The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Students and Young Adults

From our founding in Oxford in 1866 we have recognized ministry to students and young adults as a very significant part of our mission. The establishment of our community in Boston and, later, Cambridge, Massachusetts was largely influenced by the presence of so many institutions of higher education.

Today we regularly host groups of students and young adults for retreats, quiet days, workshops and other special programs. Brothers meet with students and young adults for spiritual direction and mentoring. The proximity of the monastery to Harvard and several other universities draws many to our chapel for quiet meditation and our regular round of worship.

The brothers offer a number of additional opportunities of interest to students and young adults:

NightSong at the Monastery

A late evening service planned and implemented in collaboration with the interns of the Diocese of Massachusetts “Life Together” program.

A service of music and prayer drawing on the monastic tradition, Taize and other contemporary worship styles, it is designed to appeal to students and other young adults. A very successful pilot event was held Dec. 2, 2009. Two services are planned for early 2010, one on March 3, another April 14. Find NightSong on Facebook.

Monastic Residencies

An opportunity for students and other young men and women to live alongside the monastic community in our Guesthouse.

This opportunity is offered to those who:

  • Desire a time of vocational discernment
  • Wish to offer themselves for a time of urban ministry or service
  • May not feel called to the vowed life of a monastic community, but who desire the experience of immersion and formation for a season of life

 

The Monastic Residency is a fairly flexible arrangment worked out on an individual basis with the Guest Brother. Participants are either employed, self-sufficient financially, or receiving financial support from outside the SSJE community. They ordinarily make a modest contribution to the Society for their room and board, assist with the practical work of offering hospitality to others, and join the Brothers for worship on a regular basis.

Those interested in a monastic residence will work with the Guesthouse Brother and one or two assisting Brothers to negotiate a living arrangement that fits their needs and the needs of the community. For more information, contact guesthouse@ssje.org.

Monastic Residencies are typically a year in duration.

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Organic Farming Internship for Young Adults at Emery House

The Brothers of SSJE are seeking interns for the 2010 growing season. Interns will have the opportunity for a full season immersion in all aspects of a small, diversified vegetable and poultry farm. Of equal importance to the farming portion of the experience will be the practice of living in intentional, praying community with the other interns, Brothers, and the caretaker family at Emery House, rural retreat center of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. Prayer, theological reflection, and spiritual mindfulness are incorporated into the daily routine.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who finds that working with the Earth walks hand in hand with a life of the Spirit.

Emery House is a rural retreat center situated on 100 acres in the town of West Newbury, MA, forty miles north of Boston. We are in our third year of integrating an organic farm into the life of the Society and their guests, with more than an acre in intensive vegetable production, some small grains and two hundred laying hens, broilers, and turkeys. The food produced feeds the Society and its guests, is donated to a local food shelter, and beginning this coming season, will be distributed through a small CSA and farm stand.

Details:

  • Dates of the internship are March 1 – November 7. (We are open to conversation regarding a late start/early departure due to school commitments.)
  • We work approximately 50 hours/week, including Saturdays in the height of the season.
  • Comfortable accommodations and full board are offered, as well as a stipend of $500/month and full health insurance.
  • This is a young adult initiative. Interns should be between the ages of 21 and 34 and single. Men and women are encouraged to apply.

 

Requirements:

  • Willingness to participate in the religious life of Emery House including daily Mass and regular spiritual direction, and to respect the privacy and sanctity of the Community's life.
  • Ability to lift 50 pounds. Ability to handle (and even revel in) the stress of outdoor physical exertion in the heat of the summer.
  • Willingness and ability to use/learn to use power equipment, including chainsaws, tractors, agricultural implements, etc.
  • Willingness to participate in all aspects of poultry management, including culling and harvesting birds.
  • Horticultural, Agricultural, Forestry, Carpentry and Maintenance experience is not required, but interest in these fields is.
  • A valid drivers license and your own transportation. (A bicycle is acceptable transportation as mass transit to Boston and beyond is readily accessible.)
  • An in-person interview, a physician’s assent to physical readiness for farm labor and three references are required. (A form for a physician’s signature will be available.)

 

The intern is responsible to Brent Was, the Caretaker of Emery House (a 2005 Harvard Divinity School graduate, currently a D.Min student at EDS and a candidate for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Massachusetts).

To apply, please contact Brent Was at bwas@ssje.org.

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SSJE is a monastic community of The Episcopal Church
The Society of Saint John the Evangelist is an independent, 501(c) (3) non-profit tax exempt U.S. corporation.
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