put the book down. Put the book down and come to me. Leap, and come to me, the Bridegroom says, and dive into the great cosmic cuddle puddle.

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Openings: Scripture as a doorway to the Divine Gerald Beauchamp, n/SSJE

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eginning my ordained ministry in a socially-mixed parish in South London, England, I regularly took funerals.

Church of England clergy have the pastoral care not just of church members but of all who live in their parishes (i.e. the geographic area for which they are responsible).

Visiting the family in the home of the deceased I would ask if they had ever attended church. More often than not the answer was ‘no,’ often followed up quickly with ‘but (s)he had a Bible.’

Sometimes I would ask to see the Bible and if it could be found, it was often dusty and, judging by the spine, rarely opened.

The Bible is not a totem. If we are to gain anything from the scriptures possession is not enough. We have to ‘take up and read.’

But this simple instruction is fraught with difficulties. Modern literate culture is unlike the past. We read quickly and silently. We are often reading when we are doing something else.

We scan the newspaper on the train while listening to our iPod. We skim over documents while at a business meeting. We curl up on the sofa with a novel having put on a CD. Even as recently as the nineteenth century those who could read read aloud. Many people were illiterate. The 10

Brs. Jonathan Maury, Gerald Beauchamp, and David Vryhof

Bible is a library of ancient texts which were largely spoken before they were written down.

So if we are going to benefit from reading the Bible we need to read it aloud ourselves – sensing the cadences, listening to our own voice, and asking if we hear the ring of truth. That’s one of the reasons why monks spend so much time in church reading aloud and sometimes singing the scriptures. We are continuing a tradition that religion is a public matter, not just a private one. We are all here for the sake of the world as well as for the salvation of our souls.

Regular reading of the Bible is essential for Christian growth. We need to put aside quality time for it. If the scriptures are all a bit of a mystery to you, then find a Bible that subdivides the text with headings and begin with one of the gospels. Read one section slowly and aloud. What words, phrases or images strike you? What are they SSJE

evoking? Whatever is capturing your attention can become the focus of prayer and meditation. Like sucking on a candy, don’t try to analyze it, just let it sink in.

The Bible is read aloud when we go to church. But we will get much more out of the experience if we go prepared.

The Episcopal Church, like many others, does not use the Bible at random, but has drawn up a lectionary, a list of readings for each day. They are chosen with care and reflect the seasons of the Church’s year. Lectionaries can be purchased and many churches publish the upcoming readings on their website.

Look at the readings before you go to church. It will certainly help you to engage with the preaching. Coming to worship with a sense of expectation will open up all sorts of avenues.

Some of these avenues will be winding roads. Many parts of the Bible

are far from straightforward. To help us understand the text there are many resources available – commentaries, dictionaries and atlases, as well as what is available online. Many Bibles are published with glossaries. These are invaluable in enabling us to have a deeper understanding of the context in which the Bible was written. But the Bible is not just a book for the intellectually curious. It’s there to draw us into the life of God. Familiarity with the Bible is a start, not an end in itself. An early fruit of its study is humility. Far from treating it as a compendium of proof texts it becomes apparent that the Bible is sometimes ambiguous and even contradictory. The controversies of the early Church found theologians quoting texts on both sides of the fence whether it was discussion about the Trinity or about Jesus being both human and divine.

The Chapel of the Transfiguration at Emery House.

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The same is true today. There is no straight line from the Bible to doctrine and from doctrine to Christian living and the ways churches are organized.

That’s because the Church created the Bible, not vice versa. The process of drawing up the writings that are included in the Bible was not completed until around four hundred years after the time of Christ. Many writings were left out, such as the recently published Gospel of Judas.

What being deeply grounded in the Bible does enable, however, is for us to pray our lives. Let me give you an example from my own experience.

I grew up in a traditional household.

My father was ‘tough cop’ and my mother was ‘good cop.’ Life had made my father a hard man. Born in poverty just after the outbreak of World War I, he was called up in 1939 to fight in World War II. He saw action in Burma and was wounded twice. Before being released from military service he was sent to India during Partition and the creation of Pakistan. The bloody events that accompanied the creation of two new nations were compounded by famine.

Brutalized by events, he was not always sympathetic to his three sons, fully exploring all that the swinging ‘sixties’ had to offer!

My father died just after Christmas, 1995. His final years were difficult, his health undermined by a series of strokes that left him unable to speak. His funeral was a bleak affair. We gathered at a crematorium on a dark and foggy January afternoon. I remember a wreath of lilies glowing under the neon lights outside the chapel.

My mother died six years later, a fortnight before Easter. We held her funeral in Holy Week at the same cre12

matorium. But unlike my father’s funeral we had glorious spring weather. Daffodils danced in the warm breeze.

For various reasons my brothers and I decided to sell our parents’ house quickly. Amongst the contents, we found hundreds of letters written between our parents, who had been separated for years during the war. It can be hard for children to believe that their parents are in love. The letters we found left us in no doubt that they were. Indeed, it had been love at first sight across a crowded dance floor. The man that emerged from my father’s letters was a revelation.

On the Tuesday morning after Easter, 2001, my brothers and I laid our mother’s ashes to rest in the same plot in which we had placed our father’s earlier. Here I met a stranger who was also profoundly familiar, a man who had loved me into life and given me my name. It was my ‘Magdalene’ moment (cf. John 20:11-18).

The curse of our privileged age is loneliness. But being grounded in the scriptures and tradition can give us the grammar of our lives. By learning this language we can join with a chorus that is more than just our little selves. We become part of a tradition that stretches behind us and goes beyond us. We are united in a greater whole that makes us holy. It roots us in love.

There is a story from the Jewish wisdom tradition that makes this point well.

A rabbi was instructing his pupil: “Read the scriptures and inscribe the words on your heart.” “But,” replied the pupil, “shouldn’t I write them in my heart?”

