Volume 38 • Number 2
Winter 2012
IN THIS ISSUE This issue of Cowley celebrates the completion of the renovations to the Monastery, as the Brothers give thanks to God for the support of our Friends, for the skill of many workers and artisans who labored on these buildings, and for the joy of our return home. In the color insert at the center of this Cowley, you’ll find selections from the celebratory Service of Thanksgiving on September 17, including the sermon Living Stones, preached by Br. Geoffrey Tristram. He shares the Brothers’ gratitude and renewed sense of mission, in which we all take part as living stones, marked with love, in God’s house of prayer for all people. The insert also includes hymn texts, prayers, and beautiful color photographs taken on the day. In a visual collage, the Brothers give thanks to the workers who built the Monastery in 1936 and those who restored it in 2011. In a Letter from the Fellowship, Mary Anderson shares her experience of photographing the Monastery throughout the construction and renovations. A series of Before & After photographs trace the transformation of some key spots in the renovation. Letter from the Superior | Community News | Voice of a Friend Update your address with us or offer someone a gift subscription of Cowley magazine. See the postcard inside. To remove your name from our physical mailing list and sign up for our electronic mailing list, please call 617.876.3037x55, or email friends@ssje.org. To follow the latest news from the Brothers, visit www.SSJE.org where you can listen to weekly sermons and view photo galleries. We welcome hearing your thoughts on this issue of Cowley. Visit www.SSJE.org/cowleymagazine to share comments, ask questions, or see Cowley in color.
Cover photo: A “God’s-eye” view of the Eucharist on September 17th, when an overflowing crowd joined the Brothers to give thanks to God for the successful completion of the renovations and the Brothers’ return home to the Monastery.
©2012 by the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, North America
A Letter from the Superior Dear Members of the Fellowship of Saint John and other Friends Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE
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ur worship on Saturday, September 17, offered us Brothers a wonderful chance to give praise and thanks to God for the gift of our new Monastery, and to give thanks to our dear friends who have supported us, encouraged us, and cheered us on during these years of visioning, fundraising, and building. Our experience of having to raise money and rebuild this Monastery has actually helped us understand more deeply the vital mission to which we believe we have been called by God, to draw others to know and experience, in their own lives, the love of God in Christ. It has also helped us to understand just how much we Brothers need our friends, and to see how much you are an integral part of our mission. What a blessing it is to know our need for one another, as members of the body of Christ. Knowing our need for help has been a huge spiritual blessing to us Brothers over the last years, and we have been overwhelmed by the love and support which our friends have given us: the gift of advice, helping us to make wise choices in turbulent times, the gift of encouragement, by your words and prayers. We have been amazed, encouraged, and
moved by the generosity of our friends who gave financially to support these renovations, especially during these times of financial crisis in the world. Thank you, thank you for the generosity of your gifts, large and small. Finally, we have been blessed by the gift of your advocacy, asking others to help us, and of your time, as so many of you volunteered, helping with worship services, planning our new library, and helping us pack and arrange that famous yard sale. During these past years of planning and construction, we have come to know and admire the skill and the expertise of all those who have helped make these renovations actually happen. Our deep thanks go to John Sabbag, our project manager, to Bill Hammer, our architect, and his team at HKT Architects. We thank our project superintendent, Dave Pollack of Commodore Builders, and Biagio DiTullio, our project executive, and his entire team at Commodore Builders. We are so grateful to all of those who gave their skill to help rebuild this Monastery. We offer our deep gratitude to the masons, who worked on stone
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An overflowing crowd joined the Brothers on September 17, when the community delighted to give thanks to all those Friends and donors who supported us during the year of renovations.
