Initially it might seem odd to locate a community that seeks to represent "Anglican Religious Life in the New Millennium" in a state perhaps best known for hogs and com. What many people may not realize is that as America's rural heartland declines in population it increasingly offers two qualities that are in ever-shorter supply: peace and quiet.

The Companions of St. Luke - Benedictine have a priory located on 35 acres of what used to be a hobby farm near Donnellson in the southeast comer of the state. It is relatively accessible to the nation's highway grid except for the last few miles that include a winding dirt driveway, property edged with trees and about two miles of gravel road. This helps minimize the intrusion of all the background noise associated with a highly industrialized society.

The silence takes some getting used to, as does the slow, purposeful rhythm to the day. The surroundings seem to help most guests adjust quickly. Outside are footpaths leadIng to a pond, wild raspberry patches and some overgrown peach and apple orchards. Inside, Prior Michael-John and the two other brothers who live on the priory grounds have transformed a drab 1970s ranch house, two used house trailers and a prefabricated pole barn into a spacious dining area, designer-quality guest living quarters and an elaborate Gothic-style chapel.

"What you see here is not typical of a Benedictine or any other monastery for that matter," said Pr. Michael-John. "Most are quite austere. We wanted to make people feel at home, comfortable." Guests come for a variety of reasons, he said.

"Some need to get away from their environment - a job, a social situation, illness. Some want spiritual direction. Others just want a place where it's quiet. The reason for the visit is between that person and God."

Despite the comfortable surroundings and relaxed pace, there is little chance that the community will be mistaken for a bed and breakfast.

"Our vocation calls us into a life of prayer," said Pr. Michael-John. "The house gives us an opportunity to live that life of prayer. The manifestation of our vocation is hospitality. Anyone who comes to our door is to be treated like Christ."

Part of the responsibility of living in community entails being self supporting and the Companions of St. Luke rely on voluntary donations from guests for a substantial portion of their income. As innovative as the comfortable surroundings and guest quarters are, however, where the sign at the entrance becomes most notable is in the way the community is ordered. Vowed religious members are not required to live at the priory, for example, nor do they have to remain celibate.

"Benedict was a realist," explained Pr. Michael-John. "Traditional Benedictine communities have only accepted single males and required them to live on the property. We want to honor that tradition as a valid expression of Benedictine life. It is not so much that we have broken the rule practiced by other communities. Rather, we have augmented the rule to be more inclusive of the Spirit's work in contemporary life."

"We have augmented the rule to be more inclusive of the Spirit's work in contemporary life."

- Pr. Michael-John

The Customary and Constitution for the Companions of St. Luke permit both males and females and does not require either to live on the grounds or to be single. Chastity in all relationships is strictly enforced as is the understanding that love and obedience of God come before all other commitments. Given the current accommodations, only single males can live at the priory full-time.

FEBRUARY 10, 2002, THE LIVING CHURCH