Christmastide continued

Many people choose to usher in the New Year by spending quality time at the monastery. We had a quiet and joyous house of guests.

From top, clockwise, Kay Bhotinard and Peter Field, from Ridgewood, NJ, enjoying Br. Joseph's photobombing;
Jenny and Ed Huang, from New York, NY keeping warm in the belltower (brrrr...); Bettina Del Sesto, from Silver Spring, MD and Lauren Hare, from Astoria, NY, enjoying table fellowship.

Many chose to keep company to the Christmas Tree in Pilgrim hall. Or some preferred the smaller meeting rooms of the Guesthouse.

From top, clockwise, Kathe and Ed Brannon, from Milford, PA;
a river of diamonds in the rising sun on my window on the morning of the feast of Holy Name (a.k.a. New Year's Day);
Gary Johnson and Melissa Morgenweck, from New York, NY, studiously relaxing in St Mary's parlor.

Conversations were struck and friendships created or nurtured.

From top, clockwise, Barbara Tobin, Hannah Poole and Nigel Richards, from St Peter's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, PA:
Br. Josép and Associate Carol Craddock, from New York, NY near the refectory.

At the end of the feast of Holy Name, we closed the Guesthouse for ten days or so. That evening, the monks and the local residents, Matthew Wright and Yanick Savain, gathered for our traditional New Year's Day festivities. It involves pizza and a movie. This year, Josép and Yanick shared their Puerto Rican roots by treating us to Coquito in an alcoholic and non-alcoholic version. Coquito is a coconut-based alcoholic beverage traditionally only served in Puerto Rico, similar to eggnog, hence it is sometimes called Puerto Rican eggnog. Delicious but dangerous... Our movie was "The Preacher's Wife" a 1996 film with Denzel Washington as an angel and Whitney Houston as the crystal-voiced preacher's wife.

Br. Robert Sevensky had received a box of Christmas crackers that arrived after Christmas. So we decided to turn them into anticipated Epiphany crackers. Inside our crackers were tissue paper crowns which we wore for the proceedings.

From top, from left to right, the Three Kings on their way to the creche, stopping over at the Avery Brooke Library to brush up on scriptural prophecies about a Messiah; the community celebrating the New Year: Br. Bob, Bros. Richard and Robert H., the Rev. Matthew Wright and Br. Laurence; Bros. Bernard and Joseph (half of him anyway); Br. Robert H. checking his fingers (?); Bros. Bernard and Peter.

The next day, the community took a well-deserved sabbath day. And on Wednesday, we started our much-beloved Long Retreat. Long Retreat is eight days of complete silence, simplified liturgy and no work obligations. This year, we moved our liturgy to the Chapter Room to avoid the cold that has settled in our church as the heating system struggles to keep the temperature above 50 degrees.

In the middle of the retreat, we are receiving six addresses about praying with the heart from our resident, the Rev. Matthew Wright. We are enjoying the deeper quiet and the leisure to welcome serenity and insight.

We wish you a Happy New Year and a blessed Epiphany!