ABBEY BANNER - St. John's Abbey

Daniel Durken, OSB
Daniel Durken, OSB
■ The monastic community celebrated
Thanksgiving Day as Mark
Thamert, OSB, and Walter Kieffer,
OSB, prepared several turkeys on
outdoor grills to add to those cooked
by the kitchen staff. To create a turkey
flambeau effect, waiters attached firework
sparklers to the trays of turkeys
paraded from the kitchen into the
serving area. The community enjoyed
mincemeat pies by Raphael Olson,
OSB, and pumpkin and apple pies by
Aelred Senna, OSB.
Walter Kieffer, OSB, at the grill
December 2008
■ A special devotion for the Feast
of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated
before Morning Prayer on
December 12. Gregorio Congote,
OSB, a native of Colombia, South
America, and a monk of St. Michael
Abbey, Elkhorn, Nebraska; Efrain
Rosado, OSB, a monk of the Abbey
of Tepeyac, Mexico; and our own
Aelred Senna, OSB, prepared a brief
ceremony of Marian prayers and
(l. to r.) Brothers Aelred, Efrain and Gregorio
sing to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
hymns honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe.
This feast celebrates the appearance
of the Blessed Virgin Mary to
Juan Diego in 1531.
■ Nominated and endorsed by his supervisors
and co-workers at Liturgical
Press, Daniel Durken, OSB, received
the fall 2008 Extraordinary Performance
Award given by the College of
Saint Benedict and the Order of Saint
Benedict to a designated administrator.
At a luncheon on December 15 he
received an engraved commemorative
clock plus a donation to his designated
charity. Father Daniel began his association
with Liturgical Press in 1967,
served as its director from 1978-1988,
and has continued writing and editing
for over twenty years.
■ As the Christmas Season
approached, the monastic community
decided to continue last year’s pine
tree conservation program. Whereas
Daniel Durken, OSB
A wreath replaces a
Christmas tree.
in the past, nine Christmas
trees were decorated, only
three survived the elimination
process, namely, the
monastic dining room and
the quadrangle’s third and
fourth floor recreation areas.
Not even the popular Christmas
Cookie Tree was spared.
THE ABBEY CHRONICLE
January 2009
■ The opening session of the annual
Community Workshop, held January
5-7, was an inspiring DVD presentation
by Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, on
“The Banquet of Faith: Reflections on
Trinitarian Theology.” Several senior
panelists considered, “What it meant
to be a Catholic monastery when they
entered and how that has changed.”
Younger panelists spoke of “What it
might mean to be a Catholic monastery
in the next ten years.”
■ Every three to five years a Benedictine
community has an official
Visitation by several monks of other
(l. to r.) The Visitators: Fr. Charles, Abbot
Hugh, Br. Alban, Abbot Barnabas
monasteries who interview members
and then share their observations with
the host community. From January
21-27, Saint John’s Abbey was visited
by Hugh Anderson, OSB, Abbot of
St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, Illinois;
Barnabas Senecal, OSB, Abbot of St.
Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas;
Father Charles Buckley, OSB, Vocation
Director, St. Gregory’s Abbey,
Shawnee, Oklahoma; and Brother
Alban Petesch, OSB, Novice Master,
Assumption Abbey, Richardton,
North Dakota.
Abbey Banner Spring 2009 page 25
Daniel Durken, OSB