Welcome to our website! I invite you to look over these pages in order to get to know us. To begin, I'd like to give you an overview of the Ecumenical Order of Charity. Our Order is an intentional religious community. Our charism is ecumenism which we describe as the response to the all-inclusive call and love of Christ. We live this out as an ecumenical Christian community whose members follow either the historical/scriptural Jesus or the Cosmic Christ. We do not strive for uniformity, but rather, for unity.

    Our Order is self-governing and has no denominational ties except as they pertain to each individual member. There is room for both the traditions of the past and the life of today and we try to blend the two. Our task is made easier by the fact that each Companion is free to choose the style of religious life which best suits him/her. We are diverse and offer each person the right, support and encouragement to serve God in the Works of Charity. The Order must be judged by how the entire community (all the Houses and Companions) live the religious life.

    Our rule of life, The Founding Document, stresses underlying principles rather than giving many hard and fast rules. In fact, that is why it is so named: it provides the foundation for living in an intentional religious community. Rather than focusing on regulations, rules and traditions, our members are focused on spirituality and service. Each member must interpret his/her own vision of living the religious life in the light that The Founding Document provides. We live in various settings, each different from the other, yet all bound by a common vocation and love as Charitists. We have single, celibate, married and partnered Companions. A Companion chooses an appropriate living situation in accordance with the ministry given by God's spirit.

 

    Religious life is changing and many new forms are emerging from the foundation of the past. We are convinced that the new communities will be inclusive as never before and will focus themselves on prayer, community, spirituality and ministry/mission. The Ecumenical Order of Charity offers a system of community, spirituality and the recognition of individuality. We believe that the flexibility of the Order enables a person to find the right mixture of supports to live the religious life successfully. We are convinced that we are a viable model of religious life for the future. We are small in number and are searching for pioneers who feel called to build something beautiful in the world. We believe that God has called our order to be among the leaders in religious life in this century.

If you think you would like to join us, please feel free to contact us.

Enjoy this day.

In Christ' love,

Brother Mark Elliott Newman, OC
Director General