MORE FROM THE FALL/WINTER 2003 BULLETIN  •  PREVIOUS CHRONICLES

August 2003

This year also marks the fiftieth anniversary of the welcoming of the monastic community by the Diocese of Burlington. To celebrate this dimension of our Jubilee Year, we had a special celebration of Evening Prayer on August 12, involving representatives of the laity, the communities of women and men religious in Vermont, and the clergy of the diocese.
 

Bishop Kenneth Angell blesses the anniversary tree.

Bishop Kenneth Angell served as presider at Evening Prayer, and our long-time friend, Bishop Paul Bootkoski, bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey, offered a moving homily. (The text of Bishop Bootkoski's homily appears in this issue of the Bulletin). The celebration concluded with the planting and blessing of an anniversary tree near the Barn Chapel. Monks and nuns from New Skete Monastery, who also participated in the celebration, offered a Byzantine chant as we blessed the anniversary tree.
 
On August 15, Brother Richard, Brother John, and Brother Mark represented our community at the solemn monastic profession of Mother Cecilia of the Abbey of Regina Laudis, in Bethlehem, Connecticut.

September 2003

The beginning of September is the time for our community retreat. It is a time of ingathering, when we hope to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood among us, and to deepen our fidelity to the monastic values we profess. “'Shaping Holy Lives,' A Conference on Benedictine Spirituality: God's Workshop,” an address by Archbishop Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, stimulated a series of discussions (which have still continued!). Originally delivered at a symposium at Trinity Church, New York City, in April 2003, the text can be found on-line at www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches/030429.html.
 
Near the end of September, following a meeting of the abbots president of the Benedictine Confederation at the Abbey of Saint Benoît-du-Lac in Quebec, Abbot Thierry Portevin, abbot president of the Subiaco Benedictine Congregation, shared in our common life for a few days. As president of an international congregation of Benedictine monasteries, Abbot Thierry has a world-embracing vision, particularly with regard to monastic life in Africa and Asia.

October 2003

In late October, the monks and nuns of Maple Forest Monastery (the Buddhist communities founded by the Vietnamese teacher Thich Nhat Hanh) welcomed us for a day of shared meditative practice, conversation, and a common meal. Across the differences of language, culture, and religious tradition, we are united by the genius of the monastic vision, in a communion deeper than words.
 
Also in late October, Brother Richard and Brother Michael represented our community at a two-day meeting of Region I of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men.

Monks and nuns from regional Benedictine and Cistercian
communities, who participated in the autumn meeting.

November 2003

As part of our anniversary year, we hosted the fall regional meeting of Benedictine and Cistercian Communities at the beginning of November. The opportunity to mutually share experiences and questions, with other men and women who follow the Rule of Benedict, is always an encouragement and enrichment.
 
During this year, we have wanted to express our gratitude to the townspeople of Weston and surrounding area, who first welcomed Abbot Leo and the fledgling monastery, and who have been our neighbors for these fifty years. In mid-November, we presented our new video, With One Heart, at The Weston Playhouse, followed by a reception with refreshments.


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