Mount Saviour Monastery

October 2020 News:
There was a gorgeous progression of brilliant colors as the fall foliage continued to change throughout the month. The color change happened earlier and the colors were more intense supposedly due to lack of precipitation the last several months. Dry conditions also led to poor pasturage for the sheep which Brother Bruno began to transport to auction in New Jersey which is an eight hour round trip. Transporting all of them requires multiple trips over several weeks, especially this year because the new Livestock Guardian dogs have done their job of protecting the sheep from danger so well.

The brothers are healthy have not had so much as a cold to deal with since our closure to the public in March. The Elmira area as a whole has not been so fortunate. Our governor designated the area as an Orange Zone bordered by a Yellow Zone on the 21st. That means that all non-essential businesses have to close and all schools revert to online learning until the local infection rate declines. Attendance at Mass, where it is celebrated in town, is limited once again.

The community decided to institute the office of refectorian this month which the monastery has not experimented with until now. Formerly everyone helped with all aspects of kitchen service as needed, and there would be brothers assigned weekly to serve the guests and brothers for meals. Because of the pandemic our meals have been changed to buffet style which helps the brothers to maintain social distancing in the refectory. In addition, the brothers are spread out throughout the refectory instead of next to each other as observed formerly. With one refectorian we no longer have several brothers in the kitchen at the same time helping with dishes and what not. Now there is only the cook and the refectorian. We hope this change will lessen our chances of spreading colds and more harmful things, as we move into the colder months. The brothers still have to leave the monastery for business, food shopping and medical appointments. There is always a possibility of brothers bringing back unwelcome diseases to the monastery encountered through necessary trips out even though we are careful to observe appropriate precautions.
 

Just a reminder that although our Gift Shop remains closed due to the pandemic, it is still possible to use our online ordering page:  Shop to order products from the monastery. These include candles, artwork, mittens and woolen goods and specialty items. The 50-minute documentary video of Mount Saviour, The Everyday, is also now available online through YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch'v=3hFvGCZ2PG4