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October 31, 2010
Dear friends,
Although the days are growing shorter, and the temperatures are cooling, we are not yet quieting down for the winter. In our city convent, the bustle continues apace, with boxes and bundles being readied for "the big move." And in the country, the gardens are still full of roots and other crops. We are all looking forward to December, when the gardens will be put to bed for the winter, and we will finally be all moved in to our new home.
We pray that you are able to find some tranquil moments in the winding-down midst of fall.
Peace,
The Sisters of the Community of the Holy Spirit www.chssisters.org
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Requiem for Sister Dominica
 On October 2nd, the Feast of Guardian Angels, we gathered at Melrose to remember our Sister Dominica, who entered the greater glory of God on May 28th. In our tradition, sisters are cremated and their ashes interred in a stone columbarium on the grounds of Melrose/Bluestone Farm. The service was conducted by the Reverend Suzanne Guthrie and included music selected by Sister Helena Marie. As we assembled by the columbarium, after processing from the chapel, the great tenor bell was rung 79 times in honor of each year of Sister Dominica's life. We are grateful for your thoughts and prayers, and your remembrances of Sister Dominica. |
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Hooray for Volunteers!
 On October 10th, at Melrose/Bluestone Farm, we participated in a "global work party" that included more than 7300 groups in 188 countries around the world. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about the urgency of global warming, and to engage in local solutions to reducing carbon emissions. 350.org, who coordinated the worldwide event, is an organization focused on reducing greenhouses gasses-specifically, reducing the amount of carbon in our atmosphere to 350 parts per million.
We were thrilled to have 23 volunteers contribute their energy and enthusiasm to our own local food effort! With our sisters and resident companions, we had a total of 31 people working in the fields, in the barn, and in the kitchen, all coming together out of a shared appreciation for sustainable food production. Small-scale, non-industrial agriculture requires far less energy input to grow food, and growing or buying food locally means food has to travel fewer miles and use less energy to be warehoused. Our farm supports not only those who reside here year-round and those who visit us, but also allows us to provide fresh, healthy produce and eggs to our local food pantry, and to participate in our local farmers' market. Hooray for volunteers, and hooray for local food!
We'll be having one last volunteer day to close out this growing season, on Saturday, November 13th, from 10am-3pm (with a farm-fresh lunch at 1pm). You're welcome to join us for a few hours, or for the whole time, whatever suits your schedule! Please RSVP to chssisters@gmail.com.
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The New Convent-Almost Ready!
 Our new "green" convent has passed the first inspection, and the finish line is in sight! We're delighted by every finishing touch, from the lighting fixtures, to the chapel windows, to the office furniture, to the crisp spaces of the refectory. We plan to move in November, in a multi-stage process, and it will take some time to get everything in its proper place. But we hope to be able to share pictures of us in our new home by Christmas.
We've added 12 new photos of the beautiful finishing touches-take a look at our photo gallery (scroll to the end of the first page and onto the second page to see the most recent pictures).
Thank you all for your continued prayers, and all your well-wishes. We feel such support and encouragement as we make this move.
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A Walk in the Woods
 Our heartfelt thanks go out to Eagle Scout David Mitchell, who restored a hiking trail out to a small pond in our woods at Melrose/Bluestone Farm. David designed the trail, created a plan, raised the funds and managed the project himself. The trailhead, located just behind the old caretaker's cottage, is clearly marked with a series of stumps left after several trees were removed last year. The trail itself is well-defined with stones and windfall logs, and winds its way over a ridge and down a slope to the pond. Two sturdy benches were built at the end of the trail, one high on the hill overlooking the pond and the other just beside the water, both perfect for resting and reflecting. To dedicate the path, the volunteers created a cairn of stones at a particularly wide spot along the path, and among those rocks placed a stone engraved "Behold the fair beauty of God."
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