and brick, to the glaziers, who worked on stained glass, to the carpenters and electricians, the plumbers, mill workers, painters, lighting designers, and all of the skilled craftsman and laborers who have spent hours and hours in this place. We give special thanks to our ironsmiths, Carl and Susan Close of Hammersmith Studios, who crafted our beautiful new sanctuary gates. This Cowley celebrates the work of these craftsmen. In a visual collage, we offer up our thanks to those workers who built the Monastery in 1936 and those who rebuilt it in 2011. We’ve also included a visual look at some before and after images from the renovations, to appreciate just how much wonderful work has been accomplished. As I write this, we have just given thanks to God for the life and witness of our dear Brother John Mathis, who departed this life John Mathis, SSJE (1923-2011). May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
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on September 23, in his eighty-eighth year. At his funeral we were able to remember with thanksgiving his remarkable ministry, especially with the homeless, the lost, and those in the grip of addictions. John firmly believed that because of Jesus’ triumph over suffering and death, no one, however desperate, was beyond the redeeming love of God. We shall miss John, and we give thanks for the loving care which he received during these past years from the Little Sisters of the Poor at their nursing home in Somerville. May he rest in peace and rise in glory! We believe passionately that God has given us so much—our Brothers, this beautiful new Monastery, our friends, our benefactors, our advisors—all for a purpose. “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” writes the prophet Isaiah. We long for our Monastery Chapel to be such a place. Faithfully,
Geoffrey Tristram SSJE Superior SSJE
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The Society of Saint John the Evangelist
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For those who built this Monastery in 1936‌
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…and those who rebuilt it in 2011, we give you thanks, O God.
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Letter from the Fellowship
Glory Be Mary Anderson
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t was early in March 2010, and Geoffrey had just announced the timeline of the Brothers’ move, the impending closure of the Monastery Chapel. The reality in his words was stunning; the structure of the day, my life and heart, had been grafted to a pattern of prayer with the Brothers for more than a decade. I remember writing to Geoffrey and Curtis, offering to help in some way – packing, gardening, documenting in photographs. In my mind’s eye I saw the possibilities of an image – the interiority of the Chapel, the Monastery environs, intimate portraits of light, stone, the Cross – that might serve a greater cause, God’s life among us. To help, I knew, would be a joy and a lifeline that would stem the tide of loss. A short while later Kevin responded to my offer: Would I photograph the progress of the renovations? Glory Be. It began in earnest as a collaboration, on a crisp autumn day. In hard hats and hard-soled shoes, Kevin guided me through the Monastery, Guesthouse, cloister garden and Chapel. We walked
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briskly and paused frequently to adjust our eyes and absorb the changes, dramatic and subtle, wrought by the demolition, cleaning and construction. It was like walking through the crucible of creation, where loss is gain; each room, building, view, was a site of accretion and erasure. Like a drawing that visibly retains the hand and history of its making, these early stages of renovation bore the bold integrity of exposure – the clarity of rot and rudiment, carapace and core. In the throes of loss to live anew, the buildings and grounds were replete with spiritual metaphor. They suffered – quite literally – the wounds and winds and weather of transformation, much of which, I knew, would not translate photographically. Still, the process of trying was beautiful, dynamic. Amid the dust and debris, noise and glare, the possibilities of an image began to emerge. The interpolations of one visual vocabulary – SSJE
Letter from the Fellowship sions once hidden by distance, in space and time, were now revealed by our proximity. Like so many parts of the Monastery renovations – the rivers of plumbing, miles of wiring, countless hours of troweling, sanding, aligning, measuring twice – they held an intention of hand and heart that few had seen, or ever would see, first-hand. I became acutely aware of the particular and of the singular privilege of time. As I photographed, the moment of life and its current – above, below, around – was before us in both senses of this word. Humanity was writ large in exquisite detail – the slow silent curve of an arch, myriad pieces of glass, the curling of iron to suspend a chain. To photograph, I knew, was to become the aperture, to bear witness to this common good; to see through loss this beauty of the Cross that marks the beginning and possibility of an image. Glory Be. vacuums, toolboxes, ladders – intersecting another – apse, choir, nave – created symbolic incongruities ripe with meaning and mirth, hallowing the mess and labor of birth. When I first entered the Chapel it was magnificent, perceptually enlarged, charged with networks of shadow and light. It had acquired an internal measure, an intricate anatomy of planks and pipes that permitted an ascent, our climbing upward, layer by layer, to the clerestory windows, the rose window, the underside of the roof. The stained glass had already been cleaned and the afternoon sunlight spilled its radiance in hues, especially blues, across the surfaces of the limestone and granite. Who knew that angels swing thuribles too? I photographed quickly, instinctively; multiple frames for any given view. As we navigated 2 x 12s, rafters, joists and beams, Kevin noted points of history and design, idiosyncrasies of the architect or craftsmen. Aesthetic deciThe Society of Saint John the Evangelist
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Before
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Chapel During Renovations
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Before
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Seventy-five years of incense and candle smoke left their mark, quite literally, on the Chapel walls, choir stalls, floors, and windows. Everything had to be moved out and scrubbed down.
