The most important task of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity is to prayerfully worship God. Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, we seek not so much to pray as to become a prayer.  (Constitution, 18)

Food

Whether in a shift for our Little Portion Bakery (see below) or for meal preparations for a community meal, we are mindful to take good care of the body that God has given us. Simplicity in food and drink brings health to mind and body, as well as table etiquette which manifests courtesy and care for others.

Little Portion Bakery

Members of the community take turns working in our Little Portion Bakery. Whether working in the kitchen preparing our loved bakery products or in the office packaging and shipping orders, we treat this as a service doing all with "charity and prayer."

Troubadour for the Lord Publishing

This community finds its roots in Abba John Michael Talbot's ministry of music, writing and teaching.  Members of our community spend time in our office taking orders, shipping spiritual resources (CDs, Books, DVDs, etc.), responding to customer inquiries and maintaining product inventory. 

Maintenance of the facility

As a faithful steward, each brother and sister answers for the community goods they use and enjoy. As much as possible, and in keeping with evangelical poverty, we maintain the facility to the best of our ability before outsourcing projects or discarding broken tools and appliances. Everything from digging ditches to small appliance repair to basic plumbing and electrical work to household chores to mowing lawns to washing dishes: all of it is done in the school of the Lord’s service.
 

GUEST AND RETREAT CENTER

Our motherhouse is often home to guests and we take great care to ensure our guest house and retreat center are clean and maintained as a way to not only serve God, but to show His welcoming love to those He brings our way. 

Gardening

In the spirit of environmental and ecological sensitivity, we do our best to produce and serve only good, healthy food at our table. Whenever possible, we acquire food from simple gardens, maintained by our own hands.

We also maintain our beautiful prayer gardens where community members and guests find an environment for prayer, reflection and rest.

Manual Labor

Manual labor holds a pre-eminent place of importance in both the monastic and Franciscan traditions. It is perhaps best suited for prayer and contemplation. It is also most helpful in establishing humility and the necessary break with pride of the world during the early stages of formation. It is highly regarded by all.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Our community maintains a vibrant social media presence across several platforms where we share words of encouragement from multiple sources (our Founder's writings and thoughts, the saints, doctrine and more), images from our motherhouse and offer our various spiritual resources and baked goods!