Four women join new monastery community

By Catherine Ferguson SNJM

Benedictine life in a monastery began in the sixth century and has continued ever since.

In the unlikely setting of the Benedictine Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho, a new thing is happening.

Edrea Eisenhauer, Jeannette Kelley, Chris Roberts and inquirer Mary Litch, all women in their retirement years, are responding to a call to live Benedictine monastic life in the Koinonia of St. Gertrude. Koinonia is Greek for "community."

"They are doing the hard work of making community, of making the vision of a new version of Benedictine life tangible. They are wonderful women and doing a fantastic job," said Benedictine prioress Sister Teresa Jackson, who mentors them.

The vision for the Koinonia originated in 2017 when an employee in the monastery saw a short video clip from the United Kingdom on "OWCH" – Older Women Co-Housing. It was not about renting a space but about co-housing: forming an intentional, self-governing, cooperative community where residents live in private homes often clustered around shared space.

This sparked the imagination of the Benedictine Sisters at St. Gertrude's. They had space because of decreased vocations. They wanted to have it used but they didn't want an ordinary rental situation. Instead, they wanted to have it fit into the life of the monastery.

"What followed this initial spark were months of meetings, discussions, looking at alternatives, trying out ideas to see what worked and what didn't," Teresa explained. "In the last couple of years, the idea took shape and, finally, in 2023 the Koinonia became a reality."

Women who would like to explore this form of community desire to live as an intentional community following the Benedictine way of life need to be physically independent and free from financial or family responsibilities that could restrict them. However, there is no requirement that the person be Catholic and, in fact, one of the four comes from the Quaker tradition.

The women follow the schedule of the Benedictine Sisters, joining them in prayer, meals, work and recreation, deepening their relationship with God through Benedictine spirituality but at the same time forming their own community within the monastery.

They start their journey by visiting the monastery, perhaps making a retreat. Then, if they decide to continue and explore the option more deeply, they arrange to reside in the monastery for a longer period of time—perhaps several weeks or a month at a time. Next, they become inquirers and live there for perhaps a year. After that time, if they wish to become a member of the community, they will make a commitment and formally become a member of the community.

Each of the four women currently forming the community has come along a different path.

Two of the women, Edrea and Chris, had been members of the Monastery of St. Gertrude when they were young women and left for personal reasons. Over the years, they had come to the monastery for retreats, volunteering and visits.

Prior to joining Koinonia, Edrea was a teacher for 30 years and then was a financial planner until she retired.

"I had very close ties to some of the sisters who were my friends, and it was always in the back of my mind that after I retired, I would come back and volunteer for the community," said Edrea, explaining her situation.

She reflects that one element of Benedictine spirituality is having a life that is a balance of work and prayer.

"I find life here gives me the opportunity to experience the contemplative side of me. I am able to live out Benedictine values and give back to this community, which has enriched my life over several decades," she said.

As part of her work at the monastery, Edrea provides hospitality for those who come as guests and retreatants. She also volunteers at the Cottonwood food bank.

Chris also entered the community in her late teens at the end of the second Vatican Council, a period of great change in the Catholic Church. She left St. Gertrude's shortly after the Council ended, married and worked as a nurse for 40 years.

In 2017, her husband passed away and she began to think of a second chance at living a Benedictine life. When she learned of the creation of the Koinonia of St. Gertrude, she took that chance and began her inquiry in October 2022. Then in October 2024 she finished her year as an affiliate and made her commitment to the Koinonia.

When first at the monastery, she had been interested in helping with the liturgical environment. Now her life has come full circle from her parish experience as sacristan, in that last spring she took on the role of sacristan at the monastery.

Jeannette and Mary have never been Benedictine sisters, although Jeannette and her husband, Fred, were closely associated with the Monastery of St. Gertrude for many years.

Before their marriage, they were introduced to the Catholic Church in Lewiston by two sisters from St. Gertrude's. They both became Catholic in the 1980s. Both Jeannette and her husband were attracted to the Benedictine way of life and community and became leaders of the Oblates of the Monastery of St. Gertrude.

The Oblates consist of nine local communities of lay women and men strongly committed to living and being formed in Benedictine life. Unlike Koinonia, that program has no residential component.

After Jeannette retired from her work with developmentally disabled adults in 2006, the Kelleys moved to Cottonwood to be permanent volunteers at the monastery. At that time, Jeannette became the co-coordinator of the oblates with Teresa and has continued in that role for 14 years.

When her husband became seriously ill, Fred and Jeannette discussed her becoming more closely involved with the Koinonia after his death.

When he passed in November 2024, Jeannette started the process of becoming a member of the Koinonia.

Jeannette describes her experience in making the transition.

"When I sold my house and divested, I felt a great freedom," she said. "At the monastery, I feel a great freedom, even though the life is structured here. I find joy in the challenges, and they help me to grow."

Mary's story differs. She is an inquirer and is exploring the option of requesting membership in the Koinonia. During her time of inquiry, she resides there. She has been there for several months and, like the others, participates in the life of the community.

She comes from a Quaker tradition and is not Catholic, although she laughingly calls herself a "Quatholic," as she is immersing herself in the Benedictine tradition as it is practiced at the monastery.

In the past, she was a college philosophy professor who taught in a variety of places but today is deepening her relationship with God in the Benedictine structure in which the day is punctuated by moments of prayer.

In time, if she desires, she will apply to become an affiliate for a year and then make an indefinite commitment to the Koinonia. She may also find that this way of life is not a good fit for her but for the moment is content to explore the possibilities.

In short, this new community represents the continuity of a residential Benedictine presence at the monastery.

It is pioneering a new way for women of all Christian denominations to live a Benedictine monastic life outside the traditional requirements of Roman Catholic religious life.

The Koinonia of St. Gertrude gives women the chance to create a new form of monastic community in the midst of an existing women's monastery. Its members make an indefinite commitment to live monastic life, engage in initial and on-going formation and fully participate in monastic life with the sisters.

For the women who are there now, it brings them closer to God in the context of community.

For information, email tjackson@stgertrudes.org or visit stgertrudes.org/koinoniaofstgertrude