Who We Are
Starcross Monastic Community is a small, independent community of people living peaceful lives in the contemplative tradition and offering encouragement and affirmation to gentle folks on all spiritual paths.
Our home is in Sonoma County’s coastal hills. We respect and cherish the relationship between nature and spirituality. On our farm, we produce certified organic extra virgin olive oil and grow sustainably in our gardens and orchards.
This sacred space provides a sanctuary for friends living out their spiritual vocations. Our current projects also include sharing reflective writings with our readers (through our e-list), responding to the needs of our local area (in which many impoverished and under-served families reside), supporting migrant families, and preserving our beautiful land for future generations.
Our story is winding and complex, stretching across the country and across the world. Throughout it all, we have striven to live peaceful and mindful lives.
So, what is Starcross?
As a friend and local writer, Gaye LeBaron, put it in an article:
“I guess it would be that it is a few people and their extended family, tucked away in the northwest corner of Sonoma County, saving the world in small segments.”
Our History
Over the years, we have adopted and been caregivers and advocates for children with unique needs, most of whom were born HIV positive. We also support individual children around the world and established Houses of Hope for children impacted by the AIDS pandemic in Romania and East Africa.
Our Mission
The objective of Starcross Monastic Community is to live a good and simple life.
We attempt to lead a prayerful, monastic life and to be one of the many presences in the world affirming the value of compassion for all. We have responded as we could to the individual needs of the suffering and the struggling, particularly children. Since 1986 we have felt a specific calling to respond to children impacted by the AIDS pandemic - in this country and abroad.
Some of us take the traditional monastic vows, while others associate in different ways. Our non-profit corporate name is Starcross Monastic Community. In fact and in law, we are an autonomous group of people. Although our roots are in the Western monastic experience, we have also been nourished by other traditions, and we reside in spiritual solidarity with different faith communities and people walking individual paths. At present, we feel more authentic being inter-spiritual and standing outside the institutional structure of any particular denomination or movement.
Increasingly, we reach out in response to others with different experiences from our own, despite the challenging circumstances of life and society. We feel there is a divine spark and creativity in every individual which requires respect and support.
At Starcross, we strive to keep the ancient traditions of hospice and sanctuary at the heart of the work we do, both in our community and beyond. We are particularly drawn to supporting our neighbors through direct support and action, as well as by partnering with local and national organizations.
Brother Toby sitting on a bench with a volunteer