Amigas del Señor: A Quaker Monastic Calling

On the North Coast of Honduras, a Quaker nun is growing food for her monastery and the wider community. Sister Confianza has felt a leading to care for the earth that has evolved over the last several years from co-leading online workshops to implementing a permaculture design where she lives. This call flows out of her traditional Christian monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which she understands in terms of living in right relationship with the earth, oneself, others, and God. “Through regenerative agriculture, I am following God’s instructions to care for Creation and my neighbors,” Sister Confianza says.

Sister Confianza and Sister Alegría, both from the US and raised in the Methodist Church, have dedicated themselves fully to serving God through prayer. While monasticism is rare among Quakers and Methodists, the Amigas del Señor community in Limón, Honduras, has been living out the vocation for twenty years. In conversations with Western Friend editor Caitlin Churchill, Sister Confianza explained how the community integrates these ancient commitments with Quaker testimonies and practices. To take these vows and live a monastic life is to embrace “the examined life,” which requires paying close attention to oneself and how one relates to the world. “This allows us to be more available to God and others and to learn to love unconditionally,” Sister Confianza says.

A vow of poverty is at the center of the monastic life at Amigas del Señor. The community’s founder, Sister Alegría, felt drawn to a life of material poverty after working as a pediatrician and volunteering at health clinics in Honduras. Believing that living simply was more genuine among people facing actual poverty, she gave away her life savings before she made her profession.

Poverty is “living in right relationship with the earth, its creatures, and all material things.” This encompasses the Quaker values of simplicity and sustainability, as well as economic equality and peace: by living modestly, they curb greed and reduce the envy that fuels conflict. Moreover, “Care for Creation has been central to this monastery from the beginning, and that value eventually led me to take an online permaculture course last year,” says Sister Confianza.

One reason to choose voluntary poverty is to “live simply so that others may simply live.” Sister Confianza explains: “It’s about using resources carefully and not taking more than our fair share.” Poverty for the Sisters involves maintaining a modest wardrobe and diet, and it influences what they purchase and how they care for their belongings. The Sisters’ understanding—based on the teaching of John Wesley, the 18th-century founder of Methodism—is that everything they hold is “on loan” from God. It all ultimately belongs to God and should be used for divine purposes: caring for the planet and for people. Consequently, they mend and maintain what they have for as long as possible, prioritizing durable, well-made goods from the start—although they are also known to scavenge and repurpose items from the local dump!

“We have only a few items of clothing each. Every day we put on our habit dresses over a white blouse, but switch to pants when working outside,” says Sister Confianza. They sew their own clothes using a treadle machine and wear garments until they become cleaning rags. Finally, they own only two pairs of shoes—work boots and inexpensive slides—and patch them with scrap rubber when the soles wear out.

Another key vow is chastity. To be chaste is to cultivate pure, honest relationships. Marriages can be chaste when partners remain faithful to one another. Monastics, however, take a vow of celibate chastity, committing to abstain entirely from romantic and sexual relationships. The purpose is to channel all energy into serving God, rather than dividing that focus with a romantic partnership or raising a family.

“By choosing celibacy, I choose not to enter a romantic or sexual partnership so that my time and emotional energy can remain open to everyone,” Sister Confianza notes. “It allows me, for example, to be available to do this permaculture work that will feed our neighbors into the future.” She stresses that while human attraction is natural, pursuing a romantic interest is a temptation away from the vow, just as infidelity would be for a married person.

Celibacy requires poverty, because refraining from physical intimacy means little if one simply substitutes material goods to satisfy unmet desires. Living in chastity and celibacy demands genuine self-awareness, including coming to terms with one’s sexual orientation and gender identity. “Knowing that I can be attracted to people of all genders means I must remain intentional about emotional boundaries in all relationships,” she explains.

Chastity is being in “right relationship with self and others,” encompassing all human connections. Jesus identified the greatest commandments as loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbors as ourselves. For monastics, it means committing to care for and uplift the people among whom they live. Both equality (the truth that we are all created equal in God’s image) and community (how we live together) fit naturally into this realm.

Married life and celibate chastity are equally legitimate ways to serve God in this world. Both require full dedication; monastic life simply directs that full attention and energy toward God’s work. “Celibacy for everyone would end humanity, but living with greater simplicity and care for the environment is something we can all do,” Sister Confianza reflects.

Obedience is the most challenging vow for many people. In monastic history, obedience often meant submitting to human superiors to train oneself to respond to God. At Amigas del Señor, obedience to Spirit is discerned directly through Quaker process. “Obedience is living in right relationship with God,” Sister Confianza says. “It embodies the first commandment: loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Maintaining personal and communal spiritual discipline is essential to cultivating an intimate relationship with the Divine and learning how God communicates. To this end, the Amigas del Señor community observes three programmed prayer offices and one unprogrammed Quaker worship each day.

“Poverty and chastity clear the space to listen and remain available,” explains Sister Confianza. “Obedience requires nurturing one’s relationship with the Divine through prayer so that you recognize the nudge when it comes.” Thus, the three vows together create both the capacity to listen and the liberty to act, free from the obligations of career or family that might prevent others from following a leading. This faithful daily practice of living out one’s values and calling aligns directly with the Quaker testimony of integrity.

Discerning a call involves recognizing one’s interests, gifts, and skills, sometimes with the help of others. When Sister Confianza was considering taking the permaculture course, she brought the idea to her support committee, composed of Friends she had met at online Quaker events. Acting as a clearness committee, they helped her see that this was where she was being led. “It comes down to sensing that this is what God wants of you, whether you have the skills yet or not.” She understood this was next step in the journey of faithfulness to her call to care for Creation. “My project for the course was to create an ecological design to grow food on the grounds where we are living in Limón. The one-acre property is owned by a non-profit serving children in need, so the fruits and vegetables it produces will benefit some of the most vulnerable in the community. So far we’ve planted a variety of tropical fruit trees as well as bananas, plantains, papayas, pineapples, and a vegetable garden.”

While a monastic vocation isn’t for everyone, serving God through prayer and serving our neighbors and the earth is possible for anyone. Sister Confianza emphasizes, “God will call each of us. It is our choice how to respond. I have found that a ‘yes’ made freely brings joy even amidst the challenges.”

Today, Sister Confianza's primary responsibilities include caregiving for Sister Alegria whose health is declining, and maintaining the monastery's grounds to provide fresh food for a local community project. The Sisters are actively working to welcome Annette, a Haitian sister currently residing in Jamaica who joins their daily prayer offices remotely for now. A Honduran lawyer is assisting them in navigating the complex visa and residency process required to bring her to the monastery. Learn more at their website https://amigasdelsenor.weebly.com/