Holiday lighting

We are still having a snowless  December but that hasn't lessened the preparations for Christmas, particularly the outdoor light displays. One night last week we were driving home after dark and turned into a nearby residential area that was all lit up. Much to our delight it turned out to be a kind of neighborhood light display as most of the houses had some sort of lighting on their homes. Some were quite subtle with tiny white candles in all the front windows. Others had beautifully decorated Christmas trees in their front windows. But the ones that went "all out" were, of course, the most fun to see. 

Here were our two favorites:

Back on the home front this year our inner courtyard has multi-colored lights on five rhododendron and hyacinth bushes along with a drizzle of lights across the azalea bushes that line the cloister walk from the dining room to the chapel. As we approach the Christmas weekend, this week they are set to come on every day from 4:30 and stay on till about 10:00pm. A nice homey feeling.

Been a while

 Last week the serving group that was suppose to work at our soup kitchen one day couldn't come. So they called in the B Team to fill in. The B Team ended up being four Benedictine Sisters, one of which, myself, hadn't worked at the soup kitchen in ages.

I found it to be new and different from the last time I was there, and yet familiar and very much the same! The biggest difference was, of course, that the guests haven't been coming inside for their meal in months. As you can see above, there is still a food  line, but it's just for serving up everything in some sort of order and in a to-go package rather than on a dinner plate. 

The first hour we were there was taken up by making PB&J sandwiches. We made at least a hundred, I swear. Jif peanut butter and Smuckers squeezable strawberry or grape jelly. Very good indeed. These served as "extras," a snack so to speak, for anyone who wanted one.

Then we started to serve up the main meal that was given out at a window in the front of the kitchen. Goulash, beans/salad, a roll, butter and a small envelope of parmesan cheese was the day's main course. In between making up the meals we filled brown paper lunch bags which I think served as a kind of dessert/snack bag. That day it included a piece of cake, a chewy bar and a small bag of nacho chips. I think I missed that somewhere along the line there was a bottle of water, too.

Without plates and glasses the clean up was able to be done in and around all the things mentioned above and we were walking out of the soup kitchen about two and a half hours after we arrived with 187 meals served that day.

Oh, and I really loved one more thing: wearing an Emmaus apron. The B Team was official.

Jhumpa Lahiri

I've stumbled onto a new author, for me, and I am enamored of her writing--both style and content. I first read one of her more recent books of short 2-3 page stories, but now I found her Pulitzer Prize winning book, interpreter of maladies, and can't put it down. You have to put it down, however, as it is composed of 5-6 page stories and you have to read them separately and let each one stand and "speak" on its own for a time.

What a talent she has for framing the simplicities and regular moments of everyday life into strong and deep reflections for the reader. At least that's how I'd try to explain her style! She either is an outstanding observer of life or such a gifted writer that she can pair the perfect words with the experiences of characters. 

They came this weekend

 Two "events" came upon us this weekend.

Saturday night we held the Vigil of Sunday for the First Week of Advent. Some years the Christian liturgical year starts on Thanksgiving weekend, some years it doesn't. This year it does, as Advent has nearly four full weeks--from November 28 through Friday, December 24. Which is really nice for those who celebrate all the special psalms and songs as we do.

Then, today, Sunday, we had our first measurable snow, at least out here in Harborcreek. Up to now we've had loads of "trace" amounts and even the frosty rain type that sticks to the grass and bushes but doesn't accumulate to any official amount other than slush! Today that changed. We had at least an inch, the wet  stuff that sat on every little branch and twig of every tree. Quite beautiful. But it doesn't last too long and then in an hour or two we get another round of the same thing. Over and over.

If you look closely you can see two little birds, probably sparrows, picking around on the ground under one of our feeders. The feeders will get more attention now that a lot of the autumn seeds et al are disappearing. 

End of a year

 This weekend, the last of the 2020-2021 Christian liturgical year, the Feast of Christ the King, we included a lovely poem by Mary Oliver along with the scripture readings. As in former times of thinking of Christ as the "king" of the world, we now, with knowledge of modern cosmology, can see the Christ as the Cosmic Christ--in a world, a universe much larger than it was once known.

Song of the Builders

On a summer morning

I sat down

on a hillside

to think about God--

a worthy pastime.

Near me, I saw

a single cricket;

it was moving the grains of the hillside

this way and that way.

How great was its energy,

how humble its effort.

Let us hope

it will always be like this,

each of us going on

in our inexplicable ways

building the universe.

Weekend welcome

It was a very happy day this Saturday, as we welcomed our three novices into a new stage of their religious life, First Monastic Profession. They pronounced their monastic vows for three years as well as will take up full time ministry again, now that their novitiate year is over.

See this article on our community website, along with a photo. Sister Colleen is the one of the far right, Jaqueline two down from her and Jennifer two down from her! It was very nice to have Jen's siblings and niece and nephew here from New England, and Jacqueline's mother and step-father from New Jersey. But to be able to livestream the ceremony to New Zealand and Australia for Colleen's family and friends, was extra special, albeit at 6:00 pm Saturday for us, it was around noon on Sunday for them!

Our larch is into its normal late, late fall look.

I came upon these right outside in a little area surrounded by pine trees 

and a bit protected and hidden. Guess all the moisture we've had lately

got them going!

Fun in the backyard.

The first frost is past so I guess that makes our high 50s and predicted low 60s temps officially Indian summer now. Getting outside as much as possible this weekend, I took a little trek "around our backyard" and here is what I found: a red border under the west wall of the chapel; beautiful tall grasses in the library courtyard, one red tree in the yard on the way to the hermitage trail and the black eyes on tall stems from this year's Black Eyed Susans. Blessings of autumn and its boundless harvest of nature, to you and yours. 

P.S. Two weekends ago, see October 24 blog entry, I wrote about The Power of 3 male voices at our prayer. Since blogs like mine are automatically transferred to our community Facebook page, it was posted there also. There readers can leave comments and, much to my delight and surprise, a couple days later doesn't this comment appear under the October 24 story:

"I was one of those ‘three’. Two of us are Evangelical Covenant and the third Presbyterian; all pastors. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the monastery. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality!"