“No vocation is born of itself or lives for itself.
Pope Francis – January 16, 2014
A vocation flows from the heart of God and blossoms in the good soil of faithful people.
Did not Jesus say: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35)?
Our journey forward
Joining The Order of Saints Francis and Dominic requires serious thought, prayerful discernment, and a bit of patience tempered with love.
It is a life-long journey that requires an almost constant self-awareness but it is not single-sided. The Order, too, is always discerning itself, finding ways to grow and live the Gospel message.
We also take responsibility for our own paths while nurturing and caring for those who walk similar paths.
We are eager to walk beside members who are committed to the unique charism of the Order, especially as it relates to the Anglo-Catholic expression of faith.
Companions on the journey
The Order does NOT operate independent of the entire Body of Christ,
and as such supports and is responsible for serving not only the People of God, but also our mother Church:
the Anglican Free Communion International.
What It Takes
A Good Fit
Our Journey Together
We look for a good fit between the Member and the Order, so that a long-term and productive relationship can be assured.
The application process begins with prayer and by contacting either a representative near you or our Servant General through our Contact Page.
The Order will not accept applicants if we don’t know who you are or have never spoken with you. Before you apply, we’d like to hear from you.
It may seem harsh that we have these requirements, but we have them to protect the People of God.
Education
Because we are part Dominican, we engage in ongoing mental, as well as spiritual, formation.
We may challenge you to continue your journey if we discover your existing degrees were obtained from online diploma mills (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diploma_mill).
Background Checks
While we firmly believe that all persons are worthy of forgiveness, there are instances where we need to continue protecting the People of God. We do background checks and caregiver checks from a person’s state(s) of residence.
Some past mistakes are impediments to
Holy Orders.
Mental Wellness
There is simply no way around this – if you are not well-balanced and emotionally stable, how will you be able to serve the People of God?
In protecting the people under our care in the community, both within and outside of our Order, we work tirelessly on ourselves to promote well-balanced and healthy servants.
The Application Process
Because we are not a separate entity from the Anglican Free Communion International, members MUST be members of, or must be able to join, or incardinate into the National Church. Members of the Order adhere to all standards and applications processes as deemed necessary by the National Church. We have no time commitments. While we try to process applications and novitiate in a timely manner, some might take longer with the process than others. For that reason, we do not have a time constraint on our process.