Order of St. Luke
Encyclopedia
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
, dedicated to sacramental and liturgical scholarship, education, and practice.
As a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
religious order, it is a dispersed community of women and men, lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
and clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, from many different denominations, seeking to live the sacramental life. "Membership in The Order is open to persons of all Christian denominations who seek to live the sacramental life in accordance with our Rule of Life and Service, in community with and acceptance of their brothers and sisters in the Order."
The Order gathers annually in mid-October for several days of worship, fellowship, and administration.
The Order proclaims itself as Wesleyan
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
and Lukan
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
in its spirituality, Methodist in its origins, sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
al in its practice, and ecumenical in its outlook.
History
The Order of St Luke was founded in 1946 in the former Methodist Church and holds the status of Affiliate Organization with the Section on Worship of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
. The Order was formed under the leadership of the Rev. R. P. Marshall, a former editor of the Christian Advocate. It was dedicated to the cause of liturgical renewal, and led the way in a serious liturgical awakening across the Methodist Church and much of post-war Protestantism. It was inspired partly by the existence of the Methodist Sacramental Fellowship, which serves a similar purpose in relation to the Methodist Church in Great Britain.
A maturing comprehension of liturgical renewal in an ecumenical era has become the guiding vision of members within the Order, just as it has become a dawning concern in the minds of many persons in the Church presently outside the Order. Recent evidence of this emerging vision may be seen in the design of the official worship books of many denominations.
The additional emphasis of directed spiritual formation, adopted in 1980, sets the direction in which the Order believes itself called.
While it will shun doctrinaire positions, the Order is dedicated to the task of breaking down the barriers of historical ignorance, theological sectarianism and liturgical illiteracy in the Church. The Order has no special revelation about the future of the emerging ecumenical consensus, but will do what it can to encourage the people called Christian to look outward and work toward the greater Church which God is surely gathering for Christ' s sake from a broken Christendom.
OSL Publications
A major ministry of the Order of Saint Luke is OSL Publications. This ministry specializes in providing printed resources for those who lead worship and scholarly resources for those interested in liturgical matters.Publications include resources on liturgy, church architecture, prayer, theology, worship, spirituality, sacraments, and music.
OSL publishes three periodicals:
- Doxology - This is the annual journal with contributions from writers in the areas of liturgical and sacramental scholarship. It is a "juried" or "refereed" journal which offers a service to the academic world as well as those who are involved in the active practice of ministry in its many contexts. It is published in late Summer/early Fall.
- Sacramental Life - This journal is published four times a year. It is designed to provide theologically sound reports of developments from across the church-at-large. Rather than have a theoretical or scholarly approach, the articles and liturgical aids have been practically proven and have grown out of the experiences of people "in the trenches."
- The Font - A once every two months in-house paper helping members to keep current on what is happening with their brothers and sisters around the world.
Leadership
General Officers- Current Abbot- Brother Daniel Benedict (Invested on Oct 15, 2008)
- (most recent) Former abbot - Brother Mark W. Stamm
- Prior-General - Sister E. Sue Moore
- Chancellor-General - Brother Scott Alford
- Provincial-General - Brother George Crisp
Appointed Officers
- Chaplain-General: Sr. Anne Ferguson
- Webscribe: Br. Roger Baker
- Pastoral Care Officer: Br. Tom Beveridge
- Companion for Inquirers and New Members: Br. Matthias Tanner
- Immediate Past Chancellor-General: Br. W. Brent Sturm
Contact information
The Order of Saint Luke204 North Second Street
Memphis, Tennessee 38105
Email: oslchancellor@gmail.com
OSL Publications
PO Box 5506
Maryville TN 37802
Phone or fax: (865) 233-2314
Email: books@saint-luke.net
See also
- Order of WatchersOrder of WatchersThe Order of Watchers is a community of hermits of the French Protestant tradition founded in 1923 by theologian Wilfred Monod....
, a French Protestant association of hermits. - Bose Monastic CommunityBose Monastic CommunityThe ecumenical Monastic Community of Bose was established by Catholic layman Enzo Bianchi in 1965 at Bose, a frazione in the commune of Magnano ....
- Dusty MillerDusty Miller (martyr)"Dusty" Miller was a British P.O.W. in Thailand on the Burma Railway during Second World War. His life and death is attested to in Ernest Gordon's autobiographical work Through the Valley of the Kwai .-Background:Miller was a gardener from Newcastle and a Methodist...
, Methodist martyrMartyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
of World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.