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St. Clare of Assisi
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The Little Sisters of St. ClareA Franciscan House of Prayer We take seriously the original call to St. Francis as he was praying before the cross in the ruins of the little church of San Damiano in Italy. In that spirit and with the greater freedom and equality between men and women of this age, we encourage one another to work in our respective churches, according to our individual abilities. We strive always to be mindful of our vocation to contemplative life and intercessory prayer, carefully maintaining the difficult balance between secular and religious life. OUR MISSION Our primary mission is the same as that of other Franciscan orders: To make our Lord known and loved through the land. Secondly, it is our desire to bring the contemplative spirituality of St. Clare out of the cloister and into our churches, being grounded in the roots of the while finding wings for the future OUR HISTORY Our founding mother, The Abbess Mother Gloria- Mary Goller was life professed as a Tertiary Sister in the Society of St. Francis in 1982, after many years as an associate of another order. Mother Gloria-Mary had dreamed of founding a women's religious community for years, but thought it was beyond her capabilities. Mother Gloria-Mary's journey for the next years, the churches in which she worked in the winters in the Southwest and people with whom she worked, as well as her experiences, all contributed to reinforce God's call to her. Originally there were three sisters from other Franciscan orders, both Anglican and Roman, who were life professed in those orders and decided to transfer to the Little Sisters of St. Clare. Over a two- year period in study and Franciscan formation, we acquired the six professed Sisters required by Canon Law of the Episcopal church. WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Women seeking Profession as Sisters must be baptized and confirmed members of a church within the Apostolic succession. We will give careful consideration to other applications on an individual basis. Companions may be any woman baptized in any Christian church. She must be not more than 100 miles from the House of Prayer and able to attend meetings. Associates desiring to promote the Sisters' work with prayer and alms and living by simple rule may affiliate from anywhere in the world. Baptism is required. OUR MEMBERS The Order of the Little Sisters of St. Clare provides an umbrella under which women may come together sharing the same ethos, but under separate vows. We offer rules for the following categories: 1) Tertiary Sisters, married or single, under the simple Third Order vows of Simplicity, Purity and Fidelity. Our Tertiaries wear a brown Franciscan habit with sandals, San Damiano cross and seven decade Franciscan Rosary representing the seven joys of Mary and Jesus (optional). 2) Oblate Sisters are under at least one of the monastic vows of Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience. They may be married or single, depending on the vow or vows they have taker Oblates wear a brown habit as do Tertiaries, adding a white collar, sandals, cross and Franciscan Rosary (optional). 3) Poor Clare Extern nuns wear the same habit a do the Oblate Sisters but add the black veil. Poor Clares are obligated to pray the four-fold daily office and are vowed to the three evangelical vows of Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience. 4) Our companions are those who wish to participate on the ecumenical level afforded that category. Companions have a simple rule, attend meetings and take part in all our efforts. Companions wear a brown jumper of the same material as the Sisters' habits, with a white blouse, sandals and small San Damiano Cross. They are members but are not Sisters. They must live within 100 miles of our Oratory in order to attend meetings. 5) Our associates are women from any Christian church who desire a simple rule for the sake of spiritual growth and wish to support the community with alms and prayers. She may attend meetings of any fellowship in our community, anywhere. Baptism is required. The Little Sisters of St. Clare has been formally recognized in the year 2002 by: The Diocese of Olympia, Seattle, WA: The House of Bishops: INQUIRIES Abbess Gloria-Mary Goller, PCLS Sr. Mary-Louise Sulonen, OSC Tovi Andrews, Comp/LSSC, Secretary
By the hand of Sr. Dorothy-Anne Kiest, LSSC Our ministry is prayer, molded by our Franciscan roots,
Updated on Wednesday, June 6, 2007 |
