Glastonbury Abbey

BROTHER DANIEL TO RECEIVE HONORARY DOCTORATE

Regis College in Weston, conducted by the Boston Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, will confer a doctorate, honoris causa, on our Brother Daniel on May 18th. They are doing this in recognition of the work Daniel performed for eighteen years at Haley House and Saint Francis House in Boston. The Sisters of Saint Joseph have always been close to Daniel. His Aunt, Sister Louisella Walters, CSJ was an Art teacher at Regis College. Daniel himself taught Religion for a number of years Fontbonne Academy in Milton. We congratulate our brother on this prestigious recognition!

CANONICAL VISITATION OF GLASTONBURY MONKS, JUNE 15 -18

Glastonbury Abbey is one of seventeen monasteries that form the Swiss-American Congregation, part of the worldwide Benedictine Confederation. One of the services that the congregation affords is a visitation every four years to each monastery with the goal of strengthening the monastery in its monastic life and observance. Glastonbury had its last visitation in June 2004 and will have its next one beginning on Sunday, June 15th and ending by Wednesday, June 18th. Monks coming from two diverse monasteries of the congregation are assigned to do the visitation by the Abbot President and his Council. Abbot Jerome Kodell, O.S.B. of Subiaco Abbey in Arkansas will be one of our visitators. Abbot Jerome is a scripture scholar and has been abbot since 1989. He was the retreat master here in 2003 and had also been here for a meeting of formation directors back in 1987. Abbot Jerome has been on the Abbot President’s Council since 1996. Our other visitator will be Brother Thomas Sullivan, O.S.B. from Conception Abbey, Missouri, which we affectionately refer to as our “grandmother house”. Brother Thomas is a historian by training and teaches in the Conception Abbey Seminary College and also is the chief librarian for the abbey and college. He was our visitator once before back in 2000.

In the past year the monks of Glastonbury have worked on a Strategic Planning process that will enable them to set goals and plans for the next few years. With fewer monks, our resources have to be well utilized. It is hoped that the upcoming visitation will also help us to plan our future. Your prayers are very much appreciated.

FLOWER SHOW AN OUTSTANDING SUCCESS

Last summer Frannie O’Toole and Tess Simkus, with the encouragement of our recently-hired Development Director, Maryellen Keteltas, proposed to have an exhibit at the prestigious New England Garden and Flower Show that takes place every March in Boston. It seemed like a wonderful idea but many thought it was over-ambitious for our small group of amateur gardeners. But the idea snowballed. These people had a vision of what they wanted and were able to gather many talented people to bring about the project. First of all, they laid out and planted a beautiful herb garden up near the tower on our abbey grounds. And then the flower show exhibit became a reality. For ten days, March 9-16, Glastonbury Abbey was represented by a wonderful exhibit entitled “Invitation to the Bell” featuring an exquisite herb garden, monastic colonnades, the abbey tower, benches, a water fountain, a ringing bell and trees. Thousands of visitors passed by and admired the display, talking to our enthusiastic volunteers, monks and lay people, who were present all day every day to share their enthusiasm for the abbey and its works.

Thanks are due, indeed, to the monumental job that Frannie O’Toole and Tess Simkus did in planning and co-chairing the event. Judy Dwyer and Ginny Carlin did all the scheduling of volunteers and that was a big job in itself. Jack Doolan, Peter Kittler, Al and Joan Buckley, Joe Scanlan and Chris Nagle built the monastic colonnade walls and put together the set in Boston. Ann McCarthy-Egan and Tom Egan also helped. The tower was planned and executed by Nancy Cusack and Jan Doucette. Michael Meallo and Eric Gondveer transported trees and bushes to the exhibit hall. Helping to sponsor the event were the Corcoran Management Company, Jimmy’s Greenhouse Florist and Meallo Landscaping. There were also about sixty volunteers who spent three hours shifts at the Flower Show. Our profound thanks go out to all of them. This event was the fruit of creative and imaginative visioning plus the hard work that brought it into existence.

MONASTERY SOON TO SELL LINCOLN SCHOOL APARTMENTS

The monks of Glastonbury Abbey have owned and operated the Lincoln School Apartments for the elderly for almost thirty years. This has been a highly successful undertaking and there is a long list of applicants, people who desire to get into one of the sixty apartments as they become available. As the monastic community has become smaller, the monks decided they need to put their energies into the many ministries at the monastery itself. Abbot Nicholas met with the residents of the Apartments and then addressed the wider worshipping community of Glastonbury, to explain the process we are beginning. The sale will involve the commitment to maintain the complex as subsided housing for the elderly and guarantee current residents the continuation of present services. There are a couple of sale options on the table at present and more information will be shared as time goes one.

MONASTIC NEWSNOTES

Brother David’s music course has attracted seventeen eager students. Even Brother Daniel is taking part in it…. Father Timothy gave a Celtic Spirituality Workshop in San Diego… The Schola Cantorum which leads our singing at Mass every Sunday was shown some appreciation in a dinner given in their honor at the monastery one Sunday evening… Father Nicholas and Brother Daniel, as well as some of extended community, attended the Seder celebration at Congregation Sh’aray Shalom in Hingham.… Brother James spent some time in New York helping his parents to close the house and move to an assisted living residence in Rhode Island.