The Fellowship of St Francis is an independent ministry* and is not connected with any other church or organization.

Our mission is to carry out these two urgent priorities:

The first is to encourage people of faith and all people of good will to live lives of compassion. We strive to extend compassion and understanding to all we meet and interact with, in all areas of life.

The second is to treat the Earth, our common home, with wisdom and compassion. And to extend this compassion to all of Earth’s inhabitants, not just to the Human species.

We sometimes refer to the two above-mentioned urgent priorities as “urgencies” and strive to be guided by them in everything we do.

So it follows from that, that our members and friends will strive to treat one another and all animals with wisdom and compassion and advocate for policies and practices that treat animals–whether wild or domesticated–in a compassionate way.

We welcome participation in our fellowship by any like-minded people of any religious/spiritual background. Any spiritual practice or none at all.

We especially welcome people who are “spiritual orphans”, meaning people who’ve been hurt by the excesses and abuses which are–sad to say–common in many traditional and overly-authoritarian Churches and organizations.

The Fellowship of St Francis has no creed and no requirement to believe or follow any particular church doctrine. Specifically, that hellfire-and-brimstone thing is not a part of our consciousness or practice in any way.

We do, however, have six principles that we commend to people of faith and all people of good will. And while they’re not doctrinal tenets in the typical sense, it’s almost certainly true that if these principles don’t resonate with you, the FSF is probably not your spiritual home.

Those six principles are enumerated in another document entitled “What We Believe”.

Et Omnes Populi Terrae

Brother Ben

*The Fellowship of St Francis is an independent ministry and is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.