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Before
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Chapel After
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Before
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After the scaffolding came down and the furniture was moved back in, the Brothers and guests were amazed: The Chapel looks brighter, lighter, even more spacious after the cleaning. The light pouring through the freshly cleaned stained glass windows dapples the walls and floors with vibrant color.
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Before
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& After
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Before
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Cloister The once-verdant Cloister garden became a construction zone, as miles of pipe and tons of equipment took up residence. Now glassed in, the Cloister offers a wheel-chair accessible passage from the Chapel to the refectory.This renovation also allows the common room and Sacristy to return to being within the Brothers’ enclosure.
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Before
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Guesthouse & Chapel Lifts
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Before
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The Brothers were delighted that the renovations gave us the opportunity to add lifts into the Chapel and the Guesthouse, so that those with mobility issues can have equal access to the Monastery and Chapel. Beautiful iron-work gates crafted by Hammersmith Studios adorn the Chapel lift.
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Before
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Plumbing & Wiring Dating to the thirties, the plumbing and wiring at the Monastery were in clear need of updating. Just how desperate the need was became clear when the removal of the basement floors revealed corroded sewer pipes, invasive tree roots, and, as a result, the need for an entirely new plumbing system.
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Before
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As new plumbing was installed, the bathrooms in the Guesthouse were also updated to afford guests more privacy. Each unit now has its own door and contains sink, toilet, and shower.
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Before
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Undercroft The undercroft was restored to Cram’s original design, when office space and the library were moved to other locations in the Monastery. The removal of a step and the addition of a ramp also make the undercroft more navigable for those with mobility issues.
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Before
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Tower The Monastery tower, exposed to the elements year after year, needed to be repointed. With fresh mortar between the bricks, the tower will remain a strong and visible symbol of the Monastery in Harvard Square.
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Before
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Windows
With sagging frames and insufficient insulation, the windows in the Monastery and Guesthouse needed to be replaced. New double-pane glass helps to foster the silence guests seek at the Monastery.
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Before
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Refectory The Refectory now gleams with new windows and fresh plaster, making it a restful and welcoming space where guests and Brothers can come together and break bread at the other table of the Lord.
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Before
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Guesthouse Common Room
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Before
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Library
Every room in the Monastery and Guesthouse was taken to its bones and built up again from scratch, to allow for new wiring and windows, new insulation and new pipes. You might catch the Brothers referring to the renovations as the “rebuilding� of the Monastery, for in a very real sense, they were.
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Before
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Floors
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Before
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Holy Spirit Chapel
We hope these pages offer readers a glimpse into the renewed beauty of the Monastery, Chapel, and Guesthouse. We invite you to schedule a retreat and appreciate the renovation, renewal, resurrection of these beautiful and treasured spaces for yourself!
