The nuns realized that storage space
had been reduced when a break room for the employees was set up in 2003. One of
the rooms in the nuns’ bedroom area was used, but we knew we would eventually
need a better solution. So, in 2018 plans were drawn up to use the space
between the bakery and the building next to it. A space 20 feet by 14 feet would
be gained. Weather and COVID delayed progress, but gradually things were in
order and a start was made. “Pictures are worth a thousand words,” so
these will help tell the story.
The line on the wall is the angle for the new roof.
After removal of the plants,
flowers, and bushes, the dirt was leveled in preparation for the cement
sub-floor.
The cement truck finally arrived. Some tree branches had to be removed so the backhoe could get close enough.
See the pouring that took place in the above video.
Mik Klaus working on the roof connection.
Now
the siding was removed carefully so the boards could be used on the outside
bakery wall. A bakery window was carefully taken out to make room for a doorway
into the new room. There was just enough space to leave the sink in place.
The roof and outer
wall were then added on top of the cement foundation. A temporary doorway was
left where the window would be placed after the doorway was cut out of the wall
in the bakery for entrance into the new room.
Shellie and
Mik working on the interior work space before adding walls and wiring of all
sorts.
Entrance to the new room from the bakery.
The small office with a view!
The
needed storage space–not full now, but soon it will be.
The
bakery addition blends in as if it had always been here.
By Br Brennan Just over a year ago I was planning an early retirement with an eye to monastic life. While I can’t say that I had one of those great careers and was at the top of my game, I had come to know some really amazing people over my years in the last job. Among those, I always enjoyed truly close relationships marked by great mutual respect. However, I was also one of those artists with a day job, and as a dancer/instructor/choreographer I had come to notice in recent years a certain status of “esteemed eldership” of sorts (at least in my particular genre, that of East European ethnic dance), however awkward I felt about it. After numerous visits to New Skete over the years, I knew the transition to postulancy and novitiate would involve quite a shake-up in my sense of self. And I was correct. First, I was not going to jump in and wow anyone with any diligence, knowledge, or finesse, as I might try to do in a new job. All I could do was pay attention, and learn what this
By Brother Gregory Back in 1983, a group of chapel community members at New Skete felt very strongly about the monastic witness lived by the monks and nuns of New Skete. These married couples wanted to join in a closer relationship with the monks and nuns as a third monastic community, and they became known as the Companions of New Skete. With their financial resources and the help of the monks and nuns, Emmaus House was built on the property of the monks’ monastery. For the next 30 years, the Companions at Emmaus House added their voices and zeal to the witness of New Skete as a monastic presence in America. The Companions helped in many ways with the hard work needed to keep New Skete alive. They painted icons, trained dogs in the Adult Dog Training Program, made dog biscuits, added their singing voices to the daily monastic services, offered hospitality to guests visiting New Skete, and gave in so many other ways that the Companions developed their own ministry identity. One
By Sister Cecelia September 1 begins the Orthodox liturgical new year, and that made think of all the NEW things that have happened and will happen in the near future. It is new that the foliage is not very spectacular this year. That is the first for me in over 50 years! For the first time, the eleven apple trees in our orchard produced only one apple because of the late freeze in the spring. For the first time, the three hazelnut trees bore nuts—and with a very bountiful crop. We will roast our own hazelnuts for the first time. It will be a tasty treat. In October the monks welcomed their second novice this year, and that is a welcome new sight. The nuns have recently received several inquiries seeking monastic life—so, new faces soon, perhaps. New faces reminds me that in September a beautiful well-mannered German Shepherd named Tori was lent to me to care for as long as she is in the breeding program. Our walks are energized by her running gracefully through the fields chasing a
Comments
Post a Comment