Quiet days of August

This past week, Br. Bob was on vacation and a family visit in Minnesota, Iowa and Oregon; Br. Robert James was on retreat in our county; Br. Robert Leo left of a retreat and a vacation in North Carolina. I fully recovered from jet lag. It takes me a bit of a longer time nowadays.

This week, Br. Josép who has been our Director of Associates for four years passed me the baton. I will try to emulate his great work with our many Associates throughout the world (440+). It's a big and important job. I'm honored to serve in this capacity. 

If you're intrigued about becoming an Associate, do not hesitate to send me an email to get in touch about it. It's relatively easy and spiritually fruitful.

Work on sprucing up our Saint Augustine church ahead of its centennial in October continued. The sanded floor was oiled several times. With each oiling it took an even more honeyed tone. It has now dried enough for our contractor to return the furniture to the church this weekend.

Work on the new Guest House elevator continued this week with the installation of a dedicated fire alarm system. We also recently had a backup power system installed (dedicated batteries). This latter system will need to communicate with our backup generator system to be fully functional. I am crossing my fingers that the generator company will be able to provide that work soon... In managing many capital projects in the last few years I have learned that a project can often turn out more complex than was at first anticipated.

I also supervise the great communications work that The Rev. Matthew Wright does for us one day a week. Among many other communications responsibilities, he puts together the much appreciated "electronic Mundi" that lands in mailboxes every other month. This week, he interviewed Br. Bede to write a profile on him for the Mundi.

If you don't receive the Mundi electronic newsletter yet, you're missing out. You can subscribe on our web site.

Interviewing Br. Bede. The Rev. Matthew Wright, our Communications Minister making notes as he interviews Br. Bede in the Pauli Murray Work Room in the enclosure.

In August, we observe a simplified liturgical schedule and a lightened workload. Between the meeting of Chapter shortly after Eucharist (around 9.30 a.m. most days) and Vespers at 5 p.m., the day is wide open for those who want to go on hikes or excursions.

This Wednesday, Brs. Aidan and Bede went to the Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, CT. Afterwards, they visited nearby Wethersfield where Br. Bede's first American ancestors arrived from England. 

I hope you are enjoying some quiet days of August yourselves.

Encourage the sceptics to get a covid-19 vaccine; tell them how it was for you and what it has given you back. 

In case you plan to visit the Guest House this fall or come to one of our public events (such as Kairos concerts) check out our Covid Policies on our website. Of course, we keep monitoring the evolving pandemic situation and these policies are subject to changes, as and when needed.