Every Tuesday morning for the past two years I have had breakfast with six nuns - specifically sisters from the Order of St Helena. Truth be told, they make me work for breakfast. I celebrate the Eucharist at the Convent every Tuesday morning at 7:30am. Most Episcopalians don't realize that we do have monks and nuns in the church. The Order of St Helena has three houses; two are in New York (one in Manhattan) and one in Augusta, Georgia. I celebrate at the Convent each week not because they need me, but because it energizes me. When I first starting celebrating at the Convent, I was frankly intimidated. How do you preach to nuns? It's not as if I could simply challenge them to give their lives to God - they are nuns! They live in community and have taken vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity. What do I say to women who live every day in prayer? One of the many wonderful things that I have learned having 'breakfast with the girls' is that even though they are nuns, and even though some of them have been so for over 30 years - they are human beings. They have the same ups and downs as those whose only experience with nuns has been with Sally Field or Whoopi Goldberg. They struggle as we (non-monastics) do. They laugh as we do. They cry as we do. They, thanks be to God, are real.
I look forward to introducing some of the sisters from the Order of St Helena to the family at St Timothy's. Part of their ministry is to offer retreats and quiet days and teaching opportunities at parishes all across the country. And do they travel! Rarely is there a week when all of the sisters are present at once. But most important, I look forward to everyone coming know men and women who have given their lives to prayer and service in a unique way - and are still real human beings.
Fr. Steve+
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