June 2023
THE APPEARANCE OF FLORA AND FAUNA IN THE FOREST AND THE PASTURE CHANGE, OFTEN DAILY - NEW BLOOMS APPEAR EVERY DAY AS OTHERS BECOME SEED
Dear Friends,
Here in the forest of central Virginia we are beginning a new monastic community rooted in the contemplative Christian tradition and engaged in interfaith exploration. We seek to follow Jesus - meaning we take to heart the teachings of Jesus and listen for the good guidance of the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts. We share everything - resources, income, meals, work and daily sung prayer. We welcome and bow to all. Come visit when you can.
Every morning including this one we gather to sing, pray, meditate, hear sacred text. It has become part of our way of life, a daily common life. Regardless of our mood we gather. It's like brushing your teeth but much more meaningful!
Cats and Cows. Sometimes our life in community is shaped by the creatures we choose to live with. Last night JB the cat did not come home and stayed out all night which is highly unusual for him. I was worried. He returned in the morning. I was relieved. In the morning the neighbors cows broke through their fence and wandered onto our land with our cows. It was a moment. A cowtastrophe. We informed the neighbor. He came over rounded up his cows. All was well. Life in community with humanoids can be challenging. Add in cats and cows and it becomes even more rich.
Some young folks came for a visit tonight. We talked about something very interesting - the shape of our days. One person said that they needed a shape to their day that nurtured their heart. This is another way to describe the daily rhythm of a healthy monastic life. The shape of our days with its song, silence, community, solitude, study, work, play, and rest actually is designed to nourish our lives in a very intentional way.
Technology of the Heart. Monastic life is about entering the heart where the Divine dwells. There are specific ways to do this. One way is something that we do here in Community of Peace and that I experienced in Taizé, France with the monks there. It is very simple. Everyone can do this. It is a daily rhythm of prayer three times a day during which we enter into a clear three-fold structure of sound, silence, sound. We sing/chant, we then sit for 10 minutes or twenty minutes if it's morning, this is followed by more singing/chanting. Before the silence or after the silence we read a brief sacred text or a poem or story. The underlying flow is clear - sound, silence, sound. Everything flows into silence. Everything flows out of silence. This is one way, not the only way, to open the mind and heart and body to the presence of God who dwells in the depths of the heart.
Peace of Christ,
Br. Stefan
Growth is Happening
We continue learning from our initial permaculture garden start up. Multiple articles I read warned not to expect much the first year, and that's what we are seeing – very limited growth – but growth nonetheless. Yet it remains exciting. We are developing a regenerative process that will create new, rich soil. And I can observe that happening. As I work in the garden, I see many earthworms in the depths of the mulch. They are busy digesting some of it, and adding new organic material to the underlying poorer soil.
I find it a humorous analogy to our spiritual life. As we seek to grow spiritually – the Holy Spirit worms its way into the bleak places in our mind and begins to transform them into joyful outlooks on life. It will continue its work in us if we let It, so long as we don’t mind an occasional squirmy feeling as things are exposed and brought to awareness. It’s an exciting transformative process very similar to growing our permaculture garden.
Tim
Gardens need help from our insect and crawling friends too.
And we’ve learned to make good use of what we already
have on hand.
…In two weeks a gentleman is coming from California to help us start planning and building our labyrinth. He travels all over the country helping people to design build these sacred structures. He quoted us that we will need 3,500 quartz stones. I am not sure how many we have at the moment. Changyeon and I will continue to gather the quartz every day. The stones range in size from ones you can fit in the center of the palm of your hand to roughly around the size of three basketballs put together. I can foresee us having to break up some of the bigger ones into smaller pieces in order to meet our quota. We hope that when the labyrinth is completed, you will come and visit and walk your journey in it. Perhaps by the next newsletter I will have counted the exact number of stones that we have accumulated.
Peace and Love to you...
Jason
Loves
Morning light plays on the strings
Of some mysterious Instrument In my chest
Creating haunting melodies
Of past and futures loves.
Music stirs my heart
As soft light brightens my garden path
Til’ melodies of desire even deeper hid
Faintly can be heard.
There is a Love beyond these hidden realms;
Beyond the desires of my temporal soul.
An incandescence so remote yet perfectly here,
More present than eyes can see or ears can hear.
This Beloved, is never far from me
Though, with my deepest longing, in my garden hid,
Some interior sun has blossomed a crimson rose
on the path I often fear to tread.
Barb Miller
Cow Love
Mouse pushed me into the water trough last week. I think she was just looking for love.
Curly learned that I turn the electric fence off when I move it so he can have more grass and fertilize the field for us. He got out under the wire and has been hiding in his new “man cave” in the woods, away from the girls.
I caught Athena (our cow that we can’t get close to, the one that climbed the fence and escaped the barn the day they all arrived at Community of Peace) grooming Faith and Curly. Athena likes to push Mouse around, especially when food is involved. Now that Curly is in his “man cave” I’m wondering how the dynamics will work out for the three female cows and baby.
I got to touch Athena on the head and ear for the first time last night, when I fed the girls. Progress.
Claire
Curly’s “Man Cave” in the woods
I was happy to go to Richmond and look around the James river. It was a good chance to enjoy eating a delicious pulled pork sandwich. I liked Richmond and I want to travel to Richmond again in few weeks to see even more sites.
Changyeon
NOT OUR COW OUR COWS
EVENTS
“A Pilgrimage of Peace” is scheduled beginning July 15, (see flyer below-left).
“The Wisdom of Wilderness” is happening this summer - Come and camp with us for the entire summer or part of it, (see flyer below-right).
We are looking forward to our first BARN DANCE - coming soon.
More outdoor experiences are in the planning stages. We will let you know as they are scheduled.
Monthly drum circles continue on the third Saturday and you are always invited to share our daily sung prayer morning (8 weekdays, 9 weekends), midday (1) and evening (7).
Opportunities to visit us for a retreat or camp in or near our beautiful forest await you. Please call Br. Stefan to plan your unique experience. If you are unable to visit us or wish to share your experience with a group, call to schedule a time for Br. Stefan to visit you (flyer below).
We hope to see you soon.
