THE COMMON RULE: THE RULE, COVENANTS, & GENERAL STATUTES
OF THE SACRAMENTAL COMMUNITY OF THE COWORKERS OF CHRIST
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COPYRIGHT
This Common Rule is a compilation and a derivative work of the original Rule of the Community of the Companions of God of the Celtic Catholic Church. We began as the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart, grew into the Order of the Merciful Heart, and eventually evolved into the Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ. This Rule has been inspired through many voices and crafted by many hands over the years and is a living breathing document.
As protector of the Rule and Visitor to the Community of the Companions of God, The Rt. Rev. Dwain Edward Houser, on the Feast of Saint Ebba 2006, granted The Rt. Rev. Brian Ernest Brown use of the Rule and General Statutes through the License of Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
In 2006 on the 31st day of August, the Feast of Saint Aidan, by an act of the Abbot Bishop the Common Rule was first adopted by the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart to be followed and lived out in the lives of the community and all who would wish to follow it.
In 2019, after years of prayer, study, and ministry, the community reorganized temporarily under the name the Order of the Merciful Heart as it entered a season of discernment concerning its vocation and charism. Inspired by Saint Isaac the Syrian’s vision of the merciful heart that “burns for the sake of the whole creation,” it sought to embody Christ’s compassion more fully.
On May 1, 2025, the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, that discernment reached its fulfillment. The community embraced the name the Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ, affirming its vocation to labor alongside Christ while returning to the spirit of its earliest beginnings in the Community of the Companions of God and more consciously embracing its Celtic Christian and monastic heritage. On that day, The Common Rule: The Rule, Covenants, and General Statutes was amended, revised, and adopted by the General Gathering as the enduring Rule of the Community.
Appropriately, on the Feast of Saint Comgan the Culdee, August 2, 2026, the discernment of both Community and Church found its fulfillment. In a Special Session of the Holy Synod, the Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ and Christ Catholic Church Province of the Prince of Peace, were joined together in a common life, united under one Constitution and Canons and one shared Common Rule in Christ.
Approved in and amended in 2006, 2019, 2020, 2025, 2026 by a Special Session of the Holy Synod of Christ Catholic Church Province of the Prince of Peace Meeting in August 2026.
Published by Coworkers of Christ Media
License of Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
© 2026 by Coworkers of Christ Media, the Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ, and Christ Catholic Church.
ATTRIBUTION
Scripture quotations marked JB are taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday and Company, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked NAB are taken from THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, copyright © 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION OF THE BIBLE, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Scripture quotations marked REB are taken from THE REVISED ENGLISH BIBLE WITH THE APOCRYPHA, copyright © 1989 by the Oxford University Press and the Cambridge University Press.
Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from REVISED STANDARD VERSION OF THE BIBLE, Old Testament section, Copyright 1952, New Testament Section, Copyright 1946, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
DEDICATION
Dedicated to The Rt. Rev. Dwain Houser, The Most Rev. Robert M. Bowman, The Most Rev. Karl Prüter, and The Rev. Fr. James Arthur Martin, all of blessed memory; and also to The Most Rev. Rodney Rickard, The Rt. Rev. Lawrence Michael Cameron, OAC, The Very Rev. Andrew Samthann, CCG, and Br. Lumen Dominic, CWC; as well as to all those who have been part of our story and have helped make the Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ what it is today.
We give thanks to God for their ministry, witness, vision, and friendship along the way.
THE RULE OF THE COMMON RULE
THE PRAYER OF THE COWORKER OF CHRIST
CHAPTER 2 – BEHOLD THEY ARE ONE PEOPLE
CHAPTER 3 – THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES
CHAPTER 4 – PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION
CHAPTER 5 – FORMATION AND STUDY
CHAPTER 6 – MINISTRY AND APOSTOLIC SERVICE
CHAPTER 7 – THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE
CHAPTER 8 – PENANCE AND OBEDIENCE
CHAPTER 9 – CHASTITY AND POVERTY
CHAPTER 10 – FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION
CHAPTER 11 – THE FOUNDATION LAID UPON ROCK
CHAPTER 12 – LET YOUR GENTLENESS BE EVIDENT
CHAPTER 13 – BEING IN FULL ACCORD AND OF ONE MIND
CHAPTER 14 – CARRY EACH OTHER’S BURDENS
CHAPTER 15 – GENEROUS DISTRIBUTORS OF GOD’S GRACE
CHAPTER 16 – GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
CHAPTER 17 – FAITHFUL FRIENDS ARE A STURDY SHELTER
CHAPTER 18 – THE INTEGRITY OF THE UPRIGHT GUIDES THEM
CHAPTER 19 – EMBRACING SIMPLICITY FOR A MORE ABUNDANT LIFE
CHAPTER 20 – DISCERN WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD
CHAPTER 21 – LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST RULE IN YOUR HEARTS
CHAPTER 22 – ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
THE COVENANTS OF THE COMMON RULE
COVENANT 1 – OUR CORE PRINCIPLES
COVENANT 2 – OUR CORE DOCTRINE
COVENANT 3 – OUR CONFESSION OF FAITH
COVENANT 4 – OBLIGATIONS OF THE COWORKERS OF CHRIST
COVENANT 5 – PREACHING TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
COVENANT 6 – A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLES
COVENANT 7 – BROTHERS, SISTERS, SIBLINGS, AND ORDERS
COVENANT 8 – BY WISDOM A HOUSE IS BUILT
COVENANT 9 – THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES
COVENANT 10 – SHARING OUR COMMON RULE
COVENANT 11 – BUILD UP THE CHURCH
COVENANT 12 – THEY KNEW THE LORD IN THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
COVENANT 13 – WORSHIP IN THE SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
COVENANT 14 – HE SENT THEM OUT TWO BY TWO
COVENANT 15 – FRUIT OF THE LABOR OF YOUR HANDS
COVENANT 16 – SPEAK IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE
COVENANT 18 – MAKE VOWS TO THE LORD AND PERFORM THEM
COVENANT 19 – THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION
COVENANT 21 – THE LAST WILL BE FIRST AND THE FIRST WILL BE LAST
COVENANT 22 – PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED
THE GENERAL STATUTES OF THE COMMON RULE
ARTICLE II – MISSION STATEMENT
ARTICLE IV – SERVANT LEADERSHIP
ARTICLE V – WORSHIP, FAITH, & ORDER