“Inscribe them on your heart,” replied the rabbi, “and when your heart is broken they will fall in.”

Well said. An open heart reading an open Bible prepares us for the day when we are broken … open.

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Interruptions A sermon preached on the Feast of the Restoration of the Religious Life to the Anglican Church, June 17, 2006, at the monastery.

Gerald Beauchamp, n/SSJE

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here. Away from home, careers and family, they come for sanctuary, for peace and quiet. Sometimes a retreat here is the result of some other serious interruption in their lives – a bereavement or the end of a relationship.

Photo credit: Damon Hickey

n some recent literature three theologians have been tackling a fundamental question: What is religion?

They’ve been thinking outside the box. They’ve placed to one side all of the usual trappings that we think of when we use the word ‘religion’ – places of worship, liturgy, creeds, doctrine, morals, forms of authority, clerical hierarchies. Strip out all of these and what is religion in itself?

Johann Baptist Metz answers the question with one word: ‘interruption’ – religion is the Divine breaking into human life. Jürgen Moltmann disagrees.

“A single interruption can be deflected or absorbed,” he says. Kevin Hart, however, reinforces the original answer: religion is absolute interruption. It’s Moses arrested by the burning bush. It’s Elijah on Mount Horeb hearing “the sound of sheer silence.” It’s the Virgin Mary accosted by Gabriel. It’s Jesus hanging on the cross. These experiences, these images, cannot be sidestepped.

They stop us dead in our tracks. We are interrupted.

This monastery is a religious house, and today we celebrate the re-foundation of the religious life in the Anglican Communion in the year 1841 with the profession of Marian Rebecca Hughes in Oxford, England.

People interrupt their lives to come

The monastery chapel baldachino, above the high altar.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Recently two people came on retreat as part of their preparation for marriage.

Others come before baptism, confirmation or ordination. These, too, are interruptions. Life will never be the same again.

Perhaps those who come sense that interruption is understood here because those of us who live in this monastery have experienced interruption ourselves. Monks are not born here. We’ve arrived here. We had other lives previously. We were actors or parish priests, teachers or business managers. But we 13

were all interrupted. We felt called to come here.

Monasteries are more than houses of hospitality – they are also places of prophecy, signs that not all is well with the world.

We’re often told of the stresses and strains of secular life. Every generation claims that things aren’t what they were. Life is always faster, busier, less stable. But the modern world is very different from what it was a couple of centuries ago. Until the invention of the steam engine, news could only travel as fast as a horse or a ship driven by the wind. But now with cell phones and laptops, wherever we are we can be in touch with the far corners of the earth at the click of a button.

Our celebrity culture drives us to have everything and be everywhere all

at once. Most people fail in that aspiration. Many become no one, nowhere.

The word ‘religion’ may come from the Latin word ‘religare’ meaning ‘to bind.’ Religious brothers or sisters are bound together – at a place, by vows, within a tradition, for a purpose. We are seeking at least to create an eddy in the flow and possibly a dam.

Modern life melts people down, turns us into throughput, evaporates human institutions, corrodes trust and corrupts love. Religion reverses the flow: turns death into life, overcomes crucifixion with resurrection.

Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

We might reframe that as, “Embrace your interruption and turn existence into life – religious life.”

Consider Becoming an SSJE Brother!

“Come and See” December 14-17, 2006 & June 7-10, 2007 We welcome men interested in learning about a vocation to SSJE to join us for two “Come and See” weekends at the monastery. For those who cannot make it to either of these weekends, we will be glad to schedule another time for you to visit us.

For more information, please visit our website at www.ssje.org or contact our Novice Guardian, Br. Geoffrey Tristram, at the monastery or by email: noviceguardian@ssje.org

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SSJE

Changed and Sent Forth

Bishop Clark Grew

The Rt. Rev. Joseph Clark Grew II is the retired Bishop of the Diocese of Ohio, a member of the Fellowship of Saint John, and a long-time friend of the community. The brothers were honored to welcome Bishop Grew as the guest preacher on the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist (FSJ Day), our patronal feast, on May 6, 2006. Excerpts of his sermon follow.

“As we in the Church face the demands of living in this global environment – as we try to witness to the gospel in a world defined more and more by immigration and the plight of aliens and refugees, by the collisions of language, culture, and religion, and by public arrogance, even in our own [Anglican] Communion, even in our own [Episcopal] Church, arrogance which can lead to marginalization and poverty and unspeakable violence – can we reach beyond our deeply-held opinions and see that the final word from the cross is the unconditional love that God holds out for the whole of creation?”

“What happens to me here at the monastery is that I slow down. The silence slows me down. The liturgy and psalms slow me down. The rhythms of the community’s life slow me down; and when that happens, I can begin to notice the world that’s in front of me.”

“Most of the causes of emigration fill me, and I imagine fill you, with grief; but when that grief is kept isolated and unexpressed, we may be sure that hopelessness will follow. Where there is no preaching and no praying and no protesting about oppression, there can be no hope for change.”

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The brothers in choir.

“The Good News is the Divine promise that the world will be made whole.”

“At the heart of Gospel living is our need to be in the midst of as many diverse and different people as possible.

I think that the redemptive word of the Church right now is to live into the light and blessing of that mix. I think that is what God, through this community, gives to us: namely, the desire that we are to be sent forth from here, sent forth from every Eucharist and from every baptism to take up an active, demonstrative, public love.”

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“We should be profoundly thankful this Festival Day for those who live and pray and work here, for you, the brothers, help us find truth and then reconnect our purpose with the purposes of God.” “As we see the desolations of this age, as boundaries are drawn – boundaries that categorize people as alien (‘alien’ from the Latin alienus, meaning ‘unsuitable’) – we can remember and give thanks for what happens in this place; namely, that we can experience a change of heart and spirit, and become open again to noticing how Christ can and does heal the universal urge to make our neighbors into adversaries.”

