by Sister Teresa Jackson Who is this scruffy, odd, unkempt maniac who keeps shouting at us? In the first weeks of Advent John the Baptist seems to be everywhere in the Gospel readings. From the story of his birth to his encounter with Jesus at the Jordan there is...
Approaching two months after a major automobile accident, Sister Meg Sass is making a solid recovery on the assisted living floor of the Monastery. The October 15 automobile accident in Boise resulted in 8 broken ribs and a concussion. “Most of the time...
The St. Gertrude’s community would like to invite everyone up to the Monastery this Sunday, December 6, 12:30 to 5:00 pm for a Christmas Bazaar at the Welcome Center Gift Shop (in the Historical Museum). Do some holiday shopping and then join us in the Chapel...
In September we hosted the first ever “area circle” in the Puget Sound area and invited friends and supporters of St. Gertrude’s to hear what is going on with the Monastery. At the end of January we will be following up on our first gathering by hosting a day...
If you have been on retreat at Spirit Center, our retreat facility, you may have noticed the rooms are named for famous mystics and monastics. Here is one of them… Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk, writer, mystic, and interfaith leader. He was also...
Women come from as far away as Boston and New York and as close as Clarkston, Washington and Moscow, Idaho to explore the contemporary monastic life. They are Catholic, Protestant and interfaith, ranging in age from early 20’s to mid-50’s. Together we learn what it...
Making his way through waist-high parsnip plants, Jim Spangler leans over to pull carrots from the dense, black soil. They emerge thick and bright, with huge tufts of green swaying over his forearms that bear the small, red hashes and pricks that are the telltale...
After a week at St. Al’s Hospital and a little over a week at St. Luke’s (Elks) Rehabilitation Hospital, Sister Meg is home continuing her recovery on the assisted living floor of the Monastery. For Sister Meg, the October 15 automobile accident in Boise resulted in 8...
A Time of Remembering November begins with two days of honoring the departed: All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. The St. Gertrude’s community continues the remembering all through the month. Three great banners are hung in the chapel with...
Sister Evangela recently asked Father Damian Higgins, who leads iconography retreats at Spirit Center, to review her drawing for an icon of the young St. Benedict. “He called me an iconographer,” she smiles. This affirmation of her craft as an iconographer has been...