I like wordplay and books, so I keep my eye out for clever names, including titles of cozy mysteries (Buried in the Stacks, by Allison Brook) and book/gift shops (the Bayfront Bookshelf run by Friends of the Library at Blasco, for example). But I didn't know why the gift shop at Mount St. Benedict (6101 East Lake Road) is called Chapter 57 until Sister Valerie Luckey, OSB, director of Emmaus Ministries, explained its origin. (I am also a freelance writer for Emmaus.)

The Serra Club of Erie presented a congratulatory cake to the ten 2024 Erie Benedictine Jubilarians in honor of their years of service to the Diocese of Erie. Serra Club member Dave Wayman, picture here with jubliarians Sisters Lucia Marie Surmik, Carolyn Gorny-Kopkowski, and Diane Rabe (L-R), delivered the cake which the community enjoyed. The Serra Club promotes vocations to the religious life and priesthood. They gifted each of the communities of women religious in Erie with a cake.

Friday, November 15, at 7:00 p.m. we will host a celebration of Sister Mary Lou Kownacki's new book, Everyday Sacred, Everywhere Beauty: Readings from an Old Monk's Journal, published this fall by Orbis. The celebration will take place at Mount St. Benedict Monastery, 6101 East Lake Road, Erie.

Sister Jen Frazer will preach for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 10. Listen to her preaching. "I have enough experience in and among poor and otherwise marginal communities to know there is dignity and value to allowing even the humblest of us to make real and even sacrificial contributions," writes Jen. Catholic Women Preach is an innovative project designed to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the Church today by responding to Pope Francis’ call for broader and more active engagement of the baptized in the preaching mission of the Church. This project is a deeply faithful, hopeful and joyful initiative intended to build up the Church.

If you've never been to Erie's only monastery, or never attended an Advent vigil, we invite you to join us on Saturday, December 7. In between, join the sisters for dinner in the monastery dining room. The tour begins and 4:00 p.m. and will be followed by dinner with the sisters. The monastery gift shop, Chapter 57, will also be open. It features original works by a number of artists as well as books and gifts. At 7:00 p.m. the Advent Vigil begins in the quiet and dark of the monastery chapel. You are invited to attend the Advent Vigil each week, beginning Saturday November 30, and Saturdays December 7, 14, and 21. The tour and dinner will only take place on December 7.

The full conversation between Joan Chittister and Liz Cheney can be viewed now.

Freelance writer Trill Dreistadt visited the monastery nearly a year ago as part of her research on a piece she was writing for Pennsylvania Magazine on sanctuary spaces. Although Trill lives in Erie, she wasn't a frequent visitor to the monastery. She assures us that will change now that she has experienced monastic hospitality. Her work, Sanctuary Serenity: Restore, reconnect and refresh at these Pennsylvania retreats, is in the September/October issue of the magazine. Read the article here. Learn more about guest accommodations at the monastery here.

An ABC news crew travelled from Washington, DC, to Erie last weekend to cover the voter fraud accusation story at the Monastery. It was the beginning of Community Weekend which meant many oblates were already gathered in Erie and happened to be at prayer when the story was taped.