I recently went on a four day silent retreat(1) at an Episcopal monastery.(2) This was a wonderful experience, an opportunity to sit quietly and reflect about all manner of things.
There was exactly one opportunity for conversation, a "talking meal" with the monks and my fellow guests. The monastery's superior,(3) Curtis Almquist, gestured for me to sit next to him, and during the conversation I quickly found that I had not parked my professional enthusiasms outside when I entered the retreat house.
We had a lively conversation about one of my current and most pleasant pre-occupations, Changing The Present. Much to my delight, Curtis immediately grasped the general concept of e-philanthropy and the specific inspiration of CTP. He immediately wanted to know how he could register the monastery on the web site,(4) and I promised to arrange it. I should have known - in their literature, they described themselves as "monks of the new century." Indeed, during our conversation, Curtis pulled a very nice little mobile phone out of his cassock, and I began visualize how he could use Twitter to provide long distance spiritual direction to folks outside the greater Boston area. But I digress.
Here is a faith-based organization with a wide range of ministries, a rich history, and two beautiful monastic houses. In both the metaphoric and the most literal senses, they abound in fascinating nooks and crannies, many of which could be identified as gift opportunities.
In the past, gift opportunities were limited to grand patrons such as Isabella Stewart Gardner, who could give parcels of land, large sums of money, or stained glass windows. Now, the Cowley Fathers can go online and ask their friends to be micro patrons, by identifying modest increments of money that can be earmarked for specific needs. For example, I would probably not be excited about adding to my CTP gift registry a $100.00 gift to be devoted to restoring antique vestments, but I would quickly add a $100.00 item that would support a silent retreat with the Cowley Fathers for someone who could not otherwise afford one.
As Curtis pointed out, the monasteries made huge concessions when they incorporated indoor plumbing and electricity into their lives. It hasn't been the same since then! And once it happened, mobile phones and e-philanthropy became (if not inevitable) a live option for them. I'm hoping that these monks of the 21st century can provide an example of graceful adoption(5) of resources such as Changing The Present.
1) Special note to those who are incredulous: yes, I do occasionally stop talking.
2) I like to do this in September, to mark my birthday and the Jewish New Year. There isn't a Jewish retreat house in the area, so I'm delighted to accept the hospitality of the monastic guest house that the Cowley Fathers have established.
3) Somewhat like an abbot or a prior.
4) All nonprofits in the U.S. that file a Form 990 automatically appear with a basic listing on ChangingThePresent.org. However, if your nonprofit registers for a free enhanced listing, you can tell your story in greater detail, and specify a couple of gifts that will advance your mission. If you have your EIN in hand, this can be done pretty quickly.
5) Actually the expression that occurs to me is poster boys. I hope that readers who have no sense of humor about monasticism will forgive me.
