Originally developed in response to the arrival of pandemic in March 2020 with the Anglican Parish of Bulimba, our home is at St John's Cathedral Brisbane in the Anglican Church Southern Queensland (anglicanchurchsq.org.au) Australia.
We are boundary-less and geographically free to invite people from every place, every ability and every background, to join in and live as the Body of Christ online. We are rooted in the Anglican Church tradition but are open to ecumenical partnerships and welcome members from other christian denominations too.
We have members from all around the world, joining from different time zones, experiences, cultures, ages and neurotypes. We seek to make Church accessible to all.
may not be seeking physical church attendance, or are unlikely to ever pass through a physical church door
live with disability and/or physical barriers for attending a local church (no pews here! - BYO comfort)
are socially vulnerable or sensitive (turning video on is completely optional!)
are neuro-diverse and appreciate the safety that the online space offers to engage and grow with others
live with chronic illness and experience periods of ill-health when they need to rest
are convalescing or rehabilitating away from their regular community and need a temporary spiritual home
are "Seekers" and find online engagement an easier step toward exploring faith and church
prefer at home or on-the-go worship to fit in with other commitments
have different hearing needs (Zoom is compatible with many hearing devices)
have transportation barriers to getting their bodies into a church space
live rurally where their local church has closed or has irregular worship
are vulnerable to Covid and other transmissible conditions who continue to shelter at home as much as possible
live as pilgrims or travellers who don't spend long periods in just one place - they can take us with them!
have family members who are living geographically apart, so they can attend worship together
are tech enthusiasts who enjoy the online way of being and want their church to come to them
Having the space available for those who attend to interact with one another and with the liturgy, by offering their ministry gifts, makes this community engagement unique.
With inclusivity and invitational values driving the mission, Holy Hermits Online enables people who may not have been able to exercise their ministry gifts in a physical Church setting, to function as a member of the body of Christ in an authentic and meaningful way.
By being free of building management or geographical limitations the focus of community connection and pastoral care are paramount for Holy Hermits Online.
Inspired by the Holy Hermits from our history we are encouraged by their examples to make space for God to transform our lives and the lives of those around us through us.
Yes! Many of our members also attend a parish church or are part of other online communities. We affectionately refer to them as 'dual-citizens'.
We are also open to partnering with your local community so that your minister has access to our resources and other HHO members might link with your Church too. If you think you might like to have a conversation around this we have some resources which might help, including the Ministry Partners page.
Online safety is our paramount reason for asking people to sign up to get our links to gather on Zoom. More info at the end of the Sign-up page or below on this About Us page.
Like many at HHO Rev'd Jamee lives with an invisible illness, so working 4 days a week is her maximum. Once we achieve sustainability we might be able to add extra clergy for a team ministry approach.
The Cathedral team is available for pastoral care and can be contacted through the Pastoral and Spiritual Care page.
The HHO leaders can be contacted at holyhermits@anglicanchurchsq.org.au.
At this stage the wider Church community is reflecting on if and how we could have Holy Communion Online. We are engaging in conversation as a community to see how we can add to the wider dialogue. More from the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation group can be found here: Virtual-Communion-and-the-Covid-19-Pandemic_220322_IALC.pdf (anglicancommunion.org)
Once every quater at our high feast days we celebrate Spiritual Comunion with an Agape Feast - Christmas Day, Easter Day, Pentecost and All Saints Day as well as regularly using the 'Making a Spiritual Communion Prayer' at Weekly worship during our devotions.
Visit the Holy Hermit Remembrance | Ministry page to find out more about the Holy people who give us inspiring examples of what it means to follow Jesus while living in solitude and in community.
Pastoral care is offered via phone or Zoom call to all HHO members. See Pastoral and Spiritual Care | Help page for how to get in touch.
We encourage all our members to have a relationship with their local parish so that Eucharist, weddings, baptisms, last rites, anointing of the sick and funeral services can be conducted collaboratively with them. We also would love to partner with local parishes: check out who we are already partnering with here.
We:
We are a diversity affirming community at HHO, our home base being St John's Cathedral Brisbane where we have an active LGBTQIA+ ministry. We are open to people of all gender expressions and seek to make room for everyone to be their full selves in our spaces. Visit the Safeguarding page to see how we make room for difference with our 'Owning and Grounding' practices, as well as the guidelines for behaviour in our community.