“This Festival Day should serve to remind us of our own calls to step into the light for what St. Paul calls the common good, knowing that we must live carefully – as blessings – amongst

At the garden party following the festive FSJ liturgy are Dr. Cherise Rowan and Br. Curtis Almquist.

the other creatures of God. And if we do, then there will be a new consciousness that says that aliens are to be welcomed and valued and embraced.

No longer will we be afraid. And then, in time, we can begin to care for each other as we are meant, to celebrate and nurture life in every way.”

The Fellowship of Saint John (FSJ) is comprised of men

and women throughout the world who desire to live their Christian life in special association with the Society of Saint John the Evangelist.

They have a vital interest in the life and work of the brothers, and support our life and ministries with their prayers, encouragement, and financial gifts. The brothers of SSJE welcome members of the FSJ as partners in the gospel life, and pray for them by name in our daily prayers, following a regular cycle. With us the FSJ members form an extended family, a company of friends abiding in Christ and seeking to bear a united wit-

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Brothers Robert L’Esperance and James Koester at Emery House

ness to him as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” following the example of the Beloved Disciple. For more information, please contact Br. Jonathan Maury, the Director of the FSJ, at the monastery.

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Book Review

The Rev’d Deborah Warner

The Shattering Sound of Amazing Grace: Disquieting Tales from Saint John’s Gospel

by David J. Schlafer; (Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 2006) Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now I see.

– John Newton

While these opening words to this hymn may be some of the most beloved to those who dare to step inside a church or those who pass by, they are cast in a new light in this short but thoughtful book of five meditations by the Rev. David Schlafer. Originally preached as part of a Lenten series at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, Schlafer sets each verse of Newton’s hymn alongside some of the most familiar stories in the Gospel of John. The audience with whom these meditations were originally shared were ordinary people, doing ordinary work – parishioners and non-parishioners, government employees and business people, folks who lived around the corner and others who drove considerable distances to listen to a voice seeking to making sense of the no-nonsense world of post-9/11 in which live.

Thankfully, the Rev. Schlafer’s words are now easily accessible to individuals or groups who wish to take time to thoughtfully pay attention to his insights. His refreshing style is both respectful of the texts on which he is writing, while at the same time mindful that their

very familiarity can be a stumbling block to hearing them in a new way. In the same way, throughout the meditations, Schlafer builds on an image of C. S. Lewis, who in describing a life “surprised by joy,” wrote, “Every idea of God we form, God must, in mercy, shatter.”

Schlafer does not shatter our images of either the hymn text or the Johannine stories about which he is writing. Rather, he holds them up, inviting us to see and feel, know and appreciate the depth of God’s hospitality which is at play in each.

The Shattering Sound of Amazing Grace: Disquieting Tales from Saint John’s Gospel is part of a series of Cowley “Cloister Books” which are in keeping with the monastic tradition of reading as one walks in a monastic cloister. Their intent is to invite the reader into a “place of silence, centering and calm.”

Schlafer’s book does just that by inviting us to sit or stand, ponder and pray over how even the most disquieting times and tales from the gospel can speak words of calm and mercy in the hurried world in which we live.

The Rev’d Deborah Warner is Priest-in-Charge of The Church of the Messiah, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and a member of the Fellowship of Saint John.

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“Healing through Giving and Receiving” Remarks of M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts Delivered at the Presiding Bishop’s Forum, “Towards Reconciliation” at the General Convention, Columbus, Ohio, June 15, 2006.

Tom Shaw, SSJE

r. Paul Farmer, a champion of those who have been denied the resources to care for themselves, tells an old proverb that answers the question of how a just God could permit such great misery in the world. It is a proverb that addresses the kind of misery endured by thousands of orphans in western Kenya.

The proverb goes like this: “God gives, but God doesn’t share.”

Farmer explains that what this proverb means is that God gives us everything human beings need to flourish. But God is not the one who is supposed to ‘divvy up the loot.’ The task of divvying up the loot is up to all of us.

I believe the parable from Matthew’s gospel about the men who have labored all day being paid the same as those who have labored for just a few hours tells us how God expects the loot to be divvied up.

Every day Episcopalians, including so many of you, and our fellow Anglicans around the world are actively engaged

Children orphaned by AIDS in Kenya.

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Photo credit: Maria Plati

D

General Convention, Columbus, Ohio.

in divvying up the material and spiritual loot that God has given to all of us.

Let me illustrate it this way: It was my third evening sharing dinner with a group of students of a small Bible college near Lake Victoria in Kenya. They were mostly men. Half were married with families. They were all subsistence farmers (i.e. their families depend on their crops for food) and each had a deep call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bishops are held in high regard in Kenya. By the third evening, the students were comfortable enough with me to ask more probing questions about my faith and about the Church. They wanted to know about the men and women preparing for ordained ministry in the Diocese of Massachusetts and the life of the monastic community of which I am a member. After some discussion, there was a quiet moment and then my new friend Walter asked, “Bishop Tom, do you know Gene Robinson?”

“Yes,” I replied. “He is my friend.”

SSJE

“Have you ever been to his house?” someone else asked.

“Yes,” I said, “he doesn’t live far from me. I’ve been to his house for dinner.”

Again it was quiet; everyone was taking it in.

“Who does the cooking?” asked another.

“Mark and Gene share the cooking,” I said. Again there was silence and then we moved on to another subject.

As I walked back to my room in the African night I wondered what import my revelation of friendship with Gene Robinson would have on these forming relationships in Kenya.

Six months later, I had my answer. I was back with them. I had been invited with one of my monastic brothers (David Vryhof, SSJE) back to the Bible college to offer the college’s very first retreat and to teach about meditative and contemplative prayer. Every morning when I woke, I felt a sense of excitement and anticipation for the day as I remembered their eagerness and enthusiasm over our work the day before.

