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Join Pastor Ruth, Father James from St Timothy’s and St Stephen’s parishioner Jay Park in exploring 4 different monastic traditions and how those traditions might shape our own practice of Christianity. We’ll be talking about the Augustinian value of stillness, the Benedictine value of stability, the Jesuit commitment to service, and the Franciscan commitment to poverty. How might any of these traditions help shape our own spirituality? Can these historic traditions help us hear and respond to God’s call in our own time? 

These sessions will be an hour long and offered only on Zoom. 

 A Couple More Things to Know

  • Traditional monastic life has shaped our worship and spirituality from very early in the history of Christianity. Throughout the centuries many non-monastics have learned valuable spiritual lessons from studying their way of life. Learning from this wisdom doesn’t require adopting a monastic way of life.
  • Although monastic orders were dissolved during the English Reformation (the historic period that shaped the Anglican form of Christianity), deep ties to Celtic practices of monasticism and the Oxford Movement helped re-establish monastic orders for men and women in England in the 1800s, which, of course, travelled with the British Empire around the world.
  • When Christians take vows, some of us will break them. This is as true for monks and nuns as it is for brides and grooms. In the process of colonizing Canada, many monks and nuns participated in dehumanizing and abusive practices as part of this country’s attempted genocide of Indigenous peoples. We acknowledge this history and the breaking of religious vows it represents while still seeking to find what wisdom might be part of the deeper traditions. 

Saint Stephen Burnaby is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.  
Topic: Advent Study
Join Zoom Meeting Follow this link for the Zoom Meeting.  
Phone in:  Dial In: 778 907 2071
Meeting ID: 816 2204 3288   Passcode: 835375