Monthly Update
December 2018
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Christmas 2018

Dear   ,

Christmas is a time when we celebrate the birth of Christ and the coming of Christ's light into our world. The Christ child in our midst is a gift that invites us to expand our hearts and our giving. It is a gift that calls us to bring light to a world in need of truth, peace, and justice. It is a gift that calls us to stretch out our arms in reverence and care for those less fortunate. Christmas joy will be ours when we help bear the burdens of those in need and attempt to fill hurting hearts with the generous gifts of kindness, compassion, and care.

Now, in recognition of our sisters who have spent years bringing Christmas hope to others, I ask for your help. Please consider a financial gift to our Christmas Fund!  Your gift will support our ministries and assist with the upkeep of our monastery. It will also bring love and care to our senior sisters who worked so long for so little. 

Click here to read more or go to our secure website and give now. 
Advent Vigils
December 1, 8, 15, 22

Please join the Benedictine community as we celebrate the Vigil of Advent on each Saturday during Advent. Pray with us and watch the light of the Advent candles grow strong and bright as Christmas draws near. We celebrate hope, and in faith open our hearts to the promise of the coming of our God.
 
Dec 1 - Reflections by Oblate Glory Piovarcy
Dec 8 - Reflections by Sister Audrey Steff
Dec 15 - Reflections by Sister Norma Jean Kingsley
Dec 22 - Reflections by Sister Diane Cook
 
Date: Saturdays, December 1,8,15,22
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Mount St. Benedict Monastery Chapel
Cost: All are invited
Advent Lectio: Prepare for Christmas with Music and Art
December 2-28

How can you make Christmas what it was meant to be: a month of contemplation, rather than simply a day of celebration? One way is to join Sister Jean Wolbert as she prepares for Christmas through lectio divina with music and art. In this online lectio eCourse, Sister Jean will introduce you to some of her most beloved Advent and Christmas hymns.
 
Unfamiliar with lectio? View our short video that introduces you to this ancient practice.
 
Register now at Monasteries of the Heart. 

Dates: December 2 -28
Time: At your convenience
Location: Online at Monasteries of the Heart
Cost: $20

Silent Peace Walk
December 10


This simple public prayer, step-by-step, is a powerful nonviolent tool to bring peace, beginning with one's own heart to our families, our communities, our nation, our world, and to all of creation. December 10 is the U.N. Human Rights Day. Many religions prepare for holidays celebrating peace and light in this season. Amidst the holiday lights at Perry Square, we share our yearning for peace throughout the earth.
 
The January Silent Peace Walk will be Wednesday, January 23 at the Millcreek Mall.

This event is sponsored by Benedictines for Peace. For more information,  email Sister Anne McCarthy , BFP Coordinator, or  visit the Benedictines for Peace webpage .

Date: Monday, December 10
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Perry Square, west side of State Street
Cost: All are welcome
 
Take Back the Site Vigil
December 13

Benedictines for Peace is holding a Take Back the Site Vigil for John "Safiy" Wesley Allen at the site
where he was killed on October 19. The vigil begins at 5:15 p.m. and lasts about 15 minutes. Please join us as we reclaim the place where violence has occurred. We need to pray for all people who are victims of violence, and we must believe that a nonviolent way of life is possible.
 
For more information, email Sister Anne McCarthy, BFP Coordinator, or visit the Benedictines for Peace webpage.
 
Date: Thursday December 13
Time: 5:15 p.m.
Location: 822 E. 5th Street, Erie
Cost: All are welcome
Stillpoint Day of Reflection
January 12

The Stillpoint Contemplative Retreat Day is silent and includes eight sitting sessions with chanting, contemplative walking, and teachings. Dress comfortably and bring your own lunch. Coffee and tea provided. You'll have a chance to enjoy a quiet walk outdoors on woodland trails that wind through the monastery grounds.

NEW: Register online here.

Email Sister Margaret Zeller for more information. 

