The Episcopal Community is a group of Episcopal women who are committed to living out our baptismal covenants. Using the Rule of St. Benedict as a guide, we nurture and support each other as we walk our spiritual journeys. We are a welcoming, loving fellowship which offers Episcopal women a unique opportunity for personal spiritual growth while serving our church and all of God’s people.
The Discernment for Membership includes two stages:
(1) Inquirer for the first three months
(2) Novitiate for the remainder of the study/discernment
Each Inquirer will be assigned a mentor. The mentor will send the Inquirer a letter of instructions containing contact information for her mentor, instructions about the discernment period, a Record of Studies form, and information on obtaining the study text, St Benedict’s Toolbox. The mentor will guide the Inquirer through her studies either by mail, email, phone contact, or face to face meetings if they live close enough to do so.
At the end of the Inquirer period the mentee receives a certificate and a small silver shell which says, “In honor of your completing the 3 month Inquirer phase of the discernment process of The Episcopal Community, we present this shell as a reminder of your baptism and that you are for ever marked as Christ’s own. We welcome you as a novitiate in The Episcopal Community and pray for your continued journey into full membership in The Episcopal Community as you create a new way of being in the world.”
Inquirers and Novitiates may participate in activities of The Episcopal Community and attend meetings of The Episcopal Community Circles if there is a group in their area. They do not, however, pay dues or vote until they are installed as a full member.
The following steps are taken to begin the process of joining us:
• Download The Episcopal Community Path to Membership Inquirer form
• Mail the completed form to the national office address on the form. The form will be processed and a mentor will be assigned, to guide you through the study. You will also receive a Record of Studies form.
• Purchase the book St Benedict’s Toolbox: The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Benedictine Living 10th Anniversary Edition by Jane Tomaine ISBN 978-0819231987
• Use the Record of Studies form to complete your assignments and mail or email them to your mentor for feedback.
• At the end of the six-month period, you are ready to be installed as a member, you will receive the Application for Membership form, from your mentor. You will send the completed form with your dues, to the address on the form, which includes information on ordering your emblem. You are now ready to be installed into The Episcopal Community. The Membership Chair will be in touch with you.