November
2009
11/24/09
“‘Tis the Season”
With the Christmas shopping season getting underway this week, we
invite you to “check out” our online gift shop! There you
will find a variety of thoughtful and faith filled gifts for all ages:
prayer journals for teens, bibles and rosaries, and a large selection
of St. Benedict crucifix medals. Our “homemade” items include
delicious salad dressings prepared right here by Br. Marty our trained
chef and colorful candles handcrafted by Br. Jim. Fr. Dan Homan
has also coauthored two books explaining our Benedictine spirituality
in a practical and accessible way. We promise delivery by
Christmas on orders received by December 18, so do your shopping the
easy way and give your family and friends a holiday gift that truly
carries the message of Christ!
11/17/09
November 11th is a day of commemoration in the United States. Veterans Day is a time to remember those military personnel who represented our country in the past, those who are doing so today and the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefields. Our student body at St. Scholastica Grade School in Detroit held a special memorial service the morning of the holiday. With prayer and song, the children and their teachers thanked God for those who are entrusted with the duty to protect our nation, for their hard work, dedication and willingness to risk their lives for us, but more importantly, they asked God to bring about peace in our nation and throughout the world so that everyone can live and enjoy freedom’s ideals. Gathered in the playground in front of the school, bearing flags in their hands and gratitude in their hearts our students welcomed and listened to military veteran, Paramore Hicks Jr., of the Veterans of Foreign Wars here in Michigan give his insights to what being loyal and patriotic truly means. He also related to the children the diverse experiences that his military experience made possible for him, but emphasized the fact that it was only possible through hard work and perseverance. As part of the prayer service, those students who have family members in the armed forces currently stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, read their names aloud in intercessory prayer for their safety.
On October 21st, a select number of 7th grade
students from St.
Scholastica Grade School in Detroit departed for an opportunity to
explore and develop skills in leadership. Joining other students
from
St. Bartholomew, Holy Redeemer, Gesu and Christ the King Catholic
schools in the Detroit Area Vicariate, the experience took place at
Howell Convention Center. The center is a camp ground and nature
preserve that covers over 280 acres of land in Howell, Michigan.
After
the students were divided into groups of 18 to 24 individuals, they
were given a schedule of workshops to attend. The sessions ranged
from
personal skills and development such as effective leadership, team
building and spirituality to workshops on outdoor skills such as
canoeing, hiking and drum playing. The day and a half camp also
included time for recreation and communal prayer. Chaperones from
St.
Scholastica included Br. Gregory-David Jones and Mr. Michael Williams,
the school’s religion and computer teachers respectively. Our
students
enjoyed the time and cooperated well with the other students and were
looking forward to returning to school to share the experiences and
skills that they had learned.
Web Endeavors
Up here on the hill it has been next to impossible to get a broadband internet connection. Cable companies wanted outrageous fees to bring a cable from the street to the buildings and we are too far from a telephone junction node to have access to a DSL line. Our ultra-slow dial-up connection was becoming more and more obsolete with each passing week. It could not keep up with the content rich websites. Fortunately in the past year new technologies have made it possible for us to receive a wireless broadband connection through cell phone networks with the use of wireless data card. Although not as fast as cable it is far superior to what we had. So in late summer we connected and have been working to increase our presence on the web.
Because so many people have come to use the internet to gather and share information, especially the younger generation, it was becoming obvious that we needed to make use of these tools for our retreat ministry as well as getting information out there for the general public interested in the monastery and potential vocations. Br. Gregory-David continues to maintain this website, which has been up and running for almost 10 years and in recent months has undergone a facelift. Br. Marty has built the website for the retreat house, www.subiacoretreathouse.com. This new and improved site provides information needed to book a retreat, a complete calendar for the year, directions, and, the favorite spot for youth to visit, a photo gallery where pictures from the previous week’s retreat are posted. We even have managed to get the retreat house on Facebook where pictures and comments are shared by people who have visited Subiaco. Br. Marty was surprised to find several Facebook pages already dedicated to Subiaco Retreat House which were created by students to share their experience following a weekend retreat. Please take a moment to visit these sites and leave a comment we would love to hear from you.