Rabbi William G. Hamilton will deliver the fourth annual Art and Spirituality lecture at the monastery on Wednesday, May 22, at 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Hamilton will speak on, "Doing The Impossible: The Art of bringing Spiritual Goods to Life." The 2024 lecture by Rabbi Hamilton is free and open to the public.
Consumerism is so prevalent in our lives that sometimes we do not realize how this is shaping our actions and world. By focusing on three areas of enormous consumption we may become more mindful and re-evaluate our daily purchases namely, the use of single use plastics, fashion/clothing, and home décor.
Single use plastic bombards our everyday purchases, groceries, food packaging, and water bottles to name a few. Water bottles are rarely recycled and some scientists question if recycling can even happen, or even work. Plastic is not biodegradable, and it does not decompose. Since World War II, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced. Currently we have 150 million metric tons of plastic in our oceans; it is predicted that by 2050, we will have more plastic than fish in the oceans.
Read Sister Joan Chittister's new NCRonline column, a tribute to Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, pictured here in Erie at the 1983 Good Friday Peace Pilgrimage.
Benedictines for Peace and the Care for the Earth Committee sponsored an Earth Day Observance at the monastery titled Healing Our Throwaway Culture: Focus on Plastics. The program was borrowed from Catholic Climate Covenant and the resources shared are available here.
Please join us at the monastery for a celebration of Earth Day on Sunday, April 21, from 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (after Liturgy). We will gather in the Garden Room. The celebration is sponsored by Benedictines for Peace and the community's Care for the Earth committee. Everyone is welcome.
Sister Pat Lupo, long-time, award-winning advocate for the environment was honored as a Freshwater Hero in a virtual ceremony on April 10. Freshwater Voices recognized ten Heroes this year who "have dedicated their lives to making a difference and are paving the way for meaningful, lasting change in our Great Lakes region. Their commitment to protecting our communities and water resources is nothing short of inspiring, with many of this year’s heroes spending years, if not decades, tackling the complex issues that impact our region.
Communications staff Linda, Heather, Michelle, and Michelle take a break from solar eclipse event preparations to model eclipse glasses in front of the Benedictine Blackout photo booth background at Glinodo. Complete information on Benedictine events is available here. Tickets for the post-eclipse celebration are available until 4 p.m. Friday April 5. The Monday morning retreat is sold out. Parking at Glinodo is on a first come beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Monday April 8. Activities for children begin at 11:00 a.m. Enjoy our beautiful grounds while you wait for the eclipse.
Marisa Thomas, Erie News Now, speaks with Sister Linda Romey and Michelle Scully about events planned by the Benedictine Sisters that will welcome guests into their monastery and onto their grounds on April 8 for the solar eclipse.
You may have heard us say at some point in our relationship with you that as Benedictine monastics, our primary ministry is prayer and community. St. Benedict didn’t name a singular good work that would define his monastic communities. Rather, he built those communities around a Rule that is a simple guide for living a balanced and healthy life with each other, with oneself, and with God.
Over the course of our first 50 years, staff and volunteers at Emmaus Ministries have told anyone who asked about our name that it comes from a story found in the Gospel of Luke, a story called "The Road to Emmaus." The story takes place on the first Easter Sunday, and highlights two of Christ's disciples, who are walking sadly away from Jerusalem just as reports about an empty tomb are beginning to circulate.
Easter tells us that suffering and death are never the last word for our God is a God of surprises and nothing is impossible with God. Resurrection is not a one-time event in the past, but rather an ongoing process. We are called to rise and live more fully for Christ is within us. The power of Resurrection bursts forth in our lives in ordinary ways through the quality of our daily living and loving. May we reflect the joy and radiance of the Risen Jesus and give daily witness that he is ALIVE within us. Let us rejoice and be glad! Happy Easter! —Sister Stephanie Schmidt, Prioress
Sister Anne McCarthy received a 2024 Mercy Center for Women Women Making History award at the Mercyhurst University Performing Arts Center on Monday, March 25. Sister Anne's five sisters and one of her nieces, pictured here with her, along with many of her Benedictine sisters, joined her for the program and celebration.
In 1955 economist Victor Lebow wrote, “Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption.”
Join Benedictines for Peace on Friday, March 29 at 11 a.m. for the 44th annual Good Friday Pilgrimage for Peace, praying the Stations of the Cross as we process through the streets of downtown Erie.
