Serving with the Brothers

Most of the men who consider our life come into contact with us through one of the many communities we live in or through the various outreaches we serve in. There many of them get a chance to interact with us, engage in service with some of our men and simply build relationship.

Some then go on to come and live in one of our houses, for a week or for a more extended period, for example by doing a Gap year. This affords them the opportunity for discipleship and formation, to do meaningful service in one of our many outreaches, and to get a first-hand taste of our life.  Daniel  Dunkl lived in our San José house. See his story here.

In North America we currently have houses in Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Chelsea, all in Michigan. The life of each house varies somewhat depending on the ministries the brothers are primarily involved in. In Lansing, the brothers mainly serve on campus and with high-school youth. Our house in Ann Arbor houses our International Formation Programme and caters to university students. Our house in Grand Rapids is at the center of a new community plant and reaches out to the campus of Grand Valley State University. The Chelsea house serves as our brotherhood center.

But apart from those local differences, each house follows a pattern of life which is the same all across the world. We start the day together with breakfast, followed by a common prayer time. The brothers then go to their various places of service, and normally gather again in the evening. We pray “Evening Prayers” and typically have dinner together. What each brother does in the evenings varies according to his particular work or service but we end the day together with “Night Prayers”.

On Saturday evenings we celebrate the Lord’s Day together: this is a celebration modeled on the Jewish Sabbath ceremony where we begin the Sunday together. It includes some set prayers, a time of worship and sharing, followed by a festive meal and a time of entertainment and relaxation.