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Support SSJE The Brothers’ ministry and the Cowley Magazine are made possible by the generosity of the Friends of SSJE. Please consider becoming a Friend today by supporting SSJE’s Annual Fund. A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check, credit card, direct deposit or a gift of securities. Please use the envelope in the center of the magazine or donate online.
Thank you for supporting the Brothers, who support so many of us.
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or a small community, the Brothers do a remarkable ministry that reaches so many people. I like to think of them radiating out from the Monastery on Memorial Drive, that beautiful space. They do amazing ministry among the local people they can reach, but then they also radiate out from that local sphere in ways that are really admirable. I’ve always been impressed with their ability to reach out. Monasticism is one of the pillars, the center of the church, even now. The Christian church would be so much less rich, so much less hospitable, if it didn’t have monasticism. If it’s being true to its roots—if it’s being traditional monasticism—monasticism is always experimental. You try things; you see what works and what doesn’t work. The experimental nature of monasticism is built in, from the beginning. For sixteen hundred years now you’ve had this underground stream in the church—and, even today, monasticism remains an underground movement. It’s so fascinating, because you have monks who are actually living and practicing traditions that date to the Middle Ages, but the life is not a sterile preservation of the past. It’s not historical Gettysburg; it’s a living tradition. Monks and nuns say, “We are going to live this way. Let people come and see it. Let them learn from the way we’re living.” One of the most powerful things about the monastic witness is the open attitude of hospitality. So many of us are disaffected with much that goes on in the name of organized religion, and then we encounter monks and nuns, who are so incredibly hospitable—no matter whether we’re gay or straight or rich or poor. We encounter this hospitality and think: “Wow, I never knew this existed!” I’ve seen this happening over and over again to people who have never been to a monastery: They come reeling out the door, wondering, “What was that?” And of course, real hospitality means that monks accept people as they are, offering people a safe place for them to explore their spirituality. The Monastery is a safe place to do that exploration without feeling like you’re being pushed around. There’s no agenda except acceptance. 28
– Kathleen Norris, author of Cloister Walk, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, and other books. SSJE
Uplifting Words Friends share what the new lifts at the Monastery mean for them
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ver the last twentyfive years, I have been fortunate to attend many of the services held for the public in the Monastery Chapel. Two years ago, I lost strength in my leg and developed imbalance too. All along it still was my great desire to attend the Holy Mass again, so I longed for an elevator for the Chapel. It was then that I heard that the whole Monastery, which is almost a century old, was going to be renovated. In fact my joy knew no bounds when I heard that an elevator was to be installed so that the less able also could attend the services. When the Chapel reopened after the renovations, I happened to be the first to use it. I thought: this is the time to thank the “Enlightened Monks” of this Monastery for their large-heartedness, far-sightedness for the future generations and the care for the disabled too. Now, I use the elevator to go and attend the Holy Mass every Sunday. I notice that not only the beautiful Chapel, but even the basement is getting full at times, thus attracting many more to God than before.
-Mrs. Mariam Patrose
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he new lift into the Chapel is a lifeline for my mother. The Chapel, the Monastery, and the Brothers always were an integral part of her life. But over the last years, her confinement to a wheel chair and the closures for the renovations left her unable to access the Chapel, creating a major void in her life. With the new lift installed, she has been able to return to the Chapel to be with her friends and the fellow worshipers she’s embraced over the last fifteen years. It has been amazing to watch her excitement each Sunday at being able to go back to her spiritual home again.
-Prataap Patrose
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ois, who arrives on an electric scooter, and I are very happy with the improved access to the Monastery Chapel. The elevator is wonderful with plenty of room—so much easier for both of us than the stone steps.
-Lois and Bill Edgerly
Come and See Weekend
Ever wondered if God could be calling you? Think you might know someone God could be calling? We welcome men interested in learning about a vocation to SSJE to join us for a “Come and See” weekend at the Monastery. May 3-6, 2012 For more information, please visit our website at www.SSJE.org/brother. The Society of Saint John the Evangelist
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Emery House Interns Cassandra Swick and Tedi Davidson with Brs. James Koester, Luke Ditewig, and Curtis Almquist.