Peacemaker, author, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Father John Dear will be at the monastery on April 5 to talk about and sign copies of his new book, The Gospel of Peace: A Commentary on Matthew, Mark, and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence. It is the first commentary on the Synoptic Gospels from the perspective of active nonviolence in the tradition of Gandhi and Dr. King. In this original work, John walks us through the three synoptic Gospels highlighting Jesus' practice and teachings on nonviolence, peace, and universal love. Join us on Friday April 5, 7:00 p.m. at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery
Podcaster Sister Carolyn Gorny-Kopkowski often does interpretive scripture readings for liturgical celebrations at the monastery. Recently she did a creative reading of Matthew Chapter 8, Jesus heals a man with leprosy. Hearers were so moved by the reflection that Sister Carolyn recorded to share it more widely.
Four members of Erie's Horton family shared song and history with sisters and guests in the monastery chapel last month. The Benedictine sisters were privileged to host Cheryl Horton-Jong as Sojourner Truth, her sister Denise Horton, a member of the political action committee for NAACP, and sister Valerie Horton Brown, a singer who recently returned to the Erie area, and their brother Gary Horton.
Adam Baker talks with Sister Linda Romey and Michelle Scully about eclipse events at the monastery and Glinodo Center.
Join us this Thursday, March 21 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Federal Courthouse in Erie on South Park Row.
The Erie Benedictines recently hosted "Ministry Days" with the staff, volunteers, and board members of their ministries and good works, including staff at the monastery. "Creating community is a core value of Benedictine life and by gathering all those who minister with us for a day of sharing and learning, we are strengthening our Benedictine community,” said Michelle Scully, Program and Event Coordinator for the Benedictine Sisters.
On March 10, Benedictine Sister Marian Wehler (left) and Mercy Sister Tina Geiger of Catholic Rural Ministries in Oil City celebrated International Women’s Day along with their local YWCA’s 100th Anniversary team and Zonta International’s 100 years local members at Christ Episcopal Parish Center.
Members of the Benedictine Sisters Communications and Development team heard SBA alum Jennie Hagerty, '83, Executive Director of the Mercy Center for Women, deliver the keynote address at the Impact 2024 Women in Leadership Luncheon.
More than 20 persons, many of whom had never visited the monastery, joined us for a monastery tour, dinner, and a Lent vigil on Saturday, March 9. A few persons who have been to the monastery in the past also joined the group, opting for a formal tour and the explanations of Benedictine life were included. They, too, learned things they didn't know.
Pennsylvania Representative Bob Merski presented Erie's women religious with a proclamation in honor of Catholic Sisters Week at a press conference held at St. Mark Center in Erie. Representatives of the different communities of women religious working in the Diocese were present.
Register now for "The Women of Helfta: Stories from a Medieval Monastery." Friendships and rivalries–religious fervor and tensions with Church authorities–music, poetry, and visions: all in one small monastery...
The 2024 Women's History Month Art Show "Beauty Beholds..." is now open at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. Visit the Chapter 57 Gallery and view this year's entries. The show runs until March 31 and includes works in various media by Benedictine sisters, oblates, co-workers, and friends.
The first Emmaus Companion newsletter of 2024 features artwork from the Emmaus archives to begin a year-long recognition of 50 years of service to Erie's hungry.
The Laudato Si Platform Committee offers one final goal: Goal 7 – Community resilience and empowerment. Words do inspire. When we say “community,” “resilience,” “empowerment,” — we stand a little taller, don’t we? We speak them with conviction.
The 2024 Women's History Month Art Show "Beauty Beholds..." opening is Sunday, March 3, 10:30 a.m. - noon at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. Visit the Chapter 57 Gallery and view this year's entries while you enjoy coffee and monastery-baked sweet breads. The show runs from March 3 -31.
Sister Kath Horan, principal at Blessed Sacrament School, is featured in a GoErie news story.
Atchison Benedictine Sister Helen Mueting shares her reflection on St. Scholastica, whose feast day is February 10. The icon was written by Atchison Sister Paula Howard.
Sister Val Luckey shares her thoughts on 50 years of feeding the hungry at Emmaus ministries. Read her op ed at GoErie.com.
Sister Tina Geiger, RSM, and her ministry partner at Catholic Rural Ministries, Erie Benedictine Sister Marian Wehler, began Catholic Schools Week having lunch with students and family members at St. Stephen's in Oil City, preschool through sixth grade grade. They enjoyed lively conversation at the lunch tables and visited classrooms.
Toxic, toxicity, groans, and suffering. These are unusual words to begin a consideration of Goal 6, Ecological Spirituality. Perhaps they are the most appropriate words as we reflect on this goal in the midst of our present reality.