And every night as I prayed before bed I gave thanks to God for the way these ten men and two women inspired me in my journey to God.

This enormous iconic peace symbol was electronically projected on screens in the hall used for worship at General Convention.

This is Margaret’s story of inspiration. Margaret is in her thirties, married with six children. Three of the children were adopted by her and her husband The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

after their parents died of AIDS. Her husband is a subsistence farmer in their village near the Ugandan border.

Two years ago Margaret told her husband that she felt God was calling her to the priesthood. He told her to go.

Because their only income is from farming, he would stay in the village to farm and raise their six children to make it possible for Margaret to go away for two years of theological education. They sold their only cow to pay for her education.

Margaret’s husband was criticized by the men in the village for letting his wife go away alone to be educated. But Margaret went off, leaving all that she cares about in the world to serve a Kenyan church which only tentatively encourages women in ordained ministry.

In the consumer culture of North America, with all its emphasis on individual fulfillment, I try to keep Margaret’s story alive within me to keep me focused on my journey in Christ and to draw me away from the temptation of self. Margaret’s witness and the witness of her family draw me further and further into the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ which is all of ours through baptism.

Together Margaret and I build one another up in faith. We are ambassadors of Christ for one another. My brother David and I invited our brothers and sisters in Christ deeper into the richness of our common spiritual tradition. And these men and women invited us away from our North American fascination with self and deeper into the mystery of the sacrificial heart of God. Perhaps you remember a few years ago the incursions of the Israeli military into Ramallah in the West Bank. Our brothers and sisters at St. Andrews in Ramallah, the parish of the new bishop of Jerusalem, were under curfew for a month. They were allowed out of their homes only a few hours a week to pur19

member the poor, which is exactly what I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10).

Do you know why Paul was so eager to provide funds from his churches across the Mediterranean to give to the poor of Jerusalem? Certainly Paul had some interest in caring for the people who were suffering. But there was a deeper reason. He wanted Christians from Galatia, Thessalonica, Corinth and Rome to give to the church in Jerusalem because he knew that in giving to one another, it would bring unity to a church divided by differences of culture, ethnicity, theology and understanding of Hebrew scripture. He knew it would connect people. He knew it would bring reconciliation. He knew they would find Christ in one another and that this unity would reflect the divine life of the most Holy Trinity.

I speak tonight for the millions of Anglican throughout the world who every day are making the heart of God a reality by serving and strengthening and inspiring one another.

I speak of ordinary people like us who are reaching out beyond our own culture and borders, to touch the lives of others and to allow others to touch our lives as well. God’s heart overflows with gratitude for all of us. You and I are the heart of God.

chase food. My friends at St. Andrews have painful memories of these incursions. It was a time of terrible isolation, isolation that has only increased with the Wall, checkpoints, more incursions and the occupation of Ramallah and the West Bank.

This is a dark time of tremendous suffering for our fellow Anglicans in the Holy Land. How do we offer them the hope we know is ours in the Lord’s resurrection?

You know, it’s happening every day.

I’ll bet it is happening right now. I’ll bet that somewhere in the West Bank and in Israel, there are some Episcopalians – ordinary lay or ordained people – who chose to go to Beit Sahor or Bethlehem or Ramallah rather than come to Columbus, Ohio. They are there to give witness to the reality that no one is alone, no one is isolated in God’s gift of our worldwide church. Literally thousands of us go every year from dioceses across the country, showing our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land the reality of God’s loving community.

And we come home challenged and in a curious way strengthened by their suffering. For what we have witnessed, of course, is Christ’s suffering in them and with them, and Christ’s suffering always strengthens.

When St. Paul writes to the little house churches in Galatia, he tells them of the charge that he and Barnabas received from the apostles in Jerusalem: “They asked only one thing, that we re20

Photo credit: Maria Plati

The Wall.

General Convention, Columbus, Ohio.

SSJE

Join the SSJE Brothers on pilgrimage to

The Holy Land 2006-2007 Ways in the Wilderness

Brothers Kevin Hackett & Bruce Neal September 19-October 4, 2006 ■

Pilgrimage and Spirituality

Brothers Mark Brown and Robert L’Esperance January 5-18, 2007 ■

Palestine of Jesus

Brothers Jonathan Maury and James Koester January, 5-18, 2007 ■

Palestine of Jesus (for seminarians)

Brothers Curtis Almquist and David Vryhof July 19-28, 2007 ■

Abraham, Yesterday and Today (Brothers to be determined) October 17-26, 2007

SSJE brothers serve as course chap­lains. We lead in the daily prayer and worship, offer meditations and spiri­tual reflections, and give guidance to the pil­grims on how to “pray their own lives” amidst the sacred landscape where the life, death, and resur­rec­tion of Jesus Christ unfolded. Outstanding faculty, gracious accom­mo­da­tions, and delicious meals are pro­vided through Saint George’s Col­lege, a con­tinuing edu­ca­tion center for the entire Ang­li­can Com­mun­ion.

For more information and to regi­ster for a course, contact: Saint George’s College, Jerusalem www.sgcjerusalem.org email: registrar@stgeorges.org.il telephone: 011 972 2 626 4704 The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

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The Society of Saint John the Evangelist n

An Invitation to Join

The Friends of SSJE

Friends Who are the SSJE brothers?

We are monks giving our whole selves to living the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are rooted in the monastic traditions of prayer and community life, while critically engaged with contemporary culture.

Our monasteries offer silence, sanctuary, and simple beauty. We provide guidance in prayer and spirituality, helping people uncover their deepest desires and live with authenticity.

Friends Friends of SSJE The Society of Saint John the Evangelist 980 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: (617)-876-3037 ext. 24 E-mail: development@ssje.org

www.ssje.org

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SSJE

Who are the Friends of SSJE?

