Explore
with information about the expanding constellation of gatherings and events for renewal, encouragement, and support.
Cathedral Gatherings
Each year, the Community of Reconciliation extends an invitation for all to embark upon a threefold journey of intention, formation, and reconciliation. The Community shares a journey toward wholeness: becoming reconciling agents in the world by living in harmony with God and creation, with both friend and stranger, and with our deepest selves. It is a journey of life in which both praying and living are infused with the presence of God. Lives, schedules, and priorities vary. Each individual is encouraged to choose a rhythm of participation most suited to their unique life and circumstance.
Yearly cycles of the Community are designed for participation as time and interest allow.
Year Round
The Community hosts year round gatherings for support and encouragement, including: weekly Benedictine Life and Prayer gatherings, monthly Creating a Rule of Life sessions, and Listening, Hearing, and Living sessions. Participants are also encouraged to plan a personal retreat, Benedictine Experience, or other times for rest and renewal. Throughout the year, all are encouraged to create their own rule of life and move toward integration of that rule into their daily living.
Fall
Each fall, a yearlong cycle begins anew with welcoming orientations and reflection days as we take stock of our lives. Newcomers learn about the way of Benedict, while Companions and Companion Candidates— small cohorts of individuals choosing a more focused period of intention— use the time to deepen their experience. In mid-November, a weekend celebration of blessing and investiture allow us to gather with family, friends, and colleagues to consider and bless our intention for balance and reconciliation.
Winter/Spring
Throughout the winter, spring, and early summer, participants are supported through an integrated series of learning events. Monthly Listening, Hearing, and Living series and other events provide practical engagement with leaders in Benedictine spiritual life as we bring balance our own lives.
Summer
During the summer, regular weekly and monthly gatherings continue. The year concludes with an early summer pilgrimage of reflection throughout the sacred spaces of the Cathedral and grounds.
As part of their formation, Companions and Companion Candidates are encouraged to attend a regular community gathering and create their own rule of life. Resources and monthly gatherings are available to assist the process. Most cohorts work to attend, Benedictine Life and Prayer gatherings, pilgrimages, Listening, Hearing, and Living events, and retreats (or visit them online) when possible.
Following is a roadmap for a typical year in the life of The Community of Reconciliation. Come journey with us. Visit www.nationalcathedral.org
The Community of Reconciliation: Year 1
The first year cycle explores Benedictine foundations and practices for radical balance and reconciliation. You can experience these individually, or in a cohort of Companion Candidates with others who will journey with you throughout the year of intention. Always you are invited to attend those gatherings most helpful on your journey. Each year serves as a foundation for subsequent years and deepening in the foundations and practices of the Community.
Autumn
- Welcome to the Community Inquirer Sessions- evening and weekend afternoon sessions
- Pilgrimage of Reflection- Saturday morning
- Weekly Benedictine Life and Prayer gatherings- weeknight evening
- Monthly Creating a Rule of Life gatherings- one Monday evening each month
- Benedictine Quiet Day- Friday evening in your own home and Saturday day at the Cathedral
- Pilgrimage of Intention- Saturday morning
- Service of Blessing and Investiture- Weekend Evening
Winter/Spring
Summer
- Weekly Benedictine Life and Prayer gatherings- weeknight evening
- Monthly Creating a Rule of Life gatherings-weeknight evening
- Pilgrimage of Reflection- Saturday morning
- Personal Retreat- selected by participant
The Community of Reconciliation: Year 2
In the second year, those who have become part of a cohort or have chosen to become Companions will be supported in their development through focused events for each cohort along with their regular participation in community. We will work alongside you to develop resources that support your deepening journey. Your second year is one of engagement with the foundations and practices of the Benedictine way.
The Community of Reconciliation: Year 3 and Following
For those continuing the journey, in the third year and following, individuals are encouraged to maintain connections with their cohort as a support for their ongoing reconciliation in the world. The Community cycle helps support the work of articulating your unique vision for reconciliation in the world. The vision might be as an individual, as a cohort, or in partnership with others.
To this end, we anticipate leading special third year pilgrimages to meaningful sites in the Benedictine tradition. Regionally and internationally, these unique gatherings are designed as working discovery pilgrimages in which you discern and design your unfolding journey alongside a cohort of trusted spiritual friends, in settings of stunning beauty and spiritual significance.
Constellation Partners
Constellation communities are members of an expanding, affiliated network of organizations that serve as satellite sites in which Benedictine life can be experienced and nurtured. A constellation community might take place in your home faith community, at a local monastery, in a small cell gathering of individuals from your local area, or a retreat center that aligns itself with Benedictine practices.
Because we are each linked together in spiritual relationship, the Community exists wherever two or more are gathered with an intention to live lives of balance and reconciliation. We encourage you to contact us if you would like to identify a constellation community in your area, or if you would like to become affiliated as a constellation community.
Distance-Learning
The Community of Reconciliation allows anyone who seeks balance in life and reconciliation in the world to benefit from association with the Community. Currently, those at distance can receive resources and spiritual support by e-mail and online at www.nationalcathedral.org
We encourage all to participate locally, fully, and regularly in gatherings and events that promote balance and reconciliation. The Community of Reconciliation website has a list of regional gatherings and resources to introduce you to what we call an expanding constellation of communities that honor the practices of radical balance and reconciliation.
We encourage you to plan a Cathedral visit whenever you are in Washington, DC, and to participate in gatherings, pilgrimages, Benedictine Experiences, and special events throughout the country. Several times a year we host events specially designed for distance participants who wish to visit the Washington DC area.
For those beyond the Washington area who wish to become Companion Candidates or Companions at distance, we ask that you contact us to explore possibilities in your area. Beginning in the fall of 2009, we will be working with several pilot distance communities to determine the most effective way to provide support and encouragement. If you are interested in participating in the Community, becoming a Companion Candidate or Companion at distance, would like to be considered as a pilot site, or would like to participate as a constellation community, please contact us at companions@cathedral.org or (202) 537-6217.