Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery is a dispersed, ecumenical Benedictine community, with members living across the United States. We do not have a central monastery building but share a rich community life that includes daily prayer, monthly formation meetings, regular community gatherings, and a Lenten retreat, all through teleconferencing. We also gather yearly for an in-person retreat.
Our community is made up of men and woman, both clergy and lay, married and single, representing a variety of Christian denominations. We are guided by our founder Mary Ewing Stamps who serves as our abbess, and also by a Council, made up of community members and a representative from another Benedictine community. Our members pledge to follow a covenant that gives shape to our shared commitment to living the monastic life. Our guiding sources include Holy Scripture, the Rule of St. Benedict, and Methodist texts such as the United Methodist Hymnal and the writings of John Wesley (the founder of Methodism).
Because we are a dispersed community, we use the term Oblate differently than many other centralized monastic communities. Our Oblates are full members who have gone through a process of learning, discerning, prayer, and guidance, before making their commitment to the community. We also have Professed members who, after belonging to the community for many years, may choose to go through an additional discernment and prayer process before making a life promise to the community. Whether we oblate or profess, we are all monks.
If you are interested in learning more about our community click here.