Interns at Emery House Cassandra Swick, a graduate of Arizona State University, and Tedi Davidson, a graduate of Emery University, are sharing in life, worship, and work with the Brothers. A typical day for our interns ranges from their being a lector in the Chapel, collecting fresh eggs from our chickens, greeting guests, working outside on our 140 acres, and helping prepare a meal.
passionately that God has given us so much: this beautiful new Monastery, our friends, benefactors and advisors – all for a purpose. We believe we have a mission. And that is to draw others to know and experience in their own lives, the love of God in Christ…” To listen to Geoffrey’s sermon and additional remarks, view an audio slideshow and more stunning photographs, visit our website: www.SSJE.org/thanksgiving
At the September 17th rededication ceremonies are the Rt. Rev. Arthur Walmsley, our former Bishop Visitor; our Brother Tom Shaw, Bishop of Massachusetts; and the Rt. Rev. Frank Griswold, our current Bishop Visitor.
Tanzanian FSJ member Over the past decade several SSJE Brothers, among them Brs. David Vryhof and Curtis Almquist, FSJ member
Rededication of Monastery Chapel More than 250 FSJ members and SSJE Friends joined the Brothers on September 17th for a festive liturgy as we rededicated the Monastery Chapel, gave thanks, and offered tours of the newlyrenovated Monastery. Br. Geoffrey Tristram said in his homily: “We believe 30
The Rev. Canon Joel Makame with Brs. Curtis and David, Dr. Colin Johnstone, and Bp. Mark Hollingsworth.
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Dr. Colin Johnstone, and our friend, the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth (Ohio), have come to know the The Rev. Canon Joel Makame, rector of St. Alban’s parish in rural Mgombezi, Tanzania. Father Joel and many in his congregation have adopted AIDS orphans, a very powerful witness to so many. On September 30th at Emery House we had the joy of receiving Father Joel into the Fellowship of Saint John.
First Tuesdays On the first Tuesday of each month, starting this past October, the Brothers are offering a special service geared toward students and young adults. After the 5:30 Eucharist, the congregation is invited to join the Brothers for a “Meal with Monks”: a light supper and conversation. Emery House Autumn Work Weekend Twenty-seven friends and SSJE Brothers worked together, and enjoyed great fellowship and beautiful weather the weekend of October 21st. The group pruned and prepared the gardens for the winter, cut and stacked firewood, cleared fallen branches from hiking trails, and cleared undergrowth from our 18th century stone walls. It was a great weekend. Join us for the Spring Pruning Weekend (March 16-18, 2012) or Spring Work Weekend (May 11-13, 2012)!
Br. Curtis Almquist, with the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at the Seminary of the Southwest, Austin,Texas; and the Very Rev. Chad Vaughn, Chair of the Alumni Steering Committee.
Br. Curtis Almquist gave the Blandy Lectures at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, Texas, September 20-21, and was a guest speaker at the Clergy Conference for the Diocese of Texas on October 24-25. He led an Advent weekend program at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia, December 3-4, where FSJ member the Rev. Wallace Adams-Riley is Rector. Welcome Back Dinner On September 20, the Brothers were delighted to host over fifty students from local colleges and universities for the annual Welcome Back meal held for students. The Society of Saint John the Evangelist
Br. Curtis’ nephew, Colby Kennedy, a Work Weekend lumberjack.
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Renovation, Renewal, Resurrection Celebrating 75 Years of Prayer at the Monastery
MONASTIC WISDOM
for everyday living
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n September 17, 2011, we Brothers welcomed an overflowing crowd of Friends to the Monastery, to celebrate a Thanksgiving Service for the successful completion of the renovations and renewal of the Monastery. This celebratory Eucharist offered us the chance to give thanks to God for seventy-five years of prayer in the Chapel, seventy-five years of vocation and ministry in the Monastery. We also delighted to have the chance to thank those countless Friends who sustained us over the last year, and over the last years, by their prayers and counsel, by their financial support, and above all, by their friendship. We offer these pages in thanksgiving. To God the glory.
Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Living is a continuing series of sermons, workshops and teachings from the Brothers that seeks to distill the collective wisdom of the past and offers practical timeless messages to live by in today’s world. Cover photo of the Emery House staircase by Gary-Andrew Smith ????????????????.
Renovation, Renewal, Resurrection Celebrating 75 Years of Prayer at the Monastery
“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him, will not be put to shame.’”
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Living Stones Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE To listen to the audio recording of this sermon, visit www.SSJE.org/thanksgiving.
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e have been looking forward to this day for such a long time! The day when we Brothers have the opportunity to publically give thanks to God for the gift of our new Monastery – and to give thanks to all of you – our dear Friends who have supported, encouraged and cheered us on over these past years of visioning, fundraising, and building. This past year of the exile in particular has been quite a challenge for us. St. Augustine once said that a monk out of his monastery is like a fish out of water – and over this past year we have been gasping to be back home. We’ve come home and it is wonderful to be here with all of you on this glorious day, and wonderful to be able to celebrate this service of praise and thanksgiving. We believe passionately that God has given us so much: this beautiful new Monastery, our friends, benefactors and advisors – all for a purpose. We believe we have a mission. And that is to draw others to know and experience in their own lives, the love of God in Christ. “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” writes the prophet Isaiah. We long for this monastic Chapel to be such a place, where anyone may enter and feel welcomed by the all-embracing love “We believe passionately of God. The very structure of the that God has given us so buildings expresses that. Our Monastery much – this beautiful new and Guesthouse are set back from the Monastery, our friends our road, but our Chapel extends right out benefactors, our advisors – into the world, onto busy Memorial all for a purpose.” Drive, and our doors are kept open.
“Our experience of raising money and rebuilding this Monastery has helped us understand more deeply the vital mission to which we believe we have been called by God.�
Some years ago, as we reflected on the state of our buildings, we wondered whether maybe God was prompting us to leave Memorial Drive and move out into the country. As we reflected and prayed we felt a deep call to stay in the city. And so here we are. This is in keeping with the vision of our founder Richard Meux Benson. The very first mission house of the Society was not built amidst the cloistered calm of the “dreaming spires” of Oxford, but rather in the midst of the busy industrial Oxford suburb of Cowley. He was very worried by the arrival of the train in Oxford. He worried about the effect of such speed on people’s lives! I can only imagine what he would make of the crazy speed of contemporary life – our internet world. But our mission, like Fr. Benson’s, is to offer this Monastery as a still point in the midst of the city: we are committed to stand in the full flow of the modern world, whilst at the same time, inviting people to stop, to be still, to reflect, and to receive the love of God. “My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.” Our experience of having to raise money and rebuild this Monastery has actually helped us understand more deeply this mission to which we have been called. But secondly, it has also helped us understand something else. And that is just how much we Brothers need help: how much you are part of our mission. What a blessing it is to know our need for one another, as members of the body of Christ. There are some beautiful words which I love in the American Prayer Book in the service for Holy Baptism. The moment comes when the priest marks the person to be baptized on the forehead with the sign of the cross and says, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.” “My house shall be called Marked as Christ’s own forever. a house of prayer for all When I first read that, I thought of peoples,” writes the prophet the place where I first served as priest Isaiah. We long for this – the isle of Portland in Southern Monastery Chapel to be England. Portland is famous for its Portland Stone. It was used to such a place.
“Like the stones of this building, we too have been marked, marked with love, marked as Christ’s own by the master builder.”
