Summer Residency Program

We welcomed a cohort of young adults (ages 18-25) to join us for the summer of 2023 on the homestead. We have tentative plans to offer this opportunity annually, beginning in the summer of 2025. If you’d like to learn more, please be in touch!

Summer residents participate fully in life at Metanoia, along with the permanent residential community. You will be sharing in life on the land, and following our rhythm of work, prayer and study. These three pillars of Benedictine life are designed to support a life of wholeness, given to God in body, soul and spirit.

Prayer – You’ll join us for the seven offices of the Liturgy of the Hours, which amounts to about an hour and a half of communal prayer each day. There will also be two daily opportunities for silent prayer or simple shared prayer (Rosary, Lectio Divina, etc) in common with other community members. Prayer is central to our life at Metanoia. The chapel is always open for prayer, and there are lots of wonderful hidden spots on the land for silence and solitude.

Work - Our life includes extensive manual labor, centered around tending to the needs of daily life (child care, cooking, cleaning, farm chores, gardening and animal care). We also are intimately involved in building the physical infrastructure and in restoring the agricultural productivity of our property. Work at Metanoia includes a mix of work in groups and solitary projects depending on the needs of the community, and the skill and interest of each resident.

Study - Each summer cohort will have a program of spiritual study. We’ll read a book and/or articles in common related to prayer and spiritual discipline, and provide additional resources for each individual to pursue according to their own interests. We will have daily times for spiritual discussion at the mid-day community meal.

Life in Community - Summer residents form a ‘community within a community’, acting as a temporary ‘household’ of mutual support throughout the experience. Through living in community, we learn to love one another concretely, and to grow together as members of the body of Christ. At Metanoia, the summer resident community will share the responsibilities of maintaining their residency, making breakfasts and suppers, and tending to whatever needs arise in their shared time together.

Spiritual support - Each summer resident will have the opportunity for weekly support and conversation with one of Metanoia’s permanent residents. In addition, we require that all residents have a relationship with at least one trusted ally from beyond our community during their time here – this could be a mentor, a teacher, a pastor or priest, or a spiritual director, etc. We’ve found that this ‘outside perspective’ can be an invaluable aid in supporting and integrating the good work of life at Metanoia with the rest of one’s life.

“My summer residency at Metanoia was my first time committing seriously to a discipline of silent prayer. The combination of manual labor, life in community, and time spent in Creation meant I could focus on spiritual growth with minimal distraction, and I was blessed with a deeply peaceful sense of God’s presence pervading my daily work, prayer, and study. Although I worried about leaving the stillness of Metanoia for my ‘real life’; as a college student, I have kept up a discipline of prayer that has helped me bring Christ into my studies, into my friendships, and my leadership role in a Christian student group. My time at Metanoia helped me explore the Christian contemplative tradition and deepen my trust in God's will in all aspects of my life.” - Ryan S, summer 2023