“Nuns and Monks Abroad: Religious Orders in World Mission” is the theme of the Mission Thursday that will take place on June 12. Nuns and monks have been prominent in the missional outreach of the Christian movement for many centuries, and the contemporary religious orders of the Episcopal Church follow in that tradition.
Yet, although the Episcopal Church has 19 religious orders and communities recognized by the House of Bishops, many Episcopalians do not know they exist, and still less that they are involved globally. The June 12 Mission Thursday on Zoom is an opportunity to learn about the world mission of such communities.
The free webinar sponsored by the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN) will take place online at 1 p.m. Eastern time and is open to the public. Register on Eventbrite here.
Sister Monica Clare, superior of the Community of St. John the Baptist in Mendham, N.J., will speak about that community’s work among orphans in Cameroon. Brother Timothy Jolley of the Order of the Holy Cross in West Park, N.Y., will present about the founding of OHC’s monastery in South Africa. Sister Pamela Clare, minister provincial of the Community of St. Francis in San Francisco, will talk about their international work.
Sister Kéthia of the Boston-based Society of St. Margaret, will discuss SSM’s longstanding work in Haiti, where she is sister-in-charge amid the turmoil of that country. Brother Charlie McCarron, minister provincial of the Third Order of the Society of St. Francis, will talk about the dispersed work of that community throughout the Americas – north, central and south. In addition, Brother Christopher John, minister general of the Society of St. Francis, will speak about the work of the “first orders” of the society internationally.
The webinar will be anchored by Sister Sarah Margaret of the Society of St. Margaret, secretary of the Board of the Global Episcopal Mission Network.
Religious orders were renewed in Anglican life during the Anglo-Catholic revival of the 19th century. The Society of St. Margaret, the oldest order for women, was founded in England in 1855, and its American house was established in 1873. The Society of St. John the Evangelist is the oldest order for men, founded in England in 1866, with its American house established in 1870. Orders and communities keep in touch with one another through the Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas.
GEMN’s purpose is to gather, inspire and equip people to participate in God’s global mission. Its members are dioceses, agencies, congregations, seminaries, religious orders and individuals. Its core values are humility, inclusion and companionship.