I have some friends who are founding a new monastery, using the Usus Antiquior. The bishop has given them his blessing and a church but their resources are quite limited; buying a fridge, some beds and a few tools has more or less emptied their purse. They have found some choirstalls, going really cheap, but as they are rather big and heavy the transport costs are very high, they need 3,000 Euros which cover the stalls, transport and re-furbishment and erecting them in their church.
Yes, they look awful but these are resourceful monks!
At the moment they want to remain anonymous but if you can help contact me and I will pass on your details.
They have almost enough money promised for the stalls and have gone to collect them.
If you want to become a donor for future projects I'll pass on your details.
20 comments:
Who are they? Where are they?
VE,
If you are willing to help I will pass on your details and the Fathers will tell you all.
At the moment they desire silence and to be unknown.
The sad thing is that due to the recent bad publicity re OSB & the monastic attitude to benefactions, this appeal is likely to fall on a lot of deaf ears.
David, a few people have already contacted me, these are different monks!
At Ramsgate there is an empty chapel in the main monastery over the road from St Augustine's Abbey. The chapel was used when the monks didn't go through the under road tunnel to use St Augustines Abbey Church itself. Perhaps the monks would give or sell all the internal fitting like choir stalls for 30. There is an altar too.
I hope they don't remain incognito for long; I am confident they will have many donors once they make themselves known. Holy monastics are sorely needed. God grant them success in their endeavours.
What order will they belong to?
They are Benedictine, I think directly under the Bishop as opposed to an established congregation.
That they are benedictines is very nice, in GB even a sign of ecumenism in the right sense. There have been great Anglican monasteries of benedictine monks, like Nashdom or Elmore in the past. The book The Labour of Obedience, written by Petà Dustan (Canterbury Press 2009) clearly shows, that they wanted to be more papal than the Pope even after Vatican II and therefore implemented the liturgical "reforms" in a most radical way and by doing so, they destroyed their vocations and charism. These new traditional benedictines should take over the tradition of incense-blending, too, which has been very common within benedictine monasteries in Britain, both RC and C of E. The Anglican Abbey of Alton today only provides one blend, called Rosa Mystica. The other recipes, they had from 1895 to 1995, have fallen into disuse. Perhaps these new tradional benedictine monks could revive those ancient blends again, by obtaining the recipes from Alton Abbey! I am writing a book about monasteries within the Western Church, which have or once had own incense blends and would be pleased to dedicate a chapter to them then, too.
Christopher, They might have more serious work to do, like feeding themselves or study and writing.
Fr Blake, I did not suggest, they should blend incense exclusivly! Incense is an important part of the sacred liturgy, too, similar to fine vestments or church music, but often there is only little attention paid to the incense, I know. This is obviously a mistake, we should overcome!
They have almost enough money promised for the stalls and have gone to collect them.
If you want to become a donor for future projects I'll pass on your details.
Father Ray,
I hope this isn't Chilworth your supporting ?
LOL.
Tuppence
Tuppence, I'll give help to any community of monks I can.
So charitable father !
Can we know who they are?
I feel uneasy that they may be the monks of Chilworth, in which case I will seriously consider if I should support them in view of the fact that they did what they did to the Altar vessels.
Please do not be too hard on what I write. I think we can almost all agree that their Fr Abbot and Abp Peter Smith still have a lot of explaining to do.
Do we want to be led down the Abbey path again?
Once bitten - twice shy!!
John
John they are not in the UK
The stalls should scrub up beautifully and it is good that they are destined for a new lease of monastic life.
Just been reading about a forthcoming sale of large original furniture from the Presbytery of English Martyrs Church in Preston.The church was designed by Edward Welby Pugin.
This news appears in the Lancashire Evening Post today 21st February 2012.
"lots going under the hammer include dining, altar and library tables; dining, prayer and a wide range of other chairs; desks, sideboards and bedroom furniture, a Captain’s Chair and many other associated items of furniture.
The auction will also feature a selection of oil paintings on canvas depicting martyrs, saints and other religious scenes, six watercolour scenes by Preston artist Edwin Beattie, brass candlesticks and ornamental crucifixes"
Unfortunately the Church never learns to value its heritage and avoid scandal ....
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