Welcome to St. Columba's Hermitage!

This web page is intended to offer a taste of what it's like to be a Celtic Christian and a member of the Order of the Merciful Christ, an ecumenical religious order under the auspices of the Celtic Christian Church.  I'm Sister Patricia McClellan and your host. 

          Sr. Patti Reading the Lesson

This was at our most recent Ceili (church retreat)

          The modern monk or nun.

Have you ever considered religious life?  I have, and for about 50 years, I believed it was not meant to be, for me, even though all of my life I have had an intense relationship with God.  Then I met the Mother Superior of the Order of the Merciful Christ.  She convinced me that even for a mother and grandmother, there was a monastic life available in the 21st century.  A recovering alcoholic (28+ years as of this writing), I was an old hippie, so I never married, though I have a daughter.  I had (and continue to have) a day job -- legal secretary for a group of litigation attorneys.  My hope is to complete my education, become a priest of the Celtic Christian Church and find my ministry among those who can't relate to or were never acceptable to the mainstream churches.  I only get to meet with my brothers and sisters once a year, but some of us would like eventually to at least live in the same neighborhood so we can say our office together.  We are a very new order and full of hope, and our charism is Mercy.