Ministries
The Gospel calls us to more than a self-centered contentment with the blessings God has given us; like all Christians we are called to serve the world in our various invidual and corporate capacities. The principal ministries of Holy Cross Monastery are the guest house and the daily round of prayer. In addition to that, St. Raphael's Place and the Peace Prayer ministry are expressions of Christ's teaching to bring peace and to heal the sick. Many of the monks of the Order have other, individual ministries providing spiritual direction, leading retreats, and providing professional services such as masage therapy, psychotherapy, and teaching. Members of the Order are encouraged to discover the ways in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit may be made manifest in their work.
If you would like to receive spiritual direction while on retreat, please speak with the guest house staff.
St. Raphael's Place
St. Raphael's Place is a ministry of Holy Cross Monastery for people living with HIV/AIDS and their care givers. People of all faiths - or none - are invited to join this community. We meet once per month at the monastery for some fellowship, sharing our faith journeys, some prayer, and a really good meal! All are welcome to join us. For more information, please contact Brother James Dowd, the coordinator of this ministry at James at hcmnet.org.
The schedule of meetings for the remainder of 2009 is:
- Wednesday, September 2
- Wednesday, September 30
- Wednesday, October 14
- Wednesday, November 18
- Wednesday, December 9
All meetings take place at Holy Cross Monastery from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm. Please join us!
The Holy Cross Peace Vigil
Holy Cross Monastery prays a vigil for peace every third Saturday of the month from 7:00 am until 12:00 noon. All are invited to join us in a prayer for peace around the world for a few minutes, a few hours, or the entire morning.
The peace vigil begins with Matins at 7:00 am and continue in silence until the celebration of the Eucharist at 9:00 am, then continues again in silence until 12:00 noon, when a special prayer service for peace is held. For more information regarding the peace vigil, please contact Brother James at James at hcmnet.org. You can also read Brother James' monthly column, "Peace Before the Sun Goes Down" for the Mennonite "ezine" Peace Signs, at http://peace.mennolink.org/peacesigns.
The peace vigils for 2010 are:
- Saturday, January 16
- Saturday, February 20
- Saturday, March 20
- Saturday, April 17
- Saturday, May 15
