Q & A for Seekers and Inquirers

This guide offers a glimpse into the Order of Saint Luke’s life and spirituality: who we are, what we do, and how you can learn more about our inclusive, dispersed religious community. If your questions aren’t answered here, you are welcome to contact one of our novitiate team members. See the  Novitiate Contact Directory in this series.

Q: Who makes up The Order of Saint Luke?

A: We are a dispersed, ecumenical religious order dedicated to sacramental and liturgical scholarship, education, and practice. Founded in 1946 by Methodists inspired by John and Charles Wesley, we now include United Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists, Holiness traditions, and others. Members are clergy and lay, married and single, living in many countries. Our focus is ongoing spiritual formation guided by our Rule of Life and Service.

We are sometimes confused with the International Order of St. Luke the Physician, a healing order. While we affirm healing ministry, our primary focus is scholarship, education and practice focused on liturgy and the sacramental life.

Q: Why are we called The Order of Saint Luke?

A: Luke the Evangelist, author of the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, is central to our spirituality. His writings emphasize worship, compassion, and inclusion of the poor and excluded. The canticles in Luke’s gospel shape our prayer life, and the Emmaus story (Luke 24) gives us the pattern of Sunday worship. We call ourselves “Lukan” because our spirituality is rooted in his witness.

Q: What is the Rule of Life and Service?

A: Religious orders live by a common “rule” of discipline. Ours is brief, focusing on six intentions:

• Affirm the Apostolic Hope
• Live for the Church of Jesus Christ
• Promote corporate worship
• Magnify the sacraments
• Seek the sacramental life
• Accept the call to service

This rule shapes our dispersed life together, grounding us in worship, sacraments, and service.

Q: Why don’t members live together in a monastery?

A: Some orders are cloistered; others are apostolic and dispersed. The Order of Saint Luke is apostolic, living in the world while bound by our rule-The Rule of Life and Service. Like the early church in Acts, we share life through prayer, sacraments, and service. Our vocation is fulfilled in action rather than withdrawal.

Q: Who can be a member, and how does one join?

A: Membership is open to all Christians who seek to live the sacramental life in community.  The journey includes:

• Seeker – initial contact
• Inquiry – a time of discovery with a companion
• Final Discernment – time of deeper exploration, traditionally called the novitiate
• Professed Membership – annual vows renewed each year
• Life Membership – life vows after at least three years of annual vows

Those who do not discern a call may remain “Friends of the Order,” participating in retreats and gatherings without professing vows.

Q: What are the distinctive practices of the Order?

A: Our life centers on:

• Praying the Daily Office
• Celebrating Word and Table (Holy Communion) regularly
• Making retreats together and sharing chapter or covenant communities
• Practicing mutual accountability for the Rule of Life and Service
• Promoting liturgical renewal

Q: What is the Daily Office?

A: The Daily Office is the Church’s prayer at set hours. Whether prayed alone or with others, it is always communal, joining us with Christians across time and place. The Order provides prayer forms in A Lukan Book of Hours and A Lukan Book of Feasts, but the essential practice is simply praying the hours faithfully. There is an online version of the daily office called WADO: Web Amplified Daily Office, which can be accessed on the Order’s website.

Q: Why is Holy Communion central?

A: The Order began as a reform movement to recover frequent, reverent celebration of the Eucharist. Whenever we gather in person, services of Word and Table are central. We affirm the real presence of Christ. We do not practice “virtual communion.”

Q: When and where are retreats held?

A: The General Chapter meets each October near the Feast of Saint Luke and holds a spring council meeting. Local chapters also host retreats. Inquirers are encouraged to attend these gatherings to experience our life together. There are several online meetings for praying the Daily Office.

Q: Is the Order a substitute for my local church?

A: No. Members remain active in their local assembly and denomination.  Our vocation is to live the baptismal covenant deeply, strengthening the worship and witness of the local church. Life in the Order is not a “higher” way but a particular calling to costly grace and renewal within a “religious” community.

Q: How can I learn and participate online?

A: We have both public and private Facebook groups, including one for Seekers, Inquirers, and Discerners. Our website ( saint-luke.net ) offers resources, and members are available to accompany you on your journey.

Q: What if I have more questions?

A: You may contact one of the team members listed in Novitiate Contact Directory, explore our website, or share in a chapter, retreats, or online groups. We welcome your search and honor your discernment, wherever it leads.

Q: How can I take next steps?

A: Review “Novitiate Overview: The Times of Inquiry and Final Discernment” and see other documents in the “Order of Saint Luke Novitiate Series”.