The Erie Benedictines are grateful to our neighbors down the street, East Erie Moose Family Center #593, for their generous donation to Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and the Benedictine Sisters' Benetwood Apartments.
Sister Cecilia Sullivan, OSB, 91, died on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The Benedictine Sisters congratulate Sister Anne McCarthy on being one of the women being recognized this year at the Mercy Center for Women's Women Making History event on Monday, March 25, at the Mercyhurst University Performing Arts Center in Erie.
Sister Margaret Zeller, 81, died on January 22, 2024, at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Sister Mary Grace Hanes, 96, died on January 21, 2024, at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Today, with Christians around the world, we begin the celebration of the week for Christian Unity. The theme of this year’s observance is the story of the Good Samaritan, taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The story reflects the connection between love of God and love of neighbor with a particular concern for challenging the boundaries of who is considered "neighbor". In the dialogue with Jesus that unfolds this week, Jesus calls us not to only observe the commandments, but to also imitate the love of God in the giving of self for another. It is a call for charity, mercy, justice, and unity.
On January 9, 1974, the Benedictine Sisters served the first meal at Emmaus Soup Kitchen. It included soup, peanut butter, and bread. Fifty years later, there are still hungry people in Erie and Emmaus Soup Kitchen continues to serve hot meals.
Sister Mary Louis Eichenlaub, 93, died on January 8, 2024, at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Morning prayer on the Feast of the Epiphany follows a community procession through the monastery recalling the journey of the three Magi to find the Christ child. We stop in all our common spaces to pray and sing a blessing, beginning with the health care wing and proceeding to the front foyer, the community and dining rooms, and ending in the chapel. At the entrance to each space, we mark the doors with the current year and the inscription CBM: 20+C+B+M+24. The initials stand for the names of the magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. The letters also represent the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat which means “May Christ bless this home.” The marking remains throughout the year and serves as a reminder that this monastery is a blessed space and that its residents ask God's blessing on all who share it with us.
Sister Mary Lou Kownacki is the Blessed Among Us remembrance for January 6 in Give Us This Day daily prayer booklet published by Liturgical Press. Robert Ellsberg is the author.
Laudato Sí is a momentous document issued by Pope Francis on climate change. The Laudato Sí Platform Committee presented seven goals for people around the globe to focus on as one way to keep its message before us.
Joe Askins, President of Auto Express Mazda, and and JET/FOX/YourErie named the Benedictine Sisters of Erie their nonprofit of the week on Dec. 27. Sister Stephanie Schmidt, prioress, accepted the "Loving Giving Local" gift of $250 noting that the funds will go towards the sisters' support of families in need.
A local Monasteries of the Heart group from Warren, PA, gathered at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. Monasteries of the Heart is an online monastery that is a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. You can learn more here.
More than 40 guests, many of them on their first visit to Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, took part in a tour of the monastery followed by supper with the sisters, time to visit the monastery gift shop, and participation in the Vigil for the third Sunday of Advent on December 16.
Two current but related issues involving the Erie Public Library aren’t just about dollars and cents. These issues actually expose social justice inequities and make a mockery of government priorities.
For our friends who live in or near Erie, if you're at the Millcreek Mall between December 15 and 31, please stop by "Gingerbread Lane" and vote for our Gingerbread House, lovingly crafted by Sister Marcia Sigler.
The SBA Class of 1977 celebrated their 45th class reunion earlier this year at Calamari’s Restaurant in Erie. Pictured are: back row—Christine McCloskey Eacho, Clare Luddy, Lori Bush DiPlacido, Bernie Bagniszewski, Diane Kowalik Lugin, Linda Lubiejewski Turner and Rene Filipowski
I am a tad old-fashioned when it comes to calendars. Every autumn I buy a neat, clean, spiral-bound calendar for the coming year. I resist using the electronic calendar that, I’m told, would quickly sync my daily schedule between phone and computer. Referring to my paper calendar is one less occasion to be distracted by the barrage of buy, subscribe, click, like, and share messages that endlessly pop up on my screens. Those messages can easily divert us from what it means to be truly human, to love God, and to live well with others and our earth.
Please join us in prayer for Deborah Walker and Rani, two women who died in 2023 in murder/suicide events. Neither woman had obituaries published or any public services. One of the women was never identified by name. We are including both of them in this vigil on Monday, December 18 at 5:15 p.m., at 1417 East 28th Street in Erie.
