ONE THING NEEDFUL

MONASTERY NEWS
CATCHING UP ON THE
LAST TWO YEARS

t has been more than two years since we wrote and sent out our newsletter. Much has changed and much has stayed the same. As probably everyone in the world knows, we are now in the midst of a pandemic. Historically such events were referred to as a plague and, thus being of great magnitude, were and continue to be paradigms. Countries are aligning one with the other. Secret agendas are no long hidden. Political, philosophical, commercial, and military saber rattling has created a cacophony of deafening proportions that endeavors to overwhelm us with fear. Even our own churches are bowing to the world of secular humanism and the pressures of “conform to us or die” rhetoric which, in turn, causes many to do things that cast doubt on Who Christ is. Christ is the God-man Who knows all things and is totally in control. As Christians, we are to love Him above all else, remain faithful to Him and His teachings, trust Him completely, overcome our fear with His help and to “be of good cheer; I (Christ) have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b KJV)

Now, having set the world’s stage (LOL), back to what has gone on at this monastery. Between construction and the pandemic, Saturday Liturgies have been postponed until the pandemic subsides and churches are opened again.

Many of you have expressed your concern on not having received a newsletter and have taken the time to call or email and ask. We are most grateful to those who remember us in this way, in their prayers and by their gifts.

Thanks be to our good God the two of us are well, growing older and storming heaven (with Mother Lyubov who is there) for more women to become monastics here. If you are interested in or know anyone who may be called to the monastic life do come and see if God wants you here.

As many of you know, we only build as we have the money so as not to go into debt. Five years ago, we had to pause our building project until we saved enough for the next steps. It is important for us to heed the advice of one of our elders of blessed memory to “build it right the first time, because you won’t have time to do it again.”

During the past few years, we were able to complete the stained glass project by adding the last two windows — Saints Mary and Martha of Bethany, Holy Myrrhbearers. It took over three years to complete this project and untold hours, but it was worth it. A number of people didn’t think that stained glass could be used for icons, but it can and has been for several centuries now. When one of our local iconographers saw all six of them, she stated that they looked the way she had imagined American iconography would be.

Raising funds for infrastructure is far more difficult than raising funds for icons and other beautiful adornments which we refer to as “pretties”. We understand that HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), electrical and plumbing are not glamorous, but needful in this day and age. It has been made most evident to us by how seldom people make use of our Hermitage which has none of these amenities. About two years ago, we realized that we had most of the money for HVAC and electrical and asked our contractor to put us on his waiting list. They started roughing in the HVAC last September. Never would we have believed that prices for this work had skyrocketed in such a short time. So, we decided to do what we could with what we have. Due to the HVAC company purchasing the equipment needed for this third before the prices went up again, they have been able to finish two-thirds of the work. Two slabs were laid and lattice brick built around the edge of the slaps to enclose the equipment. However it will take another $60,000 to complete it.

Knowing that you have to have electricity to run the HVAC, we decided to also have it roughed in as well. Having been asked by another contractor what we were doing, he said that it was good we were taking care of these two items and eventually plumbing as they were the most expensive after the basic structure of the building and that once you finished these three items, the rest would be less expensive. (Less expensive is relative!)

In March, the governor of South Carolina ruled that construction could continue. The electrical has been roughed in upstairs and most of downstairs. Currently, the altar and windows are boarded up and scaffolding raised over the altar in the chapel. This has been done to run wiring to the chandeliers above the altar and in the nave. (The chandelier for the altar was donated to us by an Orthodox Church that had to close due to their town dying.) Scaffolding will continue to be needed to wire the lighting belt around the chapel wall at 13 feet up.

Smaller purchases and installations were also made. It was challenging to find exterior light fixtures that would look good with the red brick, be one-fourth to one-third the height of the doors and affordable. Practical Mother Helena kept having to remind creative Mother Thecla that that was not a monastic choice. At the “55th” choice, we landed on the light fixture pictured here which, thank God, came in varying sizes. While it looks black, it is dark grey with gold specks in it and has clear seed glass (glass with tiny bubbles in it).

A similar scenario occurred with the exterior hardware. Due to the constant changes in styles, in both cases we had to order enough for the entire building and are storing the ones that will be used on each third as it is built.

