New Chapel Needed for Growing Norbertine Monastery

Founded in 1997 with five women (under the guidance of the Abbot of St. Michael's Abbey in Silverado, California), the Norbertine Sisters came to Tehachapi in May of 2000 to form a cloistered community on 475 acres off Water Canyon. As the property had been vacant for about twenty years, these women had a lot of work ahead of them to establish and grow their monastery. Since then, they have grown to forty women (as of July 2016), with even more joining in the coming months.

With God's grace and the Sisters' hard work, and the help of family, friends and benefactors, the Sisters have improved the infrastructure for their increasing numbers. But much more is needed. Phase I of their monastery expansion project consisted of replacing temporary modular units with a 2-1/2 story structure with dormitory space for 48 Sisters (two to a room), as well as providing other monastic space (chapter room, professional kitchens and cheese aging rooms, infirmary, refectory/dining room, laundry and storage areas, recreation room, etc.). However, given their growth, the Sisters expect to be at capacity next year, both in Phase I and in their twiceexpanded chapel (carved out of the property's original ranch house with no further room for expansion).

Plans for the next step for the monastery expansion, Phase II, include a new chapel and adjoining wing/accessory areas, which will provide much-needed additional space for the Sisters and enable more guests to attend worship and prayers. Most importantly, the future chapel will provide the requisite church/monastic architecture essential to their vocation as Norbertine canonesses.

In many ways, the main charisma of the Norbertines is to provide a mantle of prayer over the world, spreading God's grace, mercy and love through their worship and sacrificial living. The Sisters gather together in choir for prayer seven to eight hours throughout the day and night before the Blessed Sacrament. Thus, a new chapel, where they can continue to worship and pray in complete community, has become a major need. The cost of the new chapel is formidable since its hillside location (forty-foot slope) will require a great deal of engineering. For that reason, the Friends of the Norbertine Canonesses was formed to help the Sisters, with various fundraisers organized to help raise money for the project.

In addition to praying for the needs of the Church and the world, the Sisters strive daily through their many works toward the Norbertine requirement of self-sufficiency; e.g., tending their farm animals and gardens; making jams, biscotti, religious articles, apothecary items and homemade goods for sale in their monastery gift shop; running their monastery guest house; in addition to their daily duties of cooking, cleaning, laundry, administration, etc.

The Friends of the Norbertine Canonesses' second annual Bunco night took place on August 3, at Triassic Vineyard. More than fifty participants joined the games, shared a meal and enjoyed Triassic wine. This event is followed by the second annual "A Night in the Vineyard" on August 27, 2016. It, too, will be at Triassic Vineyard, starting at 5 p.m. Attendees will be able to enjoy wine tastings and hors d'oeuvres, followed by fine French cuisine provided by Perfetto Ristorante. The meal will be followed by a dessert bar and live auction. There will also be a silent auction and a Norbertine "gift shop" to browse and purchase items made by the Canonesses.

Joining us will be emcee Cristina Lopez of Channel 17 News and guest speaker, Leo Severino, a Catholic Hollywood writer/producer (Metanoia Films – "Bella", "Little Boy"), and Mother Mary Augustine via video greeting, demonstrating that all the Canonesses will be with us in spirit.

Indeed, they are praying for the event and all who attend.

Last year's dinner/auction sold out, so the venue was expanded to include more people. As of the writing of this article, there were still tickets available for purchase. The cost of the event is $125 per person and interested parties have until August 18, 2016, to buy their tickets. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call Liz Wolfe at 661-319-0691.

For more information about the Norbertine Canonesses, please visit http://www.norbertinesisters.org. Prayer requests can be made to [email protected].