Annual Meeting 2010 - Meet the Retreat Leader

The Rev. Dr. Jane Tomaine is a priest and retreat leader in the Diocese of Newark, New Jersey. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and a Master of Music degree from Ohio State University, both in organ performance. Following an eighteen-year career with the Bell System and AT&T she earned Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the Theological School of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey and was ordained a priest in 1995. Jane served as rector of St. Peter’s in Livingston, New Jersey for 12 ½ years, leaving parish ministry in 2008 in order to pursue a ministry of teaching and writing primarily on Benedictine Spirituality.

Jane’s interest in the Rule of Benedict began in the late 1990’s through several summer courses at The General Theological Seminary in New York City. As a part of her doctoral program she introduced the Rule of Benedict to the parish where she was rector through a parish-wide liturgical, study and renewal program. She wrote a book for her parish on the Rule of Benedict that was later published by Morehouse in May, 2005. St. Benedict’s Toolbox: The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Benedictine Living provides the reader with an in depth look at the Rule along with practical ways to apply Benedict’s teaching to daily life. Jane currently leads retreats and workshops on the Rule and Benedictine spirituality at parishes and retreat centers, and at the Newark School of Theology. She lives in Mountainside, New Jersey with her husband John, mother-in-law Ruth and eight “charming” felines (If you really want their names—Charlotte, Target, Mickey, Ricky, Smoky, Marcy, Rudy and Randy.)