The #iGiveCatholic 2023 results are in! The Benedictine Sisters of Erie raised a total $13,300 from 72 individuals, including two cash prizes sponsored by the Catholic Foundation of Northwest Pennsylvania totaling $1,250.
Sunday, December 17, 7 - 7:30 p.m. in Perry Square (West side) Special intention is for Peace on Earth.
Please join us in prayer for homicide victim Jeffrey Johnson on Monday, December 11, 5:15 p.m., corner of East 17th and State Streets, Erie, the site where he was murdered on September 22.
The SBA Class of 1977 celebrated their 45th class reunion earlier this year at Calamari’s Restaurant in Erie. Pictured are: back row—Christine McCloskey Eacho, Clare Luddy, Lori Bush DiPlacido, Bernie Bagniszewski, Diane Kowalik Lugin, Linda Lubiejewski Turner and Rene Filipowski
Please join us in the monastery chapel for Advent Vigils each Saturday during Advent, December 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 7:00 p.m. Reflections will be offered by Week One, Dec. 2: Sister Therese Glass
The AIM USA (United States Secretariat of the Alliance for International Monasticism) newsletter is available online, download it here.
The Benedictine Sisters are offering two reflective, interactive times of Advent Lectio that will invite participants to consider new doors that might be waiting to be opened.
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.)
A Take Back the Site Vigil for Autumn Christine Bassham, Monday, November 20, 5:15 p.m. at the site where she was murdered on September 19. The vigil will take place at 1144 East 28th Street, Erie.
About fifty people walked in a silent prayer for a ceasefire in Israel-Hamas War on Wednesday evening. Sister Anne McCarthy is interviewed in this YourErie news clip.
Read Joan Chittister's new NCR column. She writes, "It is time to put away the swords and lead with the heart so that both people may retain their humanity and pass it on to generations of people to come."
Mary Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, provided insight and challenge as the featured presenter at the annual Benedictine Community Weekend the end of October. In addition to Mary's presentations, more than 70 oblates gathered at Glinodo Center during the day on Friday to consider their vocation--a way of life that brings a Benedictine presence to the many places, organizations, and people they encounter each day--and to examine the ways in which they support the fundamentals of Benedictine life: prayer, community, and ministry.
The Winter 2023 issue of The Mount begins with The Visitation, a work of art by Laura James, and an observation from Sister Joan Chittister, "If God worked through one woman to bring redemption, how is it that anyone can argue that God does not go on working through other women as well?" An interview with Mary Novak, executive director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, a reflection by guest columnist and journalist Liz Allen, and an excerpt from Sister Joan's recent global presentation on "Living the Discipleship of Equals" make the argument a moot point as God works through them. There is so much more for you, too, in this issue. May you find hope and inspiration in its pages.
November's Good Work invites members to read and reflect, in solitude and in shared reflection with others, on our role in empowering peace in our hearts, in our world and in our universe, especially in light of the threat to world peace that is building in the Holy Land and that continues to erupt in Ukraine.
Sister Carolyn reflects on creation reflected in the psalms in this podcast and offers the opportunity for personal reflection on your experiences of creation.
On the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, October 4, 2023, Pope Francis gave his most recent instruction: the Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum (Praise God), on the climate crisis.
Fire chief James Hawryliw and members of the Fairfield Hose Company Volunteer Fire Department and their spouses and children joined the sisters for the annual thank you dinner in the monastery dining room. "This is always one of our most anticipated events each year," said Chief Hawryliw. It's a long-standing tradition, a way for the sisters to express their gratitude to the Company for their many assists for ambulance services and the occasional fire alarm.
The Benedictine Sisters join the Erie Catholic School System in being pleased to announce that Sister Katherine Horan is taking on a new leadership role at Blessed Sacrament Campus in Erie.
Join us in the monastery chapel on Wednesday, October 18 at 7:00 p.m. for a Holy Hour for Peace in the Holy Land. Click to access a PDF flier.
Sister Jacqueline Sanchez-Small offers a different perspective on Matthew 22:1-14, the Wedding Banquet, in her homily on Sunday, October 15.
Sister Joan Chittister addressed a global audience at Spirit Unbounded: Human Rights in the Emerging Catholic Church, a lay-led synodal assembly that took place along side the Vatican Synod on Synodality October 8-14 with live presentations streaming from Rome October 13 and 14.
Listening Hearts, a grassroots program offering Benedictine spirituality to women in Erie challenged by poverty, launched its 2023-24 cohort at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery on October 11.
