by the Rev. Sr. Diana Doncaster
This coming Sunday, the third Sunday in Epiphany, was named by the General Convention of The Episcopal Church as Religious Life Sunday. It is an opportunity to pray for and learn more about the religious communities in The Episcopal Church. Yes, we really exist.
We sometimes joke that we are the best kept secret in the church. It’s not for lack of trying to share our lives, our prayers, our worship, and the many, varied ministries we offer. It’s more that we are so busy giving ourselves to loving service that we don’t have a lot of time to spare to let people know we exist. In fact, it is not uncommon for one of us to show up at diocesan or church-wide events and have people enthusiastically greet us as representatives of Roman Catholicism and be astonished when we tell them that we are Episcopalian.
What is the point of living lives vowed to Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience? Why would sensible people give up their independence and live together with other people they didn’t choose, following a strict schedule of worship multiple times a day, and often wearing the same thing day after day? Because it is a vocation. One of countless ways of serving God and God’s people. Because we have more to give together than we do apart. Because of love.
In the Diocese of Southern Ohio, the Community of the Transfiguration has prayed, worshiped, and engaged in a wide variety of ministries. We educate and support children, we feed hungry people, we offer quiet retreats and rest, we are engaged in care of Creation. We welcome visitors, the curious, seekers.
A variety of resources exist for learning more about religious communities (monks, nuns, brothers, sisters), for exploring possible vocations, for finding a place of respite. Among them are:
This site provides information about and resources for Religious Life Sunday.
The website of CAROA, (the Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas) provides information about all the religious communities recognized by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada
And of course, the website for the Community of the Transfiguration.
