The American Monastic Newsletter 39:1 (February 2009). Contents. ABA

Last October, when I sent out a call in The American Monastic Newsletter for those who had made ecologically driven decisions, I was not overwhelmed with responses, but I did get some good ones.

The first community I heard from was the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at Clyde, MO. Even with the encumbrances of aging buildings, their commitment to preserving the planet has found expression in creative and substantial ways. Whether de-constructing buildings or small fans, the dismantling for other use is pretty total. What is old and useless in its former life becomes useful for the Amish, fashioned into art or awning, recycled as scrap metal, etc. Here "nothing is wasted" is truer than in most places. In addition they have shifted priorities in the use of their land. The 200-plus acres they had leased for income from crops is now home to native grasses and wild flowers as part of the Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program to reduce soil erosion and enhance the environment. Finally, a 289 foot wind turbine was erected on their property that benefits the local energy cooperative but not the sisters directly because of a federal law that does not permit switching utilities. It does meet their goals, however, of contributing to the local community and promoting wind energy.

The second community is Immaculata Monastery in Norfolk, NE. After two years of considering their gifts and energies for ministry, they divested themselves of their hospitals to focus more on spiritual offerings at their monastery. As they renovate their monastery, built in 1964, one of their primary values is recycling. Of the 100 loads of debris, more than 90 were completely recycled and the rest were partially. The walls and concrete products are taken for use as filler for building and reinforcing roads. All metals that can be recycled are taken for new construction. They have asked that in their new construction as much recycled material be used as possible, thus closing the circle. The floors in the dining room and library will be made of cork, a natural product that does not require destruction of the tree but merely the harvesting of the bark which regenerates. In addition to higher efficiency utilities, they are investigating ways to reclaim even the condensation from the air-conditioning units to flow into a reservoir for their landscaping. Their goal is not only to do as little damage to the planet as possible but also to educate and share their values with all who use their facility.

We go to the East coast for our third community, Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, RI. This community of fifteen monks has a boarding school and they, too, live and teach a strong message about the environment. They installed the first utility-scale 660 kW wind turbine in the state. Though paid for by the abbey with a partial grant from the state, it was a gift to their school that keeps on giving. It will pay itself off in four years, even as it generates small revenue in the kilowatt buyback from the utility company when more is generated than used. That revenue is put into a fund to promote environmentally friendly projects in the school. Last fall they completed a "green" dormitory with solar hot water and heat assist, heat-recovery ventilation, spray foam insulation, etc. They are erecting a solar house that is entirely energy self-sufficient, designed by a local university.

St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, IL, had the "advantage" of selecting a new location and new construction with at least some funds from the sale of their former monastery in Nauvoo. They built a right-size place for the time they built in 1997 and have a gradual exit strategy, if necessary, in place because they constructed for future use of their buildings. They invested in geothermal heating and cooling, using pond loops in a 5-acre pond that also serves as an environmentally responsible place for water run-off, drainage and a natural habitat for fish and fowl. They have put 14 acres into Illinois prairie grasses and wild flowers, and preserve another 11 acres of fallow land and 50 acres of woodlands. Within the building, they are going to install a "green" elevator that uses traction rather than hydraulic fluid.

Sacred Heart Monastery, on the plains in western North Dakota, is presently in our second year of "right-sizing" a monastery building that is too large for present and future numbers. Some of the hard practicalities we have had to face are that, despite our best intentions, we are going to have to let go of some things that are still useful but that are not useful enough in their present state for us to maintain. We have crafted our vocabulary to articulate our actions rather than hide them: we are "de-constructing for harvesting" rather than "demolishing." Since the mid-1990s, we have been involved with wind energy and were the first to erect a commercial turbine in North Dakota.

One of our key insights about our stand on the environment came when our bishop visited. As we were going around the dining room introducing ourselves and saying what we did, one of our older sisters said simply, "I'm Sister Jeanette Werner, and I save the world." She had taken over the responsibility of recycling and she took the job very seriously and reveled in it.

I would like to close with five insights on American monastic practices. First, our hearts are good, but we are not nearly mindful enough in our behavior. Second, necessity is an actual grace and God is generous with it. Economics may force the decision, but the good of the environment will definitely shape it. Third, we are all doing something but we can all do more, but in doing so we cannot be overwhelmed by all we are not yet doing. Fourth, good stewardship of the earth is inseparable from our promise of stability. We cannot excuse ourselves from knowing our land and the politics that govern its future. Fifth, because good ecology has become such an expensive venture in some of the larger, more long-term areas, it appears to create the false dilemma of conflicting with our promise of poverty. It is never enough to say, "We cannot go fully green because we haven't enough gold." We need to shift the focus from economics to the deeper values of the environment and start there. We must be innovative, creative, and sacrificial.

What has not seemed to happen on a larger scale, I think, has been an ignited desire to radically change the real. We are still beginners and our dreams seem sadly small. Yet, from these five communities (and the many more who did not respond but who are surely doing remarkable things) I draw hope and inspiration from their commitment, action, teaching, and fire. These examples are graced accelerants. May they fan the flames of our desires to tend this gracious earth more lovingly.

Renée Branigan, OSB
Richardton, ND

(We would like to invite other monasteries to send their stories of ecological stewardship to this newsletter for future "Monastery Tales" features.)

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