Apply to Join a Postulancy Cohort

Applications for January 2025 cohorts are accepted on a rolling basis.

 

We invite you to apply to join postulancy in the Order of the Common Life—a missional community reimagining monastic vocations for the 21st century so we can help notice and nurture the work of God in our own lives, in the lives of others and in the world.

Applications need not take more than 10 minutes, although progress can’t be saved, so make sure you have time set aside before you begin. You’ll be asked to:

  • Describe your present experience

  • Provide information for up to one reference

  • Reflect on how you experience your inner world and God

In all of this, we’re not grading you or looking for you to be a saint or a monk; we just want to learn about where you find yourself today and watch you grow along with us.

 
 

Requirements

 

We have few firm requirements for people to begin exploring postulancy other than an open curiosity or an earnest desire to do so. For the most part, applicants to postulancy will be expected to have:

  • An orientation generally toward the shared beliefs of the Christian faith and the person of Jesus

  • An active commitment to a local church

  • A willingness to meet with a spiritual director

While it’s not required that you meet with a spiritual director prior to beginning postulancy, we strongly urge you to do so as your time and resources may allow.

 

Cost & contribution

 

We’re committed to being able to offer postulancy regardless of one’s ability to contribute financially, and our financial model asks for a contribution from those able to offer it, as one way to help build alongside of us. We’re also continually engaged in mutually discerning and reimagining what this model looks like as a 21st century religious order. Beginning in 2024, we anticipate this to include:

  • A $300 USD tuition deposit, due Dec. 15 and refundable until the first cohort meeting

  • A $300 USD tuition balance, due July 1

  • A $50 USD monthly contribution for each month you’re in formation with the Order

Postulants are also responsible for the monthly cost of a spiritual director. These rates may vary, and many directors are willing to offer their time on a sliding scale.

 

Timeline

 

Postulancy cohorts begin each January, and you’re welcome to apply at any point during the year to be considered for a future cohort. Prior to January, our timeline will look generally like this:

  • October 2024. Applicants and inquirers will be invited to attend a postulancy interest meeting.

  • October-December 2024. We’ll interview applicants we haven’t had the opportunity to meet one-on-one yet.

  • November 30, 2024. Applications and scholarship applications for 2024 are due.

  • December 6, 2024. We’ll begin extending invitations to join a postulancy cohort.

  • December 15, 2024. Deposits (where applicable) are due, and monthly recurring contributions must be set up to postulancy as a precondition to being onboarded.

  • First week of January 2025. We’ll onboard you into your cohort within our membership platform so you can prepare for your first cohort meeting.

  • Mid-January 2025. Cohorts will meet for the first time.

 

Next steps

 

If you haven’t already engaged with our free, self-guided introductory course, A Contemplative Foundation, we encourage most postulants to spend time in it before being accepted to participate in a cohort.

A Contemplative Foundation aims at providing you with some of the most essential tools, concepts and language necessary for getting the most out of postulancy.