New Skete Monasteries News

By Barbara   Eng Being challenged by Br. Stavros to be patient, the Fellowship of New Skete in Portland, Oregon, is preparing their annual retreat to discuss several ideas that surfaced during his September visit. Originally conceived in 2006, the Fellowship has “formed, stormed, normed, and performed,” following the classic life of any community. The question before us is “Now what?” Br. Stavros arrived and was greeted by rain, an old Portland tradition, but being hardy he joined John Benson and Rod Kilcup, two other adventurers, for a hike at Silver Falls State Park. Other members walked through nearby Oregon Gardens or took advantage of the quiet house made available to us. After a common meal we discussed our questions: What’s happening at New Skete? How can we keep in touch with New Skete and continue to deepen our relationship with the community when we are so far away? How can we deal with the difficulty of finding appropriate spiritual direction? In what ways s...

By Sister Cecelia Sister Patricia prepares the baking pan. Preparation for the fall involves not only cleaning up the gardens for winter, but our readiness for having enough of our products to be sold through our online store,   in our gift shops, and to the many fundraisers who use our food products.   We always question how many fundraisers we can handle and still have enough cheesecakes and other products for our regular and seasonal shoppers for Thanksgiving and Christmas. How much to make ahead of time is always a guessing game. Our plan is to make as much product as we sold the year before, allowing a few extra days so we can make whatever we are short of.  Sister Patricia - a day of baking your favorite holiday flavors. Pumpkin, Eggnog, and Apple Walnut Our preparations during the summer included lining up those who have already used our products for their fundraising, and contacting others who would benefit as well. This year, a round 6-inch-diameter...