New Skete Monasteries News

By Brother Luke             Four New Skete monastics sang with the local Battenkill Chorale this fall season. Weekly practice sessions began in September and culminated on January 20 and 21 with two thrilling performances of the Verdi Requiem at the Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College in Saratoga, New York. The hall was sold out for both performances, and the Sunday performance was also available streaming on line (here is the link: https://livestream.com/accounts/2689920/events/8011178 ). Singing our monastic offices is one of the joys of monastic life in the Orthodox tradition, but stepping into the operatic world of Giuseppe Verdi to experience the emotional power of this memorial for the departed is at another level entirely. We four, Sister Cecelia and Brothers Marc, Stavros, and Luke, joined with the other 100+ members of the chorale, 47 orchestra members, and four soloists for an unforgettable experience. ...

By Brother Luke             We are excited about re-opening our Holy Transfiguration Temple for services, meditations, private prayer, and retreats. A few finishing touches remain, but we are now able to use the church again. The first activities have been individual meditation and prayer and the mid-day Tersext office. Affectionately known as the small church or chapel, the local landmark is renewed and gleaming brighter than ever. The outside of the church is what everyone notices first: new siding, roofing, and gold gilded domes, with a spotlight at night (and Christmas lights in season), and a wide ramp next to the steps that take you to the landing outside the glass front doors. In fact, with all the exterior doors now glass, more light is let into the church, illuminating the inside even without the interior lights on. And when you turn those lights on, what a vision is revealed. The entire interior has been cleaned, th...

By Karen Gladstone and Br. John At some point in our lives we have all probably said or written (or in this day of social media and technology “posted” or texted) to a friend something similar to “prayers for quick recovery,” or when we know someone who passes away we have said to their family, “our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.”  The internet is blanketed with such comments on a daily basis. In reality we can’t begin to know which of those thoughts and prayers were ultimately offered up to a higher power and which were well-intentioned comforting words but never really happened. Not for lack of caring or sympathy or love, mind you, but just maybe the person was distracted or sidetracked or just wasn’t sure how to best send up those prayers. For many of us, it’s reassuring to have additional help to get our message out there: “up there.”  Thankfully for many of us, to the Monks and Nuns of New Skete, praying is as natural as breathing.  They ...