The brothers are healthy have not had so much as a cold to deal with since our closure to the public in March. The Elmira area as a whole has not been so fortunate. Our governor designated the area as an Orange Zone bordered by a Yellow Zone on the 21st. That means that all non-essential businesses have to close and all schools revert to online learning until the local infection rate declines. Attendance at Mass, where it is celebrated in town, is limited once again.
The community decided to institute the office of refectorian this month
which the monastery has not experimented with until now. Formerly everyone
helped with all aspects of kitchen service as needed, and there would be
brothers assigned weekly to serve the guests and brothers for meals. Because
of the pandemic our meals have been changed to buffet style which helps
the brothers to maintain social distancing in the refectory. In addition,
the brothers are spread out throughout the refectory instead of next to
each other as observed formerly. With one refectorian we no longer have
several brothers in the kitchen at the same time helping with dishes and
what not. Now there is only the cook and the refectorian. We hope this
change will lessen our chances of spreading colds and more harmful things,
as we move into the colder months. The brothers still have to leave the
monastery for business, food shopping and medical appointments. There is
always a possibility of brothers bringing back unwelcome diseases to the
monastery encountered through necessary trips out even though we are careful
to observe appropriate precautions.
Just a reminder that although our Gift Shop remains closed due to the
pandemic, it is still possible to use our online ordering page: Shop
to order products from the monastery. These include candles, artwork, mittens
and woolen goods and specialty items. The 50-minute documentary video of
Mount Saviour, The Everyday, is also now available online through YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hFvGCZ2PG4