Skete MonasteryCambridge, NY
June 2016
I don't remember how I heard of this place but my interest was peaked when I learned that they focus on organic farming, raising German Shephards and making cheese cakes. I booked a room at their retreat house and indicated that my intention was to reflect, remain quiet, seek community and write. And so I was allowed to join them for two days. I drove six hours and found the Emma's House, a complex which used to be a monastic home to "four married couples and two widows." These individual have moved on to assisted living or one of the nearby grave sites. Now the home is used to offer individual retreats to those of us who are interested.
I am greeted by a monk is sweat pants and a tee sheet. He shows me around. Pointing to one room, he tells me, "here is where you can chill out during the day." Big German Shephard dogs follow us as we roam around.
7:00 AM- We start each day with prayer at 7:15 AM. We gather in the big church. The monks come out from the monetary in black robes and they stand in absolute silence for several minutes. One of the monks begins a chant and the others respond. Candles are lit and incense is spread throughout the sanctuary, permeating the air with its familiar pungent scent.
8:00 AM- The morning service is over so we head to the public areas of the monastery for breakfast. Some of the monks join us, the lay people. But this meal is mostly a fuel stop, a moment to break their fast and then get started with their day's work.
They have their German Shepherds with them.. These dogs are raised to bred. At the moment, 29 puppies live in the dog kennel and 10 dogs live in the monastery with the monks. These dogs are large, quiet and walk without any interest in me. They ram the hallways and sit quietly under the tables as we eat. There is no begging, no interference with our meal. I almost forget they are there and then one of the monks calls to them and four or five of them get up and follow the monk out the door.
Quietly, the monks take off to their morning tasks. There are gardens and hiking paths and dogs which need the monks' attention. I go back to the guest house and take a nap because I am too tired from getting up so damn early.
Noon: we meet up again for dinner, our largest meal of the day. All of the monks are here now. Dressed in their work clothes, they find a seat at the table. Some of them sit as a group at the end of the table. A few others spread themselves across the room, giving themselves just a bit more space and privacy.
A recording of a spiritual message is blaring out of the computer, at the end of the room. It took me a few minutes to realize that is message is being played by design. So I begin to pay more attention. If I heard correctly, the presenter is a nun. She identifies herself as a "progressive Catholic". She then proceeds to talk about her abortion some 30 years ago. I am listening intently but as I look around the room, I get the feeling that the topic is not as riveting to the others as it is to me.
The recording stops and conversation starts up. I raise my hand and ask, "Do you ever talk about these recordings? Is this your belief?" I am sort of stymied by what I just heard.
One of the monks chimed in, "If you are asking if we condone or condemn her, no. We pass no judgment. We are men. We have never had to worry about being pregnant. That is a big burden. I think it must be a tremendous decision for a woman to make. We shouldn't judge her. We should offer her our support. She needs our support, not our judgement." He goes back to eating his soup and I am bursting with admiration of him.
Afternoon: Brother Gregory shows me the dog kennel. There are 29 beautiful little puppies just about ready to be distributed to their new homes. These dog produce two litters a year and generate most of the income for the monks. They also offer dog training sessions throughout the year that are very well attending. "We raise dogs for companionship only. We don't raise service dogs or show dogs, just companionship. They aren't our pets either. When they stop producing, we sell them too," he tells me.
5:00 PM- the nuns come up from their cloisters to join us for vipers. These nuns live about a mile away. There used to be 12 of them but now there are only four left. To earn money, they bake cheesecakes, sew religious garments and paint portraits of saints. They are industrious women.
6:00 PM- Prayer service is over. The nuns go back to their convent and we gather again for a light supper. We talk politics, familiar neighborhoods, favorite saints, monastic life and dogs. I mentioned that the monks should think about growing organic medical marijuana when it is finally legal. This idea is too extreme for them. My idea to grow hemp was also not well received.
We all clear the table, the dishes are cleaned and the crowd disperses to private quarters. The day is finished. We will start again tomorrow with the same routine.
