News:
The Friends of Mount Saviour had
arranged a Fall Program of lectures on the theme of "The Arts and
Religion". The last speaker of the series was
Johannes Somary, a composer and
conductor , long time friend of the monastery who addressed the
question: "What can music contribute to the liturgy?" The Fall
program began with
Ron Cassetti
on "Contemporary Architecture and the design of Mount Saviour."
Clare Reidy made a presentation on
"Theater, Language and Transformation".
John Diamond-Nigh presented "A Post
Card from a Saint to Andy Warhol".
This year, we did not mail a "begging letter" to
announce the Dedication Day because we did not have major renovations
or repairs as in previous years. The financial situation was
hurting a large segment of the population. We had fewer expenses
since March because all the monks over 65 years were eligible to
receive benefits from the Social Security System. A few years
ago, we elected to enroll in the Social Security System all the "non
gainfully employed" monks with a contribution based on the cost of
living. Now we don't have to pay premiums for health insurance
and each monk receives a small amount. We are grateful for the
many donations we received, this month. It helps pay for an
unforeseen bill ($7,400.00) to repair a crack on the 8 inch water pipe
that extends for a quarter of a mile to the 90,000 gallon reservoir on
top of the hill. It took 5 days for the repair crew to find and
repair the crack. Fortunately, we were able to divert water from
a small well to supply the monastery.
In the middle of December, we mailed the
Christmas Chronicle containing the major events
of the year. On Christmas Eve, the blessing of the crèche
after the first Vespers of Christmas is a well attended ritual.
On the feast of the Holy Innocents,
Clare
Smock and her friend
Jamie
played on two pianos many Christmas melodies and we could sing along
our favorite carols.