Invitation to Membership in Discernment
This is an invitation to join us in a time of beginning.
What we, the founding members, are calling an “order” is not yet a finished form, but a lived question—something that has been an unfolding journey over several years through contemplation, vision, silence, illness, study, and shared discernment. In the past year, a small group has begun meeting weekly to give shape to this impulse through a Way of Life, daily practice, and ongoing development of what the new monastic impulse is.
Three great servants of humanity, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, beloved companions of Christ in Bethany, stand behind the virtues Faith, Love and Hope, and also behind the sacrificial pathways that lead to these virtues: obedience, chastity and poverty. Inspired by these beloved companions, we cultivate a shared spiritual life centered around these developmental pathways that awakens the inner priesthood within every human being and opens us to the fire, light and breath of the Holy Spirit.
We are now accepting new Members in Discernment. This is an invitation to participate in a way of life that is still unfolding as it is lived. It is not membership in a fully established institution, an outer hierarchical authority, doctrine or a finalized structure. It is participation in a discernment process that is embodied, communal, and intentional. It is a shared experiment in forming a contemporary monastic life rooted in a rhythm of prayer, mediation, community life, inner transformation and service.
New Members in Discernment Commit to:
Read the vow-meditation content, which is given upon initial commitment to this process, and participate in an informational conversation with the founder about the vow content, meditative work and way of life.
Commit to meditating three times a day based on the content and questions of the three vows, working to adapt the meditations to suit your constitution, life and needs.
Engage in a reflection process in a group, individual conversation, or by letters (With individually determined rhythms).
Hold a consciousness, in prayer life, of the larger monastic order and shared spiritual work.
Respect the experimental nature of this stage, where clarity emerges gradually through lived experience rather than being imposed in advance.
This is a threshold space. Those who enter are not stepping into a finished identity, but into a shared process of listening for what wants to arise among us.
Membership in Discernment is time-bound and reviewable. After an initial period of a minimum of six months of shared practice, there will be mutual discernment about continuation, deepening, or stepping back. This is not a test of worthiness, but a process of clarity and discernment for all involved.
We are learning as we go. What we are forming will only become clear through the life we actually live together.
We look forward to this journey with you!