Community of St. Mary

File:Malawi1.jpg

The Community of St. Mary (CSM) is an Anglican religious order of nuns, located in Greenwich, NY. The oldest indigenous Anglican order in the United States, it was founded in New York City in 1865 by an initial group of five sisters. The Episcopal Church was inititally 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, Tennesse in 1878. These four sisters are now commemorated in Lesser Feasts and Fasts on September 9th.

The American convent has recently moved from Peekskill, NY to Greenwich, NY, where they share a 620 acre 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 is a popular prayer book for many outside of the community as well. The sisters engage in various activities, including work at the healing center of the Spiritual Life Center, giving retreats, and serving on the board of Saint Mary's Children's Hospital. They have also been very involved with supporting the establishment of a new convent in Malawi.

A branch house of the order was established in Malawi in 2002. The initial group of Malawians completed their novitiate at the American house, but now that they have enough professed sisters of their own, they will be able 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, in the hope that the children can return to their extended families upon weaning. They also give presentations in churches, visit the sick, lead Bible studies, and work on a farm, helping other women to learn sustainable agriculture techniques.

Gallery

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.
The Hidden Life PBS documentary on the Community of Saint Mary (copies available from PBS or the convent)
Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook: 2004-2005. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2003.

External links

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