Mark these 2019 dates now: February 16, March 30, April 13, May 4


Date: Saturday, January 12
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Glinodo Center, 6270 East Lake Road
Cost: $15, registration required
Enrichment Series
Climate Crisis and Humility: 
Benedict's teaching as a guide
January 16

The climate crisis urgently demands that we reevaluate and shift our attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Sister Anne McCarthy will present a fresh look at St. Benedict's 12 steps of humility that offers insights for deep transformation of consciousness and action. The culminating vision of Benedict's ancient spiritual path is of a whole, healthy human who bows in reverence and love for all of creation. This workshop will explore this ancient teaching as a guide for individuals and communities living a new relationship with a planet in crisis for today and into the future. Sister Anne has presented on this topic several times, most recently at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Toronto.
 
For more information  email  Stephanie Schmidt, OSB, Director of Formation
 
Date: Wednesday, January 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Mount St. Benedict Monastery
Donation: Free and open to the public

Mid-Life/Long-Life Retreat for Personal and Spiritual Growth for Adults
May 17-19, 2019

Register now for a weekend experience and refocus in the midst of life's changes with a Mid-Life/Life-Long Retreat that:
--provides time to reflect on your past
--looks at present reality and future hopes
--helps you welcome transitions and reclaim gifts
--incorporates Judeo-Christian spirituality, Jungian and developmental psychology.
 
Click here for more information and a downloadable registration form or contact Sister Rosanne Loneck, certified Mid-Life/Life-Long consultant: 814-899-0614 or email.

Register now, participation is limited.
Date: May 17-19
Location: Mount St. Benedict Monastery
Recommended donation: $275 resident; $200 commuter

Chapter 57 Online Gift Shop
Give Art this Christmas

Some new artwork and handmade cards----  perfect for special Christmas greetings. 
 
Visit our online gift shop, a selection of works by artists featured in our monastery shop, Chapter 57. We've highlighted some items that you may want to consider as special Christmas gifts.

Click here to view the Christmas Specials.



STAY CONNECTED with BFP
Receive reminder alerts from Benedictines for Peace each time there is a
--Take Back the Site Vigil
--Silent Peace March
--event or action that BFP is supporting
CLICK HERE to read more and sign up. 
Play Pickleball™ 
Call for schedule
Playing Pickleball® at SBCC is different from playing it anywhere else in the city. We are Erie's only Benedictine gym and being Benedictine means hospitality is one of our top priorities. Your friends, co-workers, and family members will enjoy the friendly, unintimidating, and even intimate setting of our facility that larger gyms and clubs simply can't offer. We offer you:
  • Two courts with seamless, cushioned flooring that is gentle on joints
  • Court times Monday to Saturday, mornings and evenings
  • Memberships and discount cards available
  • Free use of equipment (paddles and balls)
  • Free lesson on your first visit
  • Private bookings available
Click here for more information or call Sister Dianne Sabol, Director, 814-459-2406, to schedule court times.

Date: Call to schedule
Location: St. Benedict Community Center, 320 East 10th Street, Erie
Cost: Fees vary for regular court times
Spiritual Direction available

Spiritual Direction, sometimes referred to as spiritual guidance or spiritual friendship, is an on-going relationship in which one person (the directee), wanting to be attentive to his or her spiritual life, meets with another person (the director) on a regular basis, specifically for the purpose of becoming more attuned to God's presence in order to respond more fully to that presence in all of life. The primary focus of the session is the directee's relationship with God as it is reflected and challenged by all aspects of that person's life. 


 Visit our Spirituality Page to learn about and/or contact our sisters who are Certified Spiritual Directors. Click here.


 Suggested offering is $30/session.


 

 

Guest Accommodations available
One of the greatest gifts monastics can offer is their monastery as a place of prayer and peace, community and care, welcome and hospitality. In doing so monastics take to heart what Benedict advocates: the monastery is a dwelling where guests are to be cherished and respected, where hearts overflow "with the inexpressible delight of love." -Prologue, Rule of Benedict
 
Come for a week, a weekend, or a single overnight. 
Click here for a guest registration form.