Our friends connect with us on retreats, workshops, worship at our monasteries, and through our Cowley Publications’ books. We greet our Friends when we travel on mission. They receive Cowley, the brothers’ quarterly, and occasional electronic newsletters. …I am basking in the glow of having been on retreat at SSJE – the deep, deep rest and great peace that I felt. It’s like having “crawled into God’s lap.” Your community is very special – the hospitality, gracious; the welcome, warm; the love, so evident.

How are they supportive?

The Friends make gifts to the Annual Fund each year. They are vital partners, providing financial support to sustain our life and ministries. …The teens and adults who joined us had a wonderful experience of worship, play, common meals, contemplation, and discussion on our retreat.

What are the Circles of Support?

Among the Friends are three circles of support, acknowledging those who are able to make annual commitments of $500 or more. …The witness of SSJE stands as a light of Christian love and hospitality in your ministry in the church and around the world.

n Companions’ Circle – annual gift of $500 - $999 n Brothers’ Circle – annual gift of $1,000 - $2,499 n Superior’s Circle – annual gift of $2,500 and above

Becoming a Friend

Please consider becoming a Friend today. A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check (payable to “SSJE”), credit card, or a gift of securities. Gifts may also be made online through our website.

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COMMUNITY NEWS Brs. David Vryhof and Kevin Hackett presided and preached at Grace Parish on Lopez Island, Washington, April 23.

They were week-long guests of Ginger and Bob Riggins. Bob, a member of the FSJ, is a retired cardiac surgeon, and now a shepherd.

Br. Kevin Hackett

Br. Kevin Hackett led a retreat for university students from Province I, “Praying Your Life,” March 31-April 2, at the Hancock Center in Hancock, New Hampshire.

Brs. Curtis Almquist and Roy Cockrum led a retreat for the men of St. Michaels & All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas, Texas, April 27-30.

Brs.Timothy Solverson and David Allen

Br. Roy Cockrum

Br. Roy Cockrum gave a Saturday workshop on discernment, then preached Sunday at Church of the Epiphany, Washington, DC, the weekend of March 31.

Brs. David Vryhof and Kevin Hackett

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Brs. Timothy Solverson and David Allen served as chaplains for the “Palestine of Jesus” course offered by St. George’s College-Jerusalem, May 2-15.

See page 21 for upcoming SSJE pilgrimages to Israel/Palestine. Come join us!

James Knutsen and Alan Cooper withdrew from the novitiate in the days following Holy Week and Easter.

The SSJE brothers are grateful for their contributions to our common life and mission, and ask God’s blessing on the next stage of their life journeys.

Br. Geoffrey Tristram, our Novice Guardian, and Brs. Gerald Beauchamp and Bruce Neal attended the annual Kellogg lectures at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MassaSSJE

Brs. Bruce Neal, Geoffrey Tristram, and Gerald Beauchamp

chusetts, May 4-5. This year’s featured speaker was well-known author and teacher, Dr. Karen Armstrong.

Attending SSJE’s Canadian Corporation meeting were Brs. John Goldring, David Allen, Curtis Almquist, James Koester, and Jonathan Maury, with Ms.Violet Bunclark and Mr. John Matthews, both of Toronto.

The Rev. Andrew Wilson of Belleville, Ontario, is also a member of the Corporation.

Brs. Kevin Hackett and Timothy Solverson, with staff members Paula Welling, Michael Wilt, and Matthew Wright, represented Cowley Publications at the Religious Booksellers’ Trade Exhibition in West Chicago, May 30-June 2. Malcolm Boyd, author of Are You Running With Me Jesus?” was a keynote speaker. Cowley has just republished the 40th anniversary edition of this profound book of prayers.

Duke graduates with the Rev. Andy Wigodsky (back left) and Br. Kevin Hackett (back right).

Students just graduated from Duke University, with the Rev. Andy Wigodsky, then the Interim Episcopal Chaplain at Duke, were with us on retreat at the monastery May 16-19, led

by Br. Kevin Hackett.

The annual meeting of the SSJE Canadian Corporation was held at the monastery on May 26. The corporation gives oversight of our finances for SSJE’s Canadian ministry, and guidance on the ongoing development of our ministry.

The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Brs.Timothy Solverson and Kevin Hackett with Malcolm Boyd.

Br. David Vryhof led a morning workshop on “Discernment” and an afternoon workshop on “Group Spiritual Direction” at the Episcopal Divinity School on May 31 for lay leaders and clergy from the dioceses of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine as part of the “Pastoral Excellence Project.”

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in prayer and spirituality at Boston College. Robert serves at St. Andrew’s Parish Church in Kingston, the same parish where our Br. David Vryhof was confirmed twenty-five years ago.

Br. Curtis Almquist with the Rev. Drs. Michael Battle and Mark McIntosh.

Brs. Curtis Almquist, Geoffrey Tristram, Thomas Shaw, Kevin Hackett and Timothy Solverson attended the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio, June 11-22, representing the Society, Cowley Publications, and the Diocese of Massachusetts. Br. Tom met as a member of the House of Bishops. Br. Kevin was asked to compose a meditative chant, which the brothers sang before the assembled crowd honoring Presiding Bishop Frank and Phoebe Griswold on Saturday evening, June 17th. That same evening the Rev. Drs. Michael Battle and Mark McIntosh, Chaplains to the House of Bishops, and Br. Curtis, a former Chaplain, presented the festschrift, “I Have Called You Friends,” to Bishop Griswold.

The Rev. Robert McLean, a priest of the Diocese of Jamaica, spent two weeks with us in July while taking a course

Br. David Vryhof and the Rev. Robert McLean

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Br. James Koester

Br. James Koester took a week-long icon writing class at Mt. Angel Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Oregon, then traveled to British Columbia where he taught an icon writing class for 25 people at the Sorrento Center, a retreat center in the Diocese of British Columbia. He was away from June 26 to July 18.