“We Brothers are committed to stand in the full flow of the modern life, inviting men and women to stop, to be still, and in that quiet place to know and receive the love of God.”
build such famous buildings as the UN Building in New York City, the government buildings in Delhi, India, and perhaps most famously of all, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London Sir Christopher Wren, its architect, would come down to Portland, to the quarries, and he would walk around choosing the stones which he wanted for his cathedral. Each stone was a different shape and form, but the master builder knew in his mind exactly where it would be placed in the structure. As he chose the stones he would mark them. I think of that when I sit in my stall in this Chapel and look at the different stones: all uniquely shaped: how Cram designed and fitted these together so beautifully. In the First Letter of Peter he writes, “Like living stones let yourselves be build into a spiritual house.” So, like the stones in this Chapel, we too have been marked – marked with love – marked as Christ’s own forever. We too each have a unique shape – and each have a part to play in building God’s house. Over this past year in particular, even when we were worshipping in the tent, I have been so aware of how together we have been the Body of Christ, ministering so graciously to one another. For all of you – living stones in God’s spiritual house I give thanks. In a moment Bishop Tom will give thanks for the cornerstone of this building, representing Christ, the cornerstone laid in this church 75 years ago and upon which all the others were laid. So, I believe, firstly our mission is to be a house of prayer for all peoples. Then secondly, that all of us are called to share in this mission, as members of the Body of Christ in this place, living stones in God’s house of prayer. Thirdly, I believe that at the heart of this Monastery, is this Chapel.
“Our mission is to offer this Monastery as a still point in the midst of the city.”
“What a blessing it is to know our need for one another, as members of the body of Christ.”
And at the very heart of this Chapel is the cross. Jesus, in our Gospel today from John says, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” It is at the cross that we most experience God’s all-embracing love. It is to that place of love that we long to draw others. It is the profound mystery at the heart of the Christian faith. That we can come to the foot of the cross and bring our hurts and failures, even our greatest pain, and know what it is to be held in God’s love. And then most mysteriously of all, to experience that pain mysteriously transformed, transfigured, by the love of God, and to be taken up into the resurrection of Christ. There is a cross in virtually every room in the Monastery – even in the pantry and the kitchen. It is our life and our hope. In a moment we shall be blessing our new processional cross, which is a beautiful Coptic cross from Egypt. It links us to the very soil from which monasticism sprang. I find it so moving to witness men and women who come for a few days’ retreat here – often with many burdens weighing them down – and who time and again have a real experience of transformation and resurrection. They leave this place with new hope. We too are filled with great hope today. Hope that with our newly renovated Monastery and with your continued help and support, together we will be able to carry out God’s mission to draw all people to himself, that they may know God’s all embracing love. So today, at this celebratory Eucharist, we come together to give thanks, and to sing God’s praise. Singing God’s praise is what we do every day in this Monastery Chapel. It is our life. And I believe that that is what we are all here for in this life: to live a life of praise. As those wonderful words of our final hymn put it: “My soul, bear thou thy part, triumph in God above, and with a well-tuned heart sing thou the songs of love. Let all thy days, till life shall end, what e’er he send, be filled with praise.” Amen.
Through the ages, Almighty God has moved his people to build houses of prayer and praise, and to set apart places for the ministry of his holy Word and Sacraments. With gratitude for the renovation and renewal of this Monastery Chapel,we give thanks for all that has been and pray for all that will be in God’s Name. Amen.
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith: we thank you for this Chapel, now renewed and consecrated for your worship and praise. Grant that we may be made living stones to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O gracious God, who in your mercy ordained that your Son should suffer death on a cross of shame: We thank you that it has become for us the sign of his triumph and the banner of our salvation; and we pray that this cross may draw our hearts to him, who leads us to the glory of your kingdom; where you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
O God, whose blessed Son has sanctified and transfigured the use of wood and stone and iron: Bless these gates, that all who enter them may know the transforming power of your love, made known to us in Word and Sacrament; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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