Monthly Update
September 2018
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Mid-Life/Long-Life Retreat for  Personal and Spiritual Growth for Adults 
September 7-9

Register now for a weekend experience and refocus in the midst of life's changes with a Mid-Life/Long-Life Retreat that:

--provides time to reflect on your past
--looks at present reality and future hopes
--helps you welcome transitions and reclaim gifts
--incorporates Judeo-Christian spirituality, Jungian and developmental psychology.

Click here for more information and a downloadable registration form o r contact Sister Rosanne Loneck, certified Mid-Life/Long-Life consultant: 814-899-0614 or email.  
 
Date: September 7-9
Location: Mount St. Benedict Monastery
Recommended donation: $275 resident; $200 commuter

Taste of the Arts
September 11

Welcome to Our Circle, the 21st annual Taste of the Arts benefit for the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House, will feature new interactive demonstrations by both music and the visual arts students. It will also be the inaugural viewing of the new Inner-City Neighborhood Art House video being produced through the generosity of Erie Insurance. Proceeds from this event help to support after-school and summer programming in the arts for at-risk children in Erie's inner-city.
 
Click here for registration and information about how you can participate no matter where you live.
 
For more information, download a pdf invitation or email Kelly Stolar, Development Director, Inner-City Neighborhood Art House.

Date: Tuesday, September 11
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Neighborhood Art House, 201 E. 10th Street, Erie
Cost: $50
Women's Writing Circle
September 12

The Women's Writing Circle meets the second Wednesday of the month, September - April (no December meeting), and is open to writers and non-writers alike. Each session includes discussing a short reading on a writing topic; a poem for group reading, personal reflection and group exploration; a writing prompt; time for personal writing; and optional sharing in large and small groups. The writing circle creates a safe space for you to develop your own voice and offers you an opportunity to have your words heard and honored without judgment. Facilitated by Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB. Snacks, beer, wine, water provided. Click here for more information.

Date: Wednesday, September 12; continues the second Wednesday of each month
Time: 6:30 - 7:45 p.m.
Location: The Writing Studio, 310 East 10th Street, Erie
Donation: $5 per meeting or $25 for all seven gatherings
Stillpoint Day of Reflection
September 15

The Stillpoint Contemplative Retreat Day is silent and includes eight sitting sessions with chanting, contemplative walking, and teachings. Dress comfortably and bring your own lunch. Coffee and tea provided. You'll have a chance to enjoy a quiet walk outdoors on woodland trails that wind through the monastery grounds.

NEW: Register online here.

Email Sister Margaret Zeller for more information. 

There is no Stillpoint in July. Register now for September 15 and mark your calendar for these 2018 dates: October 20, November 10 and December 1.

Date: Saturday, September 15
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, 6101 East Lake Road
Cost: $15, registration required
Silent Peace Walk
September 20


Silent Peace Walks promote inner peace which does away with fear, divisions, and hatred, and brings about peace and unity in the world. We begin with a peace poem, walk single file in silence for 20 minutes, and end with a peace poem and chant. All are welcome to join this simple, public nonviolent action for peace.

The September 20 Silent Peace Walk will begin at the East Avenue Boat Launch and walk past the Erie Coke Plant.

This event is sponsored by Benedictines for Peace. For more information,  email Sister Anne McCarthy , BFP Coordinator, or  visit the Benedictines for Peace webpage .

All are welcome to join these simple, public nonviolent actions for peace.
 
Date: Thursday, September 20
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: East Avenue Boat Launch
Cost: Free, all are welcome
Emmaus Grove Harvest Festival
September 30

Come to Emmaus Grove for its 6th Annual Harvest Festival. Help the Grove team celebrate this year's harvest and enjoy the music of Tennessee Back Porch and light refreshments.
                       

For more information contact Margaret Kloecker, Emmaus Ministries, 814-459-8349 or click here to email.
 
Date: Sunday, September 30
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: 214 East 11th St., Erie
Cost: Free
Gift of Years eCourse
October 1

How do you view the aging process? Is it tinged with anxiety and regret? Or do you see it as an adventure, a time to find meaning, and a ripening? Or, is it a little of both? Gift of Years, a four-week eCourse based on Joan Chittister's best-selling book by the same name, offers you the chance to look at this time of maturation with fresh eyes, with joy for what has been, and optimism for what is to come.
 
Register now at Monasteries of the Heart
 
Dates: October 1 - 26
Time: At your convenience
Location: Online at Monasteries of the Heart 
Cost: $30
Visit Chapter 57 Online Store
Featured Artist Jackie Burns, Oblate

Visit our online store, Chapter 57, where  we are highlighting the work of Oblate Jackie Burns. Jackie, an ordained Episcopal deacon and a prison chaplain, is offering a selection of hand-crafted jewelry with a Benedictine touch. There are also a limited number of "Forgiveness Bowls." Every item is unique and made with special care-see the selection and  place your orders here.
Join Our Monthly Companions Program

How can YOU be part of something great?
Join with others as you support the Benedictine Sisters of Erie through a new giving program that is simple to do.
By giving through the new Monthly Companions Program, you are helping us touch the lives of people we serve every day in our ministries. By being a part of this program, you are also helping to maintain our home, Mount St. Benedict Monastery, as a beacon of hospitality, worship, prayer and community life for the sisters and hundreds of guests each year.
For as little as $10 a month, you can do great things to enhance the lives and work of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie.
By enrolling in the Monthly Companions Program, you designate a gift amount that will be deducted monthly from your credit or debit card.
Please consider being part of this program and help the Benedictine Sisters of Erie continue the important work we do in the community and beyond.


STAY CONNECTED with BFP
Receive reminder alerts from Benedictines for Peace each time there is a
--Take Back the Site Vigil
--Silent Peace March
--event or action that BFP is supporting
CLICK HERE to read more and sign up. 
Play Pickleball™ 
Call for schedule
Playing Pickleball® at SBCC is different from playing it anywhere else in the city. We are Erie's only Benedictine gym and being Benedictine means hospitality is one of our top priorities. Your friends, co-workers, and family members will enjoy the friendly, unintimidating, and even intimate setting of our facility that larger gyms and clubs simply can't offer. We offer you:
  • Two courts with seamless, cushioned flooring that is gentle on joints
  • Court times Monday to Saturday, mornings and evenings
  • Memberships and discount cards available
  • Free use of equipment (paddles and balls)
  • Free lesson on your first visit
  • Private bookings available
Click here for more information or call Sister Dianne Sabol, Director, 814-459-2406, to schedule court times.

Date: Call to schedule
Location: St. Benedict Community Center, 320 East 10th Street, Erie
Cost: Fees vary for regular court times
Spiritual Direction available

Spiritual Direction, sometimes referred to as spiritual guidance or spiritual friendship, is an on-going relationship in which one person (the directee), wanting to be attentive to his or her spiritual life, meets with another person (the director) on a regular basis, specifically for the purpose of becoming more attuned to God's presence in order to respond more fully to that presence in all of life. The primary focus of the session is the directee's relationship with God as it is reflected and challenged by all aspects of that person's life. 


 Visit our Spirituality Page to learn about and/or contact our sisters who are Certified Spiritual Directors. Click here.


 Suggested offering is $30/session.


 

 

Guest Accommodations available
One of the greatest gifts monastics can offer is their monastery as a place of prayer and peace, community and care, welcome and hospitality. In doing so monastics take to heart what Benedict advocates: the monastery is a dwelling where guests are to be cherished and respected, where hearts overflow "with the inexpressible delight of love." -Prologue, Rule of Benedict
 
Come for a week, a weekend, or a single overnight. 
Click here for a guest registration form.