Br. David Allen preached at the Boston (Episcopal) Chinese Ministry on June 4 and again on July 9.

Br. Roy Cockrum attended a fourweek intensive Br. David Allen training program in spiritual direction at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California, during the month of July.

SSJE

Retreat Programs and Workshops: The Society of Saint John the Evangelist Monastery Guesthouse, Cambridge, Massachusetts Emery House, West Newbury, Massachusetts

September 2006 through June 2007 The brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist have for years offered hospitality to those seeking a place of quiet and renewal. At the monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts and at Emery House in West Newbury, Massachusetts, we invite you to find space to pray and renew your spirit. We are pleased to welcome you to these sanctuaries of beauty and reflective stillness.

Generous gifts of land and money from Isabella Stewart Gardner, Elbridge Gerry, and the family of then-SSJE member and later superior Spence Burton enabled the Society to begin developing the property along Memorial Drive.

Today’s guesthouse, designed by the famous twentieth-century American architect, Ralph Adams Cram, and built in 1924-1928, was the original monastery building. In the mid-1930’s, Cram designed the chapel and monastery buildings. Built at the height of the Great Depression, the buildings, completed in 1936, are another legacy of the Burton family’s philanthropy. The renowned American landscape designer, Fletcher Steele, designed the guesthouse garden in 1934.

The monastery is located along the Charles River, near Harvard University and the Episcopal Divinity School. Guesthouse facilities include large and small meeting rooms, chapels for private and corporate prayer, a library, garden, and single bedrooms, each with its own sink; showers and toilets are nearby. Linens and towels are provided. Guests join the brothers for three meals daily, eaten communally and normally taken in silence, accompanied either by a brother reading aloud or recorded music.

Emery House and its 120 acres of undeveloped meadow and woodland were gifts to the Society from the Emery family, who homesteaded the property in 1641. Over the past two decades, we have been joined by generous benefactors and friends in our efforts to conserve the house, woodlands, and meadows as a beautiful sanctuary for retreat.

Emery House is located in West Newbury, Massachusetts, about forty-five miles north of Boston and is adjacent to the 480-acre Maudsley State Park. Emery House features spacious and fully-equipped “hermitages,” period guest rooms in the 1745 main house, two rustic wood cabins, and three meals daily, taken communally in the main house. Guests are welcome to join the brothers in daily monastic worship.

Emery House is easily accessible by public transportation. Out-of-town guests may board regularly-scheduled buses leaving from Logan Airport and South Station, Boston for Newburyport.

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If you would like to visit us or attend one of our retreats or workshops, please contact the appropriate guesthouse brother: The Guesthouse Brother Monastery Guesthouse 980 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02138-5717 Email: guesthouse@ssje.org (617)876-3037 x10

The Guesthouse Brother Emery House 21 Emery Lane West Newbury, MA 01985-1333 Email: emeryhouse@ssje.org (978)462-7940 x10

The monastery guesthouse and Emery House are open to guests seven nights a week.

Guests may arrive from Monday afternoon through Saturday morning. Resident guests may choose to stay in the Monastery guesthouse on Sunday night. Public worship is not offered, nor are any meals served from Sunday Evening Prayer until Monday Evening Prayer (the community’s Sabbath time).

Parking at the monastery:

Parking at the monastery is extremely limited; we encourage guests to use public transportation if at all possible. Space cannot be guaranteed, and guests requiring parking must call ahead to check availability. There is a $10 per day fee for parking at the Monastery.

Please note:

The Society reserves the right to decline applications for retreats or place applicants who have made a number of retreats with us in the past on a waiting list. Brothers may also exercise discretion over admissions based on other priorities. Deposit checks are returned to applicants in the event they are wait-listed or declined.

We depend on your help to make this ministry possible.

The brothers of the SSJE offer hospitality to guests regardless of their ability to pay.

We offer reduced fees to full-time students. But fees cover only about 50% of actual costs. We depend on guesthouse income to support our life and ministries. Published fees are suggested amounts. Individuals with limited resources are asked to give as they are able; those with ample resources help us continue to offer reduced rates to those who cannot afford to pay by increasing their giving beyond the suggested fee. Your additional gift may be wholly or partially tax deductible.

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SSJE

Group Program Retreats Group program retreats are generally conducted from Thursday or Friday evening through Sunday midday. In addition to joining the brothers for worship and meals, guests attend a series of addresses or meditations offered by the retreat leader, which alternate with time for prayer, reflection, and recreation. It is customary for those on retreat to observe silence.

Suggested fees for group program retreats: Emery House: Monastery Guesthouse: $105.00 per person per night $105.00 per person per night $60.00 for full-time students $60.00 for full-time students Reservations are confirmed upon receipt of a non-transferable/non-refundable deposit equal to 50% of the total fee.

Companioned Five-day Retreats Companioned five-day directed retreats provide guests with more ample time to receive the gift of renewed intimacy with God in Christ through silence and sustained prayer. Guests meet individually, once each day, with a brother who offers them help in recognizing God’s will and touch in their lives and who gives suggestions for how they might respond to the invitations of the Spirit disclosed in prayer.

Companioned retreats are suggested for persons with previous retreat experience.

Companioned retreats focus on worship and spending time with God. With their registration, applicants should include a brief (one or two page) spiritual autobiography.

Suggested fees for companioned five-day retreats: Monastery Guesthouse: $100.00 per person per night $65.00 for full-time students

Emery House: $100.00 per person per night $65.00 for full-time students

Reservations are confirmed upon receipt of a non-transferable/non-refundable deposit equal to 50% of the total fee.

Nourishing THE Soul: Individual Retreats Individuals may not wish to attend a program retreat, yet desire a time of quiet and the opportunity to join the brothers in worship and silence. Most weekdays and some weekends are available for individual retreats. If you would like to meet with a brother during your individual retreat, please be certain to make that request when you book your reservation.

