How can I donate?
We are very grateful for any financial or other support we receive. While we support ourselves through the work we do, our mission and formation needs far outstrip our resources. To find out how [...]
How do you live out your ecumenical call?
The most important way we live out our ecumenical call is by sharing our lives with brothers from other churches and denominations. We do so while respecting our theological differences, but [...]
Can you become a priest after joining S/W?
We are a lay brotherhood and as such do not have priests or ministers amongst our brothers. Part of the discernment process involves asking oneself whether one feels called to the priesthood or not.
What church teaching do you follow?
Being an ecumenical brotherhood means that we are all still members of our respective churches. As all church members in good standing, we seek to follow the teaching of the churches we belong [...]
Why do you not wear a habit?
There is no theological reason why we do not wear a uniform- many brotherhoods and sisterhoods like ours do. But we were never led in that way.
Why are you living this way of life, rather than as priests or monks?
In some ways we did not choose this life, it chose us. We greatly respect the priestly and monastic vocation but we have not felt the same call. Our particular calling is one to live as laymen, [...]
Can you date or marry?
We are consecrated celibates, which means we have freely given up a relationship with a woman that is only appropriate in marriage. So we don’t date, nor will we marry, once we have made a [...]
How can family members best support “their” Servant of the Word?
We have all been very blest by the support from our families. The most fundamental support from our families involves them seeking to understand the call on our lives and letting us choose that [...]
Can family members still give a brother birthday and Christmas presents?
Brothers are very happy to receive gifts for birthdays or holidays, and since we share all our gifts and income, so are the other brothers.
Is a brother able to help care for his parents in their old age? Be the executor of their will? Have durable/medical power of attorney?
Given their missionary lifestyle brothers in the Servants of the Word can normally not be the primary care-giver for their parents in sickness or old age. How much he can and should do for them [...]
Can or do brothers retire?
Our aim is to serve the Lord as long as we can, with the strength and gifts at our disposal. How long that is depends on many factors, such as our health and the needs at a particular moment. But [...]
Does being a brother prohibit a man from having a secular career? Is there any provision for brothers as they age? Can they retire?
Our brothers have all been trained in some field of study or occupation and most of them hold college degrees. What career track they pursue depends on many factors, such as their gifts, the [...]
What about health insurance and pensions?
We live simply and ultimately rely on God to provide for our needs. Good stewardship requires that all brothers receive health insurance, and provisions for retirement are made so that beyond a [...]
If my son were to commit himself as an affiliate to the brotherhood, would his expenses be covered or would he need to fundraise? What happens to his income?
When a man first becomes an affiliate, he enters no financial obligations but retains full responsibility for his finances. Even when he first moves into a house of the brotherhood, he is only [...]
How do you support yourselves?
Like most families, the Servants of the Word hold their finances in common. So whether a brother works in a secular occupation, serves in full-time Christian ministry and draws a sacrificial [...]