1519 Washington St, Calistoga, CA
707-942-4658
REPORT FROM CALISTOGA
December 14, 2009
We are happy to say that Mother Melania and the sisters who
moved to Holy Assumption Monastery have been very kindly received there
both by the Orthodox community and the townspeople of Calistoga in
general. The monastery is located only a few blocks from downtown, so
the sisters often walk there (some for exercise in the early morning,
others to do errands later in the day), and they tell us it's amazing
how often people roll down the windows of their cars to say, "Welcome
to Calistoga! So glad you've come!"
It turns out that the monastery chapel serves as something of
a
parish church for a small multi-ethnic community of Orthodox
faithful. The sisters continue to be amazed when the "parishioners"
ask for a blessing to wash the dishes, bring desserts, etc., and then
are profusely thankful for being allowed to help! So far, nobody has
been turned down!
Holy Assumption Monastery has its own priest, Hieromonk
Sergious, as well as a couple in residence, Ben and
Sarah Smith, who
care for the beautiful grounds and have worked with Father Sergious for
years to restore and upgrade the deteriorating monastery buildings. It
also has a beautiful chapel, a replica of the church at Fort Ross
adorned with exquisite iconography. And, for those who have been
wondering, yes, it has cats--and more. When they arrived, the sisters
found their new residence already occupied by three bunnies, an African
grey parrot named Petey, a conyer (a small green parrot) named Oscar, a
cockatiel named Morris, and two cats. Ashley is an orange cat, who is
18 or 19. Hallway (so named because he was found in a hallway) is
maybe 13. They are both very sweet (although Hallway is apparently the
champion fighter of the neighborhood) and delighted to have such a
number of new domestic servants.
The animals, of course, have been concerned to make sure that
the sisters who have come find a way to help support them. So, the
sisters have been busy devising ideas. In the short term, they will
most likely be making candies, jams, baked goods, and various types of
crafts. In the long term, they are looking towards developing
communion wines. We will keep you posted as these plans develop.
In the meantime, you just might want to consider a visit to
Calistoga and the beautiful Napa Valley, where you now have close
friends.
The days leading up to The Big Move...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009. After sharing a final liturgy together, the work of loading up the moving van begins...
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. The Big Day.
The Big Day arrives and the entire community chants the joyous Paschal irmoi together one last time as a send-off. The sisters then line up to make prostrations and ask forgiveness of each other before departing in peace.
Glory to God! After an all-day road trip, the sisters arrive safely at Holy Assumption Monastery.
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009. The day after is... loads of fun!
(Stay tuned for more photos...)