The Current
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january 19-25, 2020
HERE IS WHAT'S CURRENT
We report on the follow-up visit that completes the quadrennial Visitation by the Abbot Presdient: Abbot Christopher Jamison stayed with us for several days this past week. Fr. Michael spoke to the entire school on Friday, January 17, abut his personal journey of faith: we present it in full in our "Reflections" section this week. And we offer an update on the wind turbine in this month's "Works" section.
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a visit from the abbot president
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In May 2005 a new BBC TV series made its broadcast appearance on the BBC 2 network in the U.K. Filmed at Worth Benedictine Abbey near Crawley in West Sussex, it fit the wildly successful template of American reality television of the time, though now involving, “five modern lay men with little or no experience of Christian monastic life, sharing in the life of the monks for 40 days and nights.” Worth’s superior at the time was Abbot Christopher Jamison, the current Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, which includes the three American houses of Portsmouth Abbey, St. Louis Abbey and St. Anselm’s Abbey in Washington, D.C. Abbot Christopher went on to write two books based on his experience with the five men, and with the modern-day production company setting up shop, as it were, in the normally private confines of Worth’s monastic enclosure. The first to be published was Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life (2006), followed by Finding Happiness: Monastic Steps for a Fulfilling Life (2009). For a time afterwards, one could not avoid stumbling over display kiosks touting the two books outside WH Smith and other booksellers in airports throughout the U.K., thus propelling Abbot Christopher into that rarefied atmosphere of a minor celebrity
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If anyone with a keenly discerning eye suspected they might have spotted this abbot/author/television celebrity on the Portsmouth campus during the final days of the Christmas season, they would be correct. Last week Abbot Christopher completed his quadrennial Visitation of Portsmouth Abbey which involved, among many other things, meeting individually with the monks of both Portsmouth and St. Louis. As is often the case, it takes an outside observer or visitor to spot areas in a corporate body which might be in need of fine-tuning and improving. After his visit this past April, a Visitation report was prepared and delivered, delineating various recommendations, with follow-up meetings required months later. This was the purpose of Abbot Christopher’s most recent visit, to check in on the community’s response and status.
While in residence, he was the principal celebrant of the Conventual Mass on January 11, the Saturday after Epiphany. The Gospel reading was John 3:22-30, which ends with the brilliantly succinct and oft-quoted declaration of only six simple words: “He must increase; I must decrease.” It sounds so simple, but in pondering what he must do in order for Jesus Christ to increase in his life personally as Lord and Savior, Abbot Christopher focused primarily on the other side of the equation. What must decrease, he said, is “grievance.” Grievance is the main sticking point which needs eradication and removal, and must be decreased in one’s life. A grievance can be associated with a feeling of injustice, complaint, mistreatment, or of an unfair allegation. On the other side, what must increase is gratitude and grace. It was a timely message to hear at the close of the Christmas season, after months of disturbing news stories and images of social, economical and political unrest, not only here at home, but worldwide, on continent after continent, each one the home of many of our international students and other friends. Abbot Christopher’s complete homily can be found on the “Reflections” page this week. We wish Abbot Christopher safe travels this month, especially to Peru, and eagerly look forward to his next visit to New England.
(report by Br. Sixtus Roslevich)
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father michael recounts his spiritual journey
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Father Michael Brunner, Prior-Administrator of the monastic community, spoke to the School this week on his religious journey. His remarkable story resonates with any religious seeker, and his honest recounting of the circuitous path leading him to, and from, and back to Jesus Christ is worth retracing, in all its peregrinations. From a home in Rochester, New York and a Catholic family open to rigorous religious and political debate, Fr. Michael’s ongoing search led through the Josephites, the political activism of the 1960’s, decades of involvement Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood, a career in the hotel industry, and eventually to the Benedictines. Fr. Michael relates how his return to the Christian faith was prompted by a powerful encounter with an internal and inescapable voice demanding: “What do YOU think about Jesus Christ?” His complete presentation can be found in the Current’s “Reflections” for this week.
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high season for the wind turbine
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The installation of the wind turbine in 2006 changed the skyline of the campus, and ushered in a timely infusion of green energy. This week we check in on the wind turbine, now in its fourteenth year of continuous and productive operation. It is fair to say this is “high season” for the turbine, in several ways. First, the winter months have statistically generated the most consistent winds. Second, the project has essentially paid for itself, and now continues to generate green energy and cost savings. Thirdly, the project is in its theological high season, speaking to concerns of our day, representing a step forward in addressing the environmental issues now facing our world. You can find a more complete update, with further information, links, and photos, in this month's "Works" section..
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