We are Moving!

We have been trying to obtain permanent premises for the monastery for a long time. At last, we have positive news to report. God willing, we will soon be blessed with 'a local habitation and a name'!

A monastery is not quite the same as a 'normal' house. We don't need, indeed don't want, the latest in creature comforts, but we do need somewhere big enough to admit those who want to join the community, with good facilities for guests who, as Benedict rightly remarks, are never lacking in a monastery. We need a chapel or oratory for prayer, room for a library, space to work. The list is daunting, and it all has to be achieved on a very slender budget.

Together with the Friends of Holy Trinity Monastery, we have devoted a lot of time, money and effort to this quest. Several times we have found what we thought was a suitable property and come close to getting substantial help with a mortgage, but each time our hopes have been dashed. Earlier this year we came to the conclusion that local property prices were always going to be prohibitive so we must look further afield ― not as easy as it sounds because of the ecclesiastical permissions needed.

A New Home
We are delighted to tell you that we have found a barn conversion on the edge of the Golden Valley in Herefordshire which promises to be exactly what we need. There will be room for Denise, our first postulant, entering later this summer, and several companions; also room for guests in a very pleasant annexe. We shall be near Belmont Abbey, which means we shall be able to give our novices a good grounding in Benedictine liturgy.

We have also been able to obtain that most necessary thing, a mortgage! It may mean we have to work until we are 150 to pay it off, but at least we have one.

Sadness and Joy
We are sad to be leaving our friends in the diocese of Portsmouth but we are looking forward to contributing to the life of the Church in the archdiocese of Cardiff. Like prayer, our online engagement is independent of place, and we hope that once we are settled we shall be able to give effect to all the plans for development that have had to be put on hold during the past three years. So, expect some exciting things in the future!

Veilaudio
For the time being, we are hoping to continue to run Veilaudio from Hendred with the help of our wonderful team of volunteers.

Moving date
The date of our move is not yet fixed but is likely to be the end of May.

Thank You
What we most want to say, of course is 'thank you': first to God, who has upheld us during the past eight years, especially during the difficult times when everything looked very bleak; to our friends and benefactors who have given time, money and talent to help us in ways too numerous to be counted; to Bishop Crispian, who has always been supportive and has given us his blessing for the move; and Archbishop George Stack who has generously welcomed us to his diocese.

Please pray for us as we do for you. There are likely to be many 'White Rabbit' moments during the next few weeks, but we trust that, with God's help, all will work out. While, of necessity, we think about material things, we shall also keep in mind St Benedict's injunction nihil amori Christi praeponere, to prefer nothing to the love of Christ.

Sharing a Vocation . . .

We, the Benedictine nuns of Holy Trinity Monastery, East Hendred, invite you to explore this web site to learn something about the monastic way of life.

For fifteen hundred years Benedictine monks and nuns have been seeking God through lives of prayer and service. In every generation that tradition has to be realised anew. Today we unite with us in the search for God all who touch our lives in some way:

• those joined to us by a special bond as Oblates, Associates and Friends;
• those who share our life as guests;
• the blind, visually impaired and housebound who make use of our Veilaudio service;
• those who surf our