Oak Grove Abbey News

Wednesday evening we will celebrate Saint Andrew.
We'll be having a variety of Scottish breakfast foods, including apple scones, toad-in-the-hole, potato cakes, and some dessert with chocolate & Scotch whiskey.

Saint Andrew was a fisherman who became a follower of Christ, an apostle. Andrew spread Christianity and was crucified on a cross or olive tree in the form of an X. There are different versions of the story, but some monk or missionary transported Andrew's remains to Scotland, which is how he became the patron saint of Scotland.

Posted by Anonymous at 9:37 AM | Permalink |

We just finished our first Sunday night Advent celebration. Sean's green shirt says it all . . . "hope."

Posted by Jolie at 7:13 PM | Permalink |

To Jason for helping my understanding of prayer and jazz and thus myself.
To Heather for loving children so much it hurts and fighting through the pain.
To Jolie for being the continual hostess. ready for any opportunity to serve.
To Greg for the encouragement and challenge to be a better man.
To Connor for the constant reminders of child-like faith.
To Chris for sleeping on my couch and invaluable late-night convos.
To Melissa for your amazing love, poured upon me and so many others.

To all those who have stepped foot in the abbey, I thank you for helping me grow in love this year.

Posted by mcblogington at 9:27 PM | Permalink |

No one was around last night (Tuesday) to celebrate (saint) C.S. Lewis' feast day, but a few of us did manage to fry up some fish and chips and enjoy Fuller's famous ESB. We also read a brief snippet from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in referrence to Aslan's magical return to life. My favorite line: "the children couldn't tell whether they were playing with a thunderbolt or a kitten" (or something to that effect - I don't have the book with me right now).

I will be working another late shift tonight, and will miss an even more important feast day for the Abbey -- St. Columbanus. He was the first Celtic missionary to travel straight into Europe proper, establishing monastic communities in Burgundy, Austria and even Italy. An important apostolic figure who gets very little attention in most church history surveys. Check out this fantastic link I discovered today...

Posted by gdwill at 7:59 AM | Permalink |

So last night there wasn't anybody home to celebrate with, but it is still mandatory for all Abbey-dwellers to take note of "Gregory the Wonderworker."

Posted by gdwill at 9:15 AM | Permalink |

In the 7th century, Hild followed the lead of Columbanus establishing a monastic community of both monks and nuns at Whitby. She has been renowned as a patroness of the arts. In this vein and under her abbessness was the well-known Caedmon, an excellent singer and poet and shepherd. She hosted the Synod of Whitby in which some compromise was sought for the Roman and Celtic traditions. Though the Romans “won” and Hild accepted that ruling, Hild remained true to her Celtic roots. Ruins of what became of the Whitby Abbey after Hild remain today as a symbol of her valuable contribution to Northumbrian monasticism.

In her honor, we’ll be eating a Monkfish (from the waters off the Shetland Islands) and Scallops with Coulis recipe from a Whitby Abbey neighbor – The Whitby Catch.
{small change - no scallop coulis - since the "samphrine" for the coulis is such a ridiculously obscure sea weed from the UK. who knew? not i said the monk-fish}

Blessed be the peacemakers.

Posted by mcblogington at 7:59 AM | Permalink |

Saint Martin of Tours is an inspirational figure here at the Abbey. Read his sotry here.

Interesting, that on Veteran's Day, we honor a man who told a Chrisian Emperor (Julian) that he would not wage imperial war as a Roman soldier.

Posted by gdwill at 11:12 PM | Permalink |

The list of saints that are honored on November 8th is rather obscure, but I was struck by the brief description of St. Martin Tinh and Martin Tho, and I thought this was a rare opportunity to share in the story of Jesus as it pertains to less obvious places in the world.

BTW, it also gives me an excuse to try my hand at vietnamese cooking...

Posted by gdwill at 8:06 PM | Permalink |