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Continued

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For a detailed listing of Retreats and Workshops being offered in 2006, please visit our website at: www.ssje.org Suggested fees for Individual Self-directed Retreats: Monastery Guesthouse: $75.00 per person per night $40.00 for full-time student

Emery House: $75.00 per person per night $40.00 for full-time student

Suggested fees for Individual Directed Retreats: Monastery Guesthouse: $100.00 per person per night $65.00 for full-time student

Emery House: $100.00 per person per night $65.00 for full-time student

Reservations are confirmed upon receipt of a non-transferable/non-refundable deposit equal to 50% of the total fee.

GUEST House PROGRAMS Cambridge 2006-2007

For information about retreats at the monastery, visit our website at www.ssje.org or contact the guesthouse office at (617) 876-3037 or guesthouse@ssje.org.

NOTE: Retreats listed in bold type-face are available for registration. For full program descriptions and to register, visit our website at www.ssje.org. Continuing education credits are offered for programs marked by an asterisk (*).

NOURISHING THE SOUL September 1-3, 2006

NOURISHING THE SOUL September 22-24, 2006

NOURISHING THE SOUL September 8-10, 2006

*WORKSHOP: “FINDING GOD IN SEMINARY” September 23, 2006 Led by Brs. CURTIS ALMQUIST and DAVID VRYHOF

PARISH RETREAT September 14-18, 2006 Assisted by Br. ROY COCKRUM PARISH RETREAT September 19-22, 2006 Led by Br. TIMOTHY SOLVERSON

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PARISH RETREAT September 28-October 1, 2006 Led by Br. CURTIS ALMQUIST

SSJE

NOURISHING THE SOUL October 6-8, 2006 PARISH RETREAT October 12-15, 2006 Led by Br. ROY COCKRUM GROUP RETREAT October 17-21, 2006 Led by Br. GERALD BEAUCHAMP

AWAITING CHRIST – an Advent retreat. December 8-10, 2006 Led by Br. GEOFFREY TRISTRAM “COME AND SEE” WEEKEND – a program for men interested in exploring religious life with SSJE December 14-17, 2006 Led by Br. GEOFFREY TRISTRAM, Novice Guardian

*WORKSHOP: “DISCERNMENT IN PRAYER” October 21, 2006 Led by Brs. DAVID VRYHOF and ROY COCKRUM

NOURISHING THE SOUL December 15-17, 2006

PARISH RETREAT October 24-27, 2006 Led by Br. KEVIN HACKETT

NOURISHING THE SOUL January 26-28, 2007

NOURISHING THE SOUL October 27-29, 2006 PARISH RETREAT November 10-12, 2006 Led by Br. DAVID VRYHOF BEING GAY AFTER JESUS HAS PASSED OUR WAY – a retreat for gay men November 17-19, 2006 Led by Br. GERALD BEAUCHAMP NOURISHING THE SOUL November 24-26, 2006 PARISH RETREAT November 30-December 3, 2006 Led by Br. BRUCE NEAL

The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

NOURISHING THE SOUL December 29-31, 2006

NOURISHING THE SOUL February 2-4, 2007 *WORKSHOP: “FORGIVING AND BEING FORGIVEN” February 3, 2007 Led by Br. KEVIN HACKETT PARISH RETREAT February 9-11, 2007 PARISH RETREAT February 15-18, 2007 Led by Br. DAVID VRYHOF PARISH RETREAT February 22-25, 2007 Led by Br. TIMOTHY SOLVERSON PARISH RETREAT March 1-4, 2007 Led by Br. ROY COCKRUM 31

PARISH RETREAT March 9-11, 2007 Led by Br. BRUCE NEAL *WORKSHOP: “CENTERING PRAYER” March 10, 2007 Led by Br. ROY COCKRUM PARISH RETREAT March 15-18, 2007 Led by Br. MARK BROWN PARISH RETREAT March 22-25, 2007 Led by Br. CURTIS ALMQUIST NOURISHING THE SOUL March 30-April 1, 2007 *HOLY WEEK AT THE MONASTERY April 3-8, 2007 NOURISHING THE SOUL April 13-15, 2007 *TIME FOR GOD – a week of renewal for clergy April 17-21, 2007 Led by Brs. GEOFFREY TRISTRAM and ELDRIDGE PENDLETON

NOURISHING THE SOUL April 27-29, 2007 *WORKSHOP: “HEALING TOUCH” April 28, 2007 Led by Br. JONATHAN MAURY and PATRICIA WARREN

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NOURISHING THE SOUL May 4-6, 2007 PARISH RETREAT May 10-13, 2007 Led by Br. KEVIN HACKETT PARISH RETREAT May 18-20, 2007 Led by Br. MARK BROWN GROUP RETREAT May 22-24, 2007 Led by Brs. ELDRIDGE PENDLETON and GERALD BEAUCHAMP NOURISHING THE SOUL May 25-27, 2007 *WORKSHOP: “SACRAMENTAL RECONCILIATION” May 26, 2007 Led by Brs. CURTIS ALMQUIST and DAVID VRYHOF NOURISHING THE SOUL All weekends in June and July “COME AND SEE” WEEKEND – a program for men interested in exploring religious life with SSJE June 7-10, 2007 Led by: Br. GEOFFREY TRISTRAM, Novice Guardian

For complete descriptions of these programs, visit our website at www.ssje.org

SSJE

Retreats at EMERY HOUSE West Newbury 2006-2007

For more information about retreats and programs at Emery House, visit our website at www.ssje.org or contact Emery House at (978) 462-7940 or emeryhouse@ssje.org.

NOTE: Retreats listed in bold type-face are available for registration.To read program descriptions and to register, visit our website at www.ssje.org. Continuing education credits are offered for programs marked by an asterisk (*).