Sister Audrey Steff (right) offered the invocation at the ACES 2023 Awards Luncheon honoring Valerie Laufenberg as the Bob & Betty Merwin Outstanding Citizen.
The SBA Class of 1973 50th Reunion celebration included liturgy and coffee at Mount St. Benedict Monastery on October 8. Seventeen class members and three former faculty members, Sisters Dorothy Stoner, Phyllis Schleicher, and Rosanne Loneck, gathered for a photo in between the excited conversation and laughter.
Sister Pat Lupo's work with Hold Erie Coke Accountable (HECA) is featured in a new blog post in Penn Future: Our Water, Our Future Erie Newsletter.
Artisans of the monastery, according to St. Benedict in Chapter 57 of his Rule, are to share their craft with all humility. While trapping and relocating wild animals may not be a traditional craft when one thinks of artisans of the monastery, it is an art and a skill that Sister Jacinta Conklin brings to the community.
Sister Joan Chittister’s book The Time Is Now is included in a new mural on Erie’s East Bayfront Parkway, atop a stack of several other books. It's on a wall of Gallagher Plumbing on E. 9th St. but it is facing the Bayfront Highway.
The Benedictine Sisters will co-host "Engagement in the Public Square, a Spiritual Practice," a presentation by Mary Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Washington, DC, with the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul in Erie.
Sister Susan Doubet, long-time educator, principal, and basketball coach at Villa Maria Academy in Erie was recently inducted into the 2023 class of the Cathedral Prep Athletic Hall of Fame.
Residents of the Benedictine Sisters' Benetwood Apartments recently joined the sisters for prayer and dinner. This annual event celebrates the relationship of friends and neighbors between the two living communities.
The September 2023 issue of Emmaus Ministries' The Companion is available in PDF format.
Throughout Laudato Sí Pope Francis offers insights that can help us understand and implement Goal 4 from the International Action Platform.
The Feast of All Saints on November 1 and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (commonly known as All Souls Day) on November 2 are times when we pause to remember all these members of our community, our personal communion of saints, living and deceased.
The Benedictine Sisters proudly presented their 2023 Prophet of Peace Award to environmental advocate and educator Doreen Petri on September 20.
Mother Blandyna Michniewicz, OSBap, Abbess of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Monastery in Warsaw, Poland, presented a first-hand account of the tragedy of the war in Ukraine to sisters and guests at the monastery.
Sister Mary Therese Egan, OSB, 85, died on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The 2023 Taste of the Arts Neighborhood Art House annual fundraiser, "Sights and Sounds of the Art House," brought together young artists and performers, staff, sisters, friends, donors, and guests to celebrate an evening of beauty and hope "under the tent" in the Art House parking lot.
Woodturner Sister Audrey Steff was recently awarded a lifetime membership in the Presque Isle Woodturners--an organization of which she was a founding member 25 years ago. “There are only three of the original founding members remaining,” she explained. “And one of them thought that founding members should no longer have to pay dues.”
Sister Carolyn reflects on two very significant dates in 2001.
In September we celebrate the Season of Creation (seasonofcreation.org) and Labor Day. It’s a good time to consider the third goal of Laudato Sí, Ecological Economics.
Goat Fest 2023 drew several hundred people--parents, children, adults, friends and neighbors--to Glinodo for a couple hours of outdoor fun and education on a unique way to care for our environment.
Erie News Now invited Sister Jacqueline Sanchez-Small for an interview focused on the invasive-species eating goats at Glinodo and Saturday's Goat Fest.
The Glinodo Goat Fest is free and will take place on Saturday, August 26 from 1-3:30 p.m. The event is family-friendly, and will include a storybook trail, nature art, snacks, and games.
Thank you to sponsors, golfers, volunteers, and sisters who made the Erie Benedictine's Sister Mary Lou Kownacki Memorial Golf Tournament a terrific event.
The Trinity Square Foundation recently sponsored a block party at the East 22nd Street Poetry Park in honor of Sister Mary Lou Kownacki and Sister Mary Miller, the creators of the park, who both died earlier this year. Their memory was honored with a new plaque that was installed in the park. A tree was planted in Sister Mary's honor--last year one was planted for Sister Mary Lou.
Neighbors, family and friends of Mary and elk for an afternoon of food, fun, music, and poetry.
Family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors of Quran Wesley Sims gathered at the site where he died of multiple gunshot wounds last June 3 to reclaim the site for nonviolence.
New podcast from Sister Carolyn. Where have the thousands of days in your life taken you?
