The Order of the Companions of Martha and Mary (OCMM) is an

Anglican religious order Anglican religious orders are communities of men or women (or in some cases mixed communities of both men and women) in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows which often include ...

. Founded in 2010, it is currently the newest religious community within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Foundation

The first two sisters of the Order, Sr Sue and Sr Judith, took their vows in

Blackburn Cathedral Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Blackburn Saint Mary the Virgin with St Paul, is an Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England. The cathedral si ...

on 3 August 2010. The sisters lived originally at Mellor, Lancashire, where they were involved in the running of the parish church of Mellor. Adapting the custom of primitive Christian religious communities for women, the Superior of the Order bears the title ''Amma'', an Arabic word for 'mother'.

Community house

The community left Mellor in the summer of 2016 and relocated to St Joseph's House of Prayer, in

Tunstall, Lancashire Tunstall is a village in north Lancashire, England (). It is northeast of Lancaster on the A683 road between Lancaster and Kirkby Lonsdale. In the 2001 census the civil parish of Tunstall had a population of 105. In the 2011 census Tunstall ...

(near

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

), a tiny community with a population of only slightly more than 100 people. They offer a series of organised retreats and spiritual exercises, and also hospitality for private retreat.

Sister community

Although the Orders are separate and independent of each other, the Order of the Companions of Martha and Mary has a special link with the

Society of the Sisters of Bethany The Society of the Sisters of Bethany (SSB) is an Anglican religious order. The sisters follow the Rule of St Augustine. The mother house is now the House of Bethany in Southsea. Foundation The community was founded in Clerkenwell, London, by ...

(SSB), an Augustinian religious community of sisters based in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

.Details
of the link.

References

External links

Community website
{{Anglican orders Anglican orders and communities Anglican religious orders established in the 21st century