Order of the Shepherd's Heart

The Order of the Shepherd’s Heart is an ecumenical covenant community which, while being birthed by the Celtic Christian tradition, is a part of the Free Catholic Movement within Christ Catholic Church Archdiocese of the Prince of Peace. We are Celtic in spirit, ecumenical in scope, and celebrate a deeply mystical and sacramental approach to the Christian faith. Shepherd's Heart is composed of men and women in single, celibate, committed, and or open lifestyles who have been called as a domestic and monastic spiritual family into deep love relationships with and in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our example; the Scriptures are our rule; Love is our law.

The Order does not exist to govern every detail of the members’ lives, but to provide support and love, direction and shared experience, encouragement and constructive criticism in our never-ending quest to become “the glory of God: the human person fully alive.”

True to our motto: “Rege Quod est Devium – Bring Back the Wandering” we strive to offer safe pasture and sanctuary within our Order for all wandering Christians who would seek a more intimate union with God and one another. To these ends we offer our Order to any and all who would want to struggle with us to live such a life of “intentional intimacy,” being radically inclusive and turning no one away.

While recognizing the goodness of all creation and humankind, the life of the community is intentionally counter-culture. We are an alternative society living within and alongside the modern secular society, without being a part of it. We are also an expression of renewal and reform within the Church.

Being inclusive, we practice radical hospitality and do not discriminate and hold no regard for a person’s race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, preference, relationship status, nationality, socioeconomic class, nor a person’s state of grace. We are fully committed to inclusivity and our support for the LGBTQIAPP (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersexual, asexual, pansexual, polyamorous) and anyone who would seek to find a spiritual home within the Shepherd’s Heart is unwavering and unapologetic.

We strive to be a model of ecological living as well as an example of what it means to be a Celtic Christian, following the Prince of Peace in the 21st century. We are committed to nonviolence, egalitarianism, diversity, radical hospitality, spiritual mysticism, sustainable living, and a generous orthodoxy.