News:
    The Friends of Mount Saviour had arranged a Fall Program of lectures on the theme of "The Arts and Religion".  The last speaker of the series was Johannes Somary, a composer and conductor , long time friend of the monastery who addressed the question: "What can music contribute to the liturgy?"  The Fall program began with Ron Cassetti on "Contemporary Architecture and the design of Mount Saviour." Clare Reidy made a presentation on "Theater, Language and Transformation". John Diamond-Nigh presented "A Post Card from a Saint to Andy Warhol".
    This year, we did not mail a "begging letter" to announce the Dedication Day because we did not have major renovations or repairs as in previous years.  The financial situation was hurting a large segment of the population.  We had fewer expenses since March because all the monks over 65 years were eligible to receive benefits from the Social Security System.  A few years ago, we elected to enroll in the Social Security System all the "non gainfully employed" monks with a contribution based on the cost of living.  Now we don't have to pay premiums for health insurance and each monk receives a small amount.  We are grateful for the many donations we received, this month.  It helps pay for an unforeseen bill ($7,400.00) to repair a crack on the 8 inch water pipe that extends for a quarter of a mile to the 90,000 gallon reservoir on top of the hill.  It took 5 days for the repair crew to find and repair the crack.  Fortunately, we were able to divert water from a small well to supply the monastery.
    In the middle of December, we mailed the Christmas Chronicle containing the major events of the year.  On Christmas Eve, the blessing of the crèche after the first Vespers of Christmas is a well attended ritual.  On the feast of the Holy Innocents, Clare Smock and her friend Jamie played on two pianos many Christmas melodies and we could sing along our favorite carols.