Moving Day!

Today is the day!

This morning we pack up and move to our new home in Accord, NY, about 40 minutes west of the monastery.  We have been busy planning and packing, so not very present here, but we are very aware of your prayers and support.  Thanks to those of you who have written and/or donated to make this move easier.

This past Sunday's first two readings were just perfect for us as we prepare to move.  If you've wondered why I haven't been writing - I've been busy living into these promises!

Through Isaiah (43:16-21), God promises to do a new thing.  No matter how good it's been (or how bad), we are advised to leave it behind to look for what God is up to now.  I need to hear this.  We've had an amazing time of growth these past three years, but I can get into fear about the next step and imagine that God will suddenly stop carrying me/us forward.  I'm grateful to our clearness committee for naming that fear as a lie and a temptation.    So we go forward with eager anticipation: "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [we] press on toward the goal for the prize of heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14).  Like Paul, I've lost or let go of a lot to follow Jesus.  I had a lot of gains: tenure, security, interesting work.  "Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of . . . the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (3:7-8).  Yup, it's true.  My former life, my former lives, were good lives.  But compared to what I'm living now, compared to a life centered on the risen Christ, it's all loss.  

Somehow, we know, this is the next step.  It's scary and risky, but any wilderness journey is.  We're not alone.  May you know yourself to be surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, and may you too know Christ Jesus.  And may you look for that road, and follow it.

And have fun!

Our deepest hope for this move is that it will open us to new members and ministry.  We don't have a lot of space, but we will have two guest beds (and couches and air mattress . . .).  We look forward to welcoming guests and inquirers, for a short visit or a longer stay.  If you are curious about monastic life lived in a new key, don't be shy!  Our door is open!

We also plan to have gatherings of various sorts, so stay tuned to this page and our newsletter for announcements.  

In the meantime, please keep the prayers coming - they mean so much!