Rivendell’s professed members (called “Companions”—those who break bread and share the journey together) include women and men, lay and ordained, married and single. Some live together in residential community, while the majority live in private homes, coming together for worship, prayer, conversation, study, and active ministry. All follow a common Rule, or pattern of life and prayer, which sustains and nourishes us to live active lives of service in our particular and diverse ministries.
The work of the Rivendell Community is focused on prayer and hospitality: the constant offering of prayer and worship on behalf of the Church and the world, and hospitality both physical and spiritual. Through its life and work, the Community seeks to foster the contemplative dimension of Christian faith—not as self-seeking spirituality but as self-giving availability to the transformative power of the Gospel, and loving obedience to the purposes of God. “Bringing the Story to Life” offers a brief history and description.
Rivendell is a recognized Christian Community of the Episcopal Church. (For more information, visit NAECC, the National Association of Episcopal Christian Communities.) While professed Companions are Episcopalians, Associates and friends represent other Christian traditions, both Roman Catholic and Protestant.
Some of Rivendell’s ministries and projects include…
- Facilities and hospitality for personal and small group retreats
- Several thematic retreats and conferences each year
- Theological education and spiritual formation
- Pastoral and lay leadership for congregations where we live: St. Mark’s, Kimberling City; Trinity, El Dorado; St. Mary Magdalene, Kansas City; Grace-St. Luke’s, Memphis; St. Mary’s, Memphis
- Spiritual direction
- Stewardship of Creation, including wildlife habitat development, composting and recycling
- Saturday night meal/discussion/worship
- Social justice ministries
- Parish spiritual/liturgical life (Daily office, quiet days, seasonal celebrations)
- Chaplaincy for inner city independent elementary school
- News, communication, commentary on Episcopal and Anglican affairs
- Secondary school teaching in religion
The Rivendell Community 