CONTACT: Br. Kevin Hackett
Director of Communications
THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST
Phone: 617-876-3037 FAX: 617-876-5210
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Monastery Gives Troops a Place to Heal

The Church Sees an Important Need It Can Fill

Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 16, 2007 -- Monks are joining forces with a member of the Massachusetts National Guard to help men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan find a safe place to heal. According to Captain Jeffery Cox of the National Guard, “There is a tremendous need to help these folks.” The brothers put a plan in place.

Capt. Cox offered his expertise and advice to the brothers of THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to create a time of healing at the monastery specifically for members of the armed services who have spent long stretches away from home in war zones. According to Br. Roy Cockrum, the Guesthouse Brother at the monastery, “The Church has a vital role to play to help these men and women make the long journey back to their lives and families with the help of God’s healing. We want to hear their stories and to be with them along the way.” The brothers reserved the first weekend in October at the monastery to offer a healing retreat for people returning from places of war. “Retreat isn’t a very good military word. It’s a negative word in the military,” says Capt. Cox. “But the kind of retreat the brothers offer is what many people need right now. It’s a great tool for helping to make the transition home. I know because the monastery is where I went when I got home.”

A Thursday to Sunday religious retreat may be too long for some people to attend, so the brothers are inviting the public to a special healing service at the monastery in Cambridge, 980 Memorial Drive, at 11:00 am on Saturday, October 6, 2007. Binding Up Our Wounds: A retreat for members of the armed services and veterans returning from war, will be offered to a limited number of participants October 4-7, 2007.

For additional information, contact the monastery guesthouse at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , visit www.ssje.org or call 617-876-3037. Anyone wishing to participate in the weekend retreat should send an email to the monastery guesthouse explaining why this experience would be helpful to him or her.

ABOUT: Captain Jeffrey Cox – Capt. Cox serves as a clinical social worker with the Massachusetts National Guard. Deployed twice since 2003, he served in a combat stress company in Iraq in 2005-2006. A Postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and the Episcopal Church, Province 1 Coordinator for Episcopal Relief and Development, he is a graduate of Boston University, Salem State College in Salem, MA, and the Episcopal Divinity School. He works full-time as a contractor for the US Army Wounded Warrior Program, supporting seriously injured and wounded soldiers throughout New England. He is married to Barbara Cox and lives in Salem, MA.

ABOUT: THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST (SSJE) – SSJE, a monastic community of The Episcopal Church, was founded in 1866 in Oxford, England. The American congregation has been in Boston since 1870. The monastery is located in Cambridge, not far from Harvard Square. Isabella Stewart Gardner donated the Memorial Drive property to the Society in 1917. The brothers engage in a broad range of ministries in the church and in the world; leading retreats, offering spiritual direction and going on missions around the globe, most recently in Jerusalem, Egypt, Jordan, Tanzania, Kenya, and Canada.

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