NOURISHING THE SOUL September 1-3, 2006

GROUP RETREAT October 19-22, 2006

NOURISHING THE SOUL September 8-10, 2006

GROUP RETREAT October 27-29, 2006

*HIS GARMENT’S HEM: Receiving and Offering Christ’s Healing Touch September 14-17, 2006 Led by Br. JONATHAN MAURY and PATRICIA WARREN

*BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD –icon writing retreat/workshop November 14-19, 2006 Led by Br. JAMES KOESTER

PARISH RETREAT September 22-24, 2006

NOURISHING THE SOUL November 24-26, 2006

*FIVE-DAY COMPANIONED RETREAT September 26-October 1, 2006 Led by Brs. JAMES KOESTER, ROBERT L’ESPERANCE, and GERALD BEAUCHAMP

*FIVE-DAY COMPANIONED RETREAT November 28-December 3, 2006 Led by Brs. JAMES KOESTER, ROBERT L’ESPERANCE and JONATHAN MAURY

GROUP RETREAT October 6-8, 2006 Assisted by Br. ROBERT L’ESPERANCE

ADVENT QUIET DAY FOR CLERGY December 12, 2006 Led by Br. JAMES KOESTER

*CALLED TO SERVE – a retreat for deacons October 12-15, 2006 Led by Br. JAMES KOESTER

NOURISHING THE SOUL December 15-17, 2006

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GROUP RETREAT January 26-28, 2007 Assisted by Br. BRUCE NEAL *TIME FOR GOD – a week of renewal for clergy.

January 30-February 3, 2007.

Led by Br. JAMES KOESTER and ELDRIDGE PENDLETON GROUP RETREAT February 9-11, 2007 Led by Br. ROBERT L’ESPERANCE *BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD – icon writing retreat/workshop.

February 13-18, 2007 Led by Br. JAMES KOESTER GROUP RETREAT February 24-25, 2007 Led by Emery House Brothers *FIVE-DAY COMPANIONED RETREAT February 27-March 4, 2007 Led by Brs. JAMES KOESTER, ROBERT L’ESPERANCE and ELDRIDGE PENDLETON *“ACCORDING TO THE GIFTS GIVEN THEM” – a retreat for lay pastoral ministers March 9-11, 2007 Led by Br. JONATHAN MAURY PARISH RETREAT March 13-18, 2007 Led by Emery House Brothers

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LENTEN QUIET DAY FOR CLERGY March 20, 2007 Br. JAMES KOESTER NOURISHING THE SOUL March 23-25, 2007 GROUP RETREAT March 30-April 1, 2007 PARISH RETREAT April 13-15, 2007 Led by Br. TIMOTHY SOLVERSON PARISH RETREAT April 19-22, 2007 Led by Br. MARK BROWN *FIVE-DAY COMPANIONED RETREAT May 8-13, 2007 Led by Brs. JAMES KOESTER, ROBERT L’ESPERANCE and ELDRIDGE PENDLETON *HIS GARMENT’S HEM: Receiving and Offering Christ’s Healing Touch May 17-20, 2007 Led by Br. JONATHAN MAURY and PATRICIA WARREN NOURISHING THE SOUL May 25-27, 2007 NOURISHING THE SOUL All weekends in June and July, 2007

SSJE

SATURDAY WORKSHOPS AT THE MONASTERY 980 Memorial Drive • Cambridge, Massachusetts

Workshops begin at 10:00 a.m. (registration begins at 9:30 a.m.) and end by 3:00 p.m.The normal fee for a Saturday workshop is $75 ($40 for full-time students), which includes lunch.

To register, call or write the guesthouse office at: Tel: (617) 876-3037 Email: guesthouse@ssje.org • web: www.ssje.org FINDING GOD in SEMINARY – a workshop for seminarians September 23, 2006 One of the ironies of theological education – engaging in study of and about God – is that God often seems to disappear in the process. This workshop will offer practical guidance for those who wish to deepen their relationship with God in prayer in the context of their seminary education.

Led by Brs. CURTIS ALMQUIST and DAVID VRYHOF DISCERNMENT in PRAYER – a workshop especially for young adults (though all are welcome) October 21, 2006 One of our most popular programs, this workshop offers practical guidance for praying about significant life choices drawn from the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Led by Brs. DAVID VRYHOF and ROY COCKRUM FORGIVING and BEING FORGIVEN February 3, 2007 Forgiveness is central to Christian living, yet it is one of the most challenging aspects of discipleship. This workshop will explore the biblical basis of God’s forgiveness as well as the practical dimensions of forgiving and being forgiven.

Led by Br. KEVIN HACKETT CENTERING PRAYER March 10, 2007 A day of teaching, discussion and practice on Centering Prayer, based on the principles taught in Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, by Cynthia Bourgeault (Cowley Publications, 2004).

Led by Br. ROY COCKRUM HEALING TOUCH April 28, 2007 Using a Christ-centered approach to healing touch, and employing prayer, meditation, scripture, reflection, and “hands on” practice, this workshop invites participants to experience God’s healing love and to be channels of that love and healing power to others.

Led by Br. JONATHAN MAURY and Ms. PATRICIA WARREN. (Noted Christian healer Patricia Warren has traveled the world studying and teaching Buddhist, Sikh and Christian methods of healing for the past twenty years).

Suggested fee for this workshop: $100 (half-price for full-time students) RECONCILIATION: The Art of Hearing Confessions May 26, 2007 This one-day workshop is intended for priests, seminarians and other ministers who are (or will be) engaged with the ministry of reconciliation. It will explore the meaning of the Rite of Reconciliation, offer practical guidance for hearing confessions in a sacramental context, and explore ways of introducing the rite in parishes where it is not widely used.

Led by Brs. CURTIS ALMQUIST and DAVID VRYHOF

The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

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printed on recycled paper

980 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02138 U.S.A.

Osterville, MA Permit No. 3

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