“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.”

~ St. Francis of Assisi

You may have noticed a change to my name in the service bulletin. That is because I have joined the Religious Community of Francis and Clare, and have started the journey to be a Franciscan Friar.

What is a friar? 

Friar simply means brother. To be a friar is to live the Christian life in a particular way, under vows, and following the rule of a religious order. You can be laity or ordained, single or married, cloistered or dispersed.

My order, the Community of Francis and Clare, is a contemporary vowed order of religious women and men who live a common life of prayer and service within The Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. We seek to follow Jesus in the Franciscan tradition by living simply and humbly, serving and praying with (and for) the marginalized and by helping to rebuild the church in our daily contexts. We are dispersed throughout the world, and each of us serve in diverse ministries.

This is a lifelong journey. Currently, I am a candidate. This means I am learning more about how my own life mirrors the community. In the next two months I will, with God’s help, be named a postulant, where I will learn more about being a Franciscan. God willing and the community consenting, I will gather with order in June of 2024. There I will make my first promises, and be clothed in the brown Franciscan habit. This will begin my two year Novitiate. I will be able to make vows and become a life professed Franciscan, once the Novitiate is complete.

Being a Franciscan is choosing to live the Gospel with those at the margins in full focus. Our work is our sermon, our life is our text, and Jesus is the goal.

Pray for me as I seek to follow the Holy Spirit.

Peace and all Good,
Your brother, Joshua

Br. Joshua Waits, CFC (Candidate)
Minister of Evangelism