Never did we expect to have to make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions that effect the whole building this soon. Those of you who have been involved in building any structure know this to be true. We had to choose all of the light fixtures and decide where switches, receptacles, etc., should be placed. One decision made in the drying in of the building was the placement and covering of crawl space vents. Those decisions are now proving to be useful in placing air exchange ducts to HVAC machinery in the crawl spaces. Demanding that the crawl space be three feet high, not including duct work, during the planning stage, has proven most beneficial.

While we are a great distance from purchasing a slender onion dome (cupola) with a three-barred cross, we are open to knowing the experiences and ideas of others. Please share these with us. So far we have observed and heard numerous problematic examples. This information can help us to make a more informed decision in the future.

Our short term goal is to make this third habitable, Our long term goal is to complete the entire building. All of this will happen in God’s time and in His way. We firmly believe that God would not have brought us this far if He didn’t have plans.
To other news —

On April 22, 2018, we lost a dear friend, Fr. Alister Anderson, a retired Army Chaplin who tirelessly worked in Christ’s vineyard. Only God knows how many people he led to Christ and all the other good works he performed. Fr. Alister remembered this monastery in his prayers and served Liturgy here when he and his wife, Ann, visited us. He also left his theological library to this monastery which was heavy on Biblical commentary as he devoted himself to the study of scripture. Mother Helena was able to attend his funeral which took place in Maryland on June 2nd.

On the first Saturday of December each year, Holy Apostles Orthodox Church in West Columbia, South Carolina, holds its Saint Nicholas Festival. Being under a tent in 2018, we were rained out. However, in 2019 we were inside and did well.

It was a joyful occasion to have Ila Bridget baptized at this monastery on December 13, 2018. We were going to have the baptism in the large chapel, but it was really cold that day, so she was baptized in our little chapel.

Pilgrimage 2019 went well while Pilgrimage 2020 was almost non-existent. Since we were able to have a priest serve Liturgy on May 2, 2020, with very limited attendance, we were able to have Fr. Ignatius Green from Holy Apostles in West Columbia bless the ninety-six graves in our graveyard.

We were able to attend the All American Council of the Orthodox Church in America in Saint Louis, Missouri, in July of 2018. Meeting our friends and touring the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis with all its mosaics were the highlights of our trip.

July, 2019, found us at the Diocesan Assembly in Jupiter. Florida. This year’s assembly will probably be a virtual one.

Until the lockdown due to the pandemic, various church groups and individuals volunteered to help us. There is so much to do here, that there is always a need for assistance in keeping up with repairs and maintaining the grounds. The group pictured to the left is from the C. S. Lewis Student Center at the University of South Carolina. It was fun listening to them sing Chain Gang songs.

The Clergy Wives Retreat every September and the Fiber Retreat (formerly Knitter’s Retreat) every February have been held each year. Unfortunately, the clergy wives will not be meeting here this September due to the pandemic. We will miss them, but look forward to seeing them in 2021.

With the death of Mother Thecla’s brother in September, 2018, and diagnosis of her mother having dementia, much of 2019 was spent relocating her mother to an assisted living memory care unit near the monastery. Those of you who have dealt with this matter know how much time and energy it takes and that it is a true exercise in patience, especially with the paperwork.

In January of this year, we bade farewell to Fr. Alexis Baldwin and his family. Fr. Alexis was the priest at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Mission in North Augusta, South Carolina, and served most of the Saturday Liturgies here for five years. He is now serving in the mission field in the great state of Mississippi. May God grant him strength and bring forth much fruit through his labor and the labors of all those who work and have worked in this vineyard.

Until March of this year, visitors abounded. We never know from what part of this country or the world they will come. Even when there are no visitors, there is the ministry via the telephone. God orchestrates all of it.

While church candle orders have slowed down, individual orders have increased. It is most heartening to know that people are taking their prayer life more seriously and creating or enlarging their prayer space at home. It is equally heartening to receive orders from those who want to use candles and prayer books to help people pray at home.

The fifteen ducks, one dog and two cats are doing well. Occasionally Moscata will enjoy playing with a visitor’s dog who doesn’t chase cats. The blond dog in the picture to the right is grown now. This was the first year we did not allow the ducks to have ducklings. The 36 ducks that we had last year were just too much to handle.

So very much has happened in the life of this monastery since we last wrote a newsletter that it is simply overwhelming to put to paper. As is our wont, we try not to think about it and simply do whatever God puts before us each moment of each day. Doing this increases our faith and dependance on God.

Clergy Wives Retreat