It has been nearly a year since I last posted. I don't really have a good excuse other than my own personal quirks. It is an uncomfortable thing for to share thoughts, and experiences with an unknown audience. My life experiences, and ruminations,seem much too ordinary, and hardly noteworthy most of the time. This is, in fact, one of the places where my introversion becomes evident. But as a Priest, and pastor there are times, when it is needful to put aside my personal preferences. I am growing used to it. This is one of those times.
This past year I was named Father General, that is, the head of the Missionaries of St. John. The Missionary Society of St. John, is the religious society that I have been part of since its founding in 2006. The Society is very dear to my heart, and has been the source of strength and inspiration for me and my mission since the day I made my vows. I am honored to serve my dear brothers and sisters in this capacity. I pray that by God's grace I may faithfully discharge the duties entrusted to me.
But what is the Missionary Society of St. John? Who are they, besides a link on my blog to the casual reader? I dare say that one would be hard pressed to find out much about the MSJ even doing a google search. No it is not a secret club. Our hidden-ness is not intentional, but the result of other priorities. We are not interested in building an empire. We are not trying to make a name for ourselves. We eschew any notion of entrepeneurial religion. We are simply missionaries, dedicated to sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and make disciples of Him. Success for us is not growing the Religious Society, but advancing the Kingdom of God. It is a unique Charism that we share, and the Holy Spirit is the Giver of such gifts and callings. We recognize fully that all Christians do not share this Charism. However, for those who think they might share this calling and would like to know more, or for those who just want to be assured that I am not the leader of some new cult, or sect, I have attempted a synopsis of the MSJ:
Founded The Feast of St. Nicholas, 2006
Constituted, Rule of Life written 2009
Synopsis:
The Missionary Society of St. John the Evangelist is composed of men and women, lay and clergy, united by the divine call to gospel mission, catholic unity, and life according to a shared Rule. This call is expressed by approaching ministry with the zeal characteristic of missionaries to foreign lands: living, working, worshipping and serving among the people they are reaching out to. While outside financial support is welcome, if necessary, the Missionaries of St. John are content to serve at their own expense, in the footsteps of St. Paul, not wanting to be a burden to the people, nor allowing the advance of the Kingdom of God to be restrained or thwarted by the power of Mammon. Ministry is a calling not a career, flowing our of who we are as Missionaries, rather than the need to earn a living.
Missionaries of St. John derive their strength for such difficult service through the close knit brotherhood of the Society. The Society functions to support, encourage, affirm, nurture and equip missionaries in their individual and corporate work. It provides a familial safety net of men and women who understand and share similar challenges. The unity of the Society is intentional not coincidental, rooted in a bond Christian love that transcends differences of political structures. We are Missionaries of St. John, serving in Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or other catholic contexts. While the Society is Anglo-Catholic in tradition, membership in the society is open to all catholic Christians who share this unique charism.
The MSJ is resident in the Missionary Diocese of All Saints, and under the Episcopal Protection of the Rt. Rev. Alberto Morales OSB, Diocese of Quincy, ACNA.
Ministries of the MSJ
There are over 50 vowed members serving in 5 Chapters of the MSJ: Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, with on-going work in the Diocese of Lake Victoria Nyanza, in Tanzania. The work of Missionaries of St. John takes many shapes.
Parish Ministries: MSJs who fulfill their mission as active participants in established parishes, adding strength, and bringing their missionary consciousness to everyday parish and community life.
Community Ministries: MSJs serve in intentional MSJ communities or houses for the purpose of serving the needs of compassion and evangelization in a specific locale.
Interior Ministries: MSJs whose mission is prayer for the Society, the Church and the World, and/or operate Retreat Houses for the MSJ, and others who need rest and “re-creation” for their work as missionaries.
Compassionate Ministries: MSJs who serve as solitary individuals, a particular need, such as hospice chaplains, prison chaplains, underground ministries in public contexts, nurses, teachers etc.
Educational/formational Ministries: MSJs who work in teaching, spiritual formation or direction, or as a support to other teaching or formational ministries.
Vocational Ministries: MSJs who bring the missionary charism to bear in their work place. Every workplace is its own mission field. Vocational missionaries, strive to be salt and light in their own “secular” vocation, and participate in the life of the local parish or community. Every lay person, and many clergy of the MSJ are called to be vocational missionaries.
