percipere et proclamare
The Society of St. Anna the Prophet
Welcome from the Superior
The Society of St. Anna the Prophet (SSAP) is a dispersed monastic community of Episcopal women over the age of fifty. We are lay and ordained, single, married, partnered and widowed, retired and still employed. The SSAP is an inclusive community, committed to diversity and to racial healing. We are open to the influence of other traditions, and some of our Sisters practice meditation and draw from non-Christian spiritual practices.
The community is dedicated to a way of life and to ministries which demonstrate the Godliness of elderhood, both in our own lives and the lives of those to whom we minister. We are a community of prayer. Each Anna has a soul friend or spiritual director, and our lives are structured around prayer, both individual and corporate – prayer for each other, for those we love and for the greater world. In response to the isolation of the pandemic, we turned to Zoom and other virtual platforms, which have made our common life more accessible to all of us. Since March of 2020, we have gathered on Zoom for Noonday prayer each day except Sunday.
Our primary ministry is to elders, particularly those unable to attend a parish church, and we also have corporate and individual ministries to the very young. Before the pandemic, Annas worked together on ministry teams to celebrate Eucharistic liturgies and offer pastoral care in six elder residences in the Atlanta area. We are beginning to return to our congregations as it becomes safe, and we are delighted to be back.
The SSAP was founded in 2005 by the Rev. Nan Baxter, who served as the founding Superior of the Society from 2005-2022. I am honored to have been elected by my Sisters to serve as the second Superior, for a five-year term.
Do you feel a calling to ministry with elders? Do you long to live more intentionally into your own aging and deepen your life with Christ? Are you drawn to the structure and spiritual life of a vowed monastic community? If so, we hope that you will prayerfully consider discerning a vocation with the SSAP, and we would be delighted to talk with you about it.
– AnnaPeggy
The Bishop Visitor of the SSAP
The Rt. Rev.Anne Hodges-Copple, retired Suffragan Bishop was the first woman elected bishop in Province IV on January 26, 2013. She was consecrated on June 15, 2013, at Duke University Chapel. Her ordained ministry experience included parish ministry and campus ministry at Duke.
As Suffragan Bishop, she was particularly involved in the ordination process for the diaconate, ministry in higher education, young adult ministry, ministry among Spanish speaking communities, oversaw lifelong Christian Formation, Galilee Ministries (new communities), global ministries and the pastoral care of retired clergy and spouses.
In retirement she serves on the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, is a trustee of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and serves as the Bishop Visitor of the SSAP.
Bishop Hodges-Copple and her husband John have three adult children and three grandchildren.
News & Events
AnnaNan Back in the Pulpit
All members of the SSAP are active members of their local Episcopal parishes. A number of Annas in the Atlanta area are associated with St. Bartholomews Episcopal church, including our founding superior, AnnaNan Baxter, who served as assisting priest for many years....
Summer Retreat with the Wisdom of Howard Thurman
Seventeen Annas gathered at the Hinton Retreat Center in Hayesville, NC in early August to take a spiritual walk with Howard Thurman. We were led by the inspiring Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown who wrote our book for the journey, What Makes You Come Alive. Thurman's...
Four Annas in Glory 2023
In 2023 four Sisters in the Society of St. Anna the Prophet, AnnaCarol, AnnaMaggi, AnnaRuth and AnnaMarilyn, passed into glory (see In Glory page). It is our custom to offer to keep their ashes in repose on our altar at our chapter house until we vest and attend the...