- Community of St. Mary
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St. Mary's Convent, Sewanee, Tennessee
The Community of St. Mary (CSM) is an Anglican religious order of nuns with three independent houses located in Greenwich, New York, Sewanee, Tennessee, and Mukwonago, Wisconsin. The oldest indigenous Anglican order in the United States, it was founded in New York City in 1865 by a group of five sisters, and formally constituted by Bishop Horatio Potter of New York as the Sisters of St. Mary. The Episcopal Church was initially slow to recognize the order, and they only found wide support after four of the sisters died nursing victims of a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee in 1878. These four sisters are now commemorated by the Episcopal Church on September 9 as the Martyrs of Memphis or as Constance and her Companions. The community now consists of three independent provinces: Eastern, Western, and Southern.
The Eastern Province sisters moved in 2003 from Peekskill, New York to Greenwich, New York, where they share a 620-acre (2.5 km2) facility with the Spiritual Life Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany. Their rule of life is very similar to the Benedictine rule, and they lived a mixed life of prayer and service. The sisters pray five offices each day, and their Monastic Diurnal Revised [1] is a popular prayer book for many outside of the community as well. The sisters engage in various activities, which include working at the healing center of the Spiritual Life Center, giving retreats, and serving on the board of Saint Mary's Hospital for Children. They also raise cashmere goats and chickens. Since 2000 they have been very involved with supporting the establishment of a new convent in Malawi.
A branch house of the Eastern Province of the Order was established in Malawi in 2002. The initial group of Malawian sisters completed their novitiate at the American house, but now they have enough professed sisters to train novices in Malawi. They are hoping to establish a crisis nursery for babies whose parents are unable to care for them because of AIDS. They also give presentations in churches, visit the sick, lead Bible studies, preach, and work on their farm, helping other women to learn sustainable agriculture techniques.
The Southern Province sisters trace their descent from the remnants of the Memphis sisters. Their current chapel houses the altar, aumbry, and chalice that were originally located in the Memphis house. The sisters formerly operated a girls' school in Sewanee—St. Mary's Preparatory School for Girls—which closed at the end of the 1967-1968 school year. The school is now a retreat center that is available for individual and group retreats, in addition to hosting presentations on contemplative prayer. The convent and the retreat center are located only minutes from the campus of the Sewanee: The University of the South. The sisters say the office from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, in addition to a daily mass, every day except Wednesday, which is the sisters' silent retreat day. The sisters also have a mission in the Philippines, which has been in existence for over thirty years.
The Western Province sisters pursue individual ministries, but are especially involved in offering retreats and spiritual direction at Mary's Margin in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.
References
- Ten Decades of Praise: The Story of the Community of Saint Mary During its First Century (1865-1965) by Sister Mary Hilary, CSM. Dekoven Foundation: 1965. available online
- The Hidden Life PBS documentary on the Community of Saint Mary (copies available from the convent; see Website of the Community of Saint Mary, below)
- Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook: 2006-2007. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2005.
External links
- Website of the Community of Saint Mary.
- Online resources pertaining to the CSM from Project Canterbury.
- Documents on the Martyrs of Memphis
- The Rule of the Community of Saint Mary: A Study in Development by the Reverend Dr. Terrence Gleeson 2002
- St. Mary's Sewanee Spiritual Development Center
- Mary's Margin
Active religious orders and communities of the Anglican Communion Brotherhood of the Ascended Christ • Brotherhood of the Epiphany • Brotherhood of St. Gregory • Chama Cha Mariamu Mtakatifu • Chita che Zita Rinoyera • Chita che Zvipo Zve Moto • Christa Sevika Sangha • Community of All Hallows • Community of Christ the King • Community of Jesus' Compassion • Community of Nazareth • Community of Our Lady & Saint John • Community of St. Andrew • Community of St. Clare • Community of St. Denys • Community of St. Francis • Community of St. John Baptist • Community of St. John the Divine • Community of St. John the Evangelist • Community of St. Laurence • Community of St. Mary • Community of St. Mary at the Cross • Community of St. Mary the Virgin • Community of St. Michael & All Angels • Community of St. Paul • Community of St. Peter • Community of the Blessed Lady Mary • Community of the Companions of Jesus the Good Shepherd • Community of the Divine Compassion • Community of the Glorious Ascension • Community of the Good Shepherd • Community of the Holy Cross • Community of the Holy Family • Community of the Holy Spirit • Community of the Holy Transfiguration • Community of the Reparation to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament • Community of the Resurrection • Community of the Sacred Name • Community of the Sacred Passion • Community of the Servants of the Cross • Community of the Servants of the Will of God • Community of the Sisters of Melanesia • Community of the Sisters of the Church • Community of the Sisters of the Love of God • Community of the Transfiguration • Company of Mission Priests • Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation of our Lady • Daughters of St. Francis • Ewell Monastery • Fikambanan'ny Mpanompovavin l Jesoa Kristy • Korean Franciscan Brotherhood • Little Brothers of Francis • Melanesian Brotherhood • Oratory of the Good Shepherd • Order of Julian of Norwich • Order of St. Anne • Order of St. Anne at Bethany Convent • Order of St. Benedict • Order of St. Helena • Order of the Holy Cross • Order of the Holy Paraclete • Order of the Teachers of the Children of God • Sisterhood of St. John the Divine • Sisterhood of St. Mary, Bangladesh • Sisterhood of the Epiphany • Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity • Sisters of Charity • Sisters of the Good Shepherd • Sisters of the Incarnation • Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor • Society of Our Lady of the Isles • Society of Our Lady St. Mary • Society of St. Francis • Society of St. John the Divine • Society of St. John the Evangelist • Society of St. Margaret • Society of St. Paul • Society of the Franciscan Servants of Jesus & Mary • Society of the Holy Cross • Society of the Holy Trinity • Society of the Precious Blood • Society of the Sacred Advent • Society of the Sacred Cross • Society of the Sacred Mission • Society of the Sisters of BethanyCategories:- Anglican orders and communities
- Religious organizations established in 1865
- Christian religious orders established in the 19th century
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