The Companions of Nazareth was set up in 2020 during the pandemic to provide an online community for people who could not come regularly to St Martin-in-the-Fields, but who were interested to follow the same rule of life as the Nazareth Community based in London. We currently have 155 Companions from around the UK and different parts of the world. We are a diverse and supportive community from different Christian denominations who seek a life of deeper contemplation, prayer and faithfulness. 

 

Companions gather in their own homes and share the Nazareth rule of life in a way that fits their own contexts. It is their own individual path, but in order to support and encourage Companions we offer the opportunity to share in the following invitation:

 

• Silence — Keep a time of Silent Prayer. Companions can carry out regular silent time in their own way or join Silent Prayer at St Martin-in-the-Fields on Mondays and Thursdays 7-8am, and on Wednesdays from 5-6pm (all live on SMITF Public Facebook).

• Service — Discover an intentional and regular act of face-to-face service that works for you.  

• Scripture — Make time to be nourished by the Scriptures. This might include attending our listening lectio groups on Wednesday evenings after Bread for the World at St Martin-in-the-Fields (7.45pm-8.30pm) on Zoom or attending a bible study group connected with your own church.

• Sacrament — Attend a regular Eucharist. This might include Bread for the World, an informal Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields, each Wednesday evening at 6.30pm (live on SMITF public Facebook), and the listening lectio groups that follow on Zoom. Alternatively, attend a regular Eucharist in your own church.     

• Sharing — Attend six Saturday Sharings a year on Zoom (every two months), to share together a teaching or reflection or theme based on the monthly Nazareth Letter, 10.30-noon. 

• Sabbath — Make a regular commitment to Sabbath time in your diary.  

• Staying — Keep the 7Ss within your own context and situations in a lifegiving and sustainable way. 

 

When you join the Nazareth Community you will also:

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Weekly 

• Join the online Saturday morning Nazareth Contemplative Prayer Walk (live from 8am-8.30am on St Martin-in-the-Fields public Facebook). 

• Have a weekly opportunity on Thursdays to meet other Companions at Tea@3 on Zoom for fellowship, support and conversation.  

Monthly 

• Receive the monthly Nazareth Letter to encourage and inspire. 

• Attend monthly Contemplative Space on Zoom, 2nd Monday of the month for reflection and silence, 5.30pm-6.15pm. This is followed by 15 minutes of optional supportive informal chat in small breakout groups until 6.30pm.

Annually 

• Attend one Nazareth Companions’s Retreat a year in London. Usually end of February at the Royal Foundation of St Katharine’s, Limehouse.

• Attend one Nazareth Companions 24 hour Online Retreat in October each year (Friday evening into Saturday).

• Attend one Renewal of Vows service a year at a Wednesday Bread for the World in September at St Martin-in-the-Fields. All these gatherings have an online component for those who cannot travel. 

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There are two Welcome Services a year on Zoom in April and November.  After an initial conversation with the Leader of the Companions, people are welcome to attend all our gatherings as they discern whether or not to join this community. 

 

These plans for Companions are intended to be life-giving. Of course every spiritual discipline requires commitment and dedication. Yet this path also gives people flexibility and we hope the chance to grow in their own spiritual life. Neither is the way of life formed in stone. We are open to God’s Spirit as we grow and learn so we hope to keep alive this Spirit of discovery.

 

The Nazareth Community and the Companions of Nazareth are part of the same family and are like siblings following the same simple rule of life, though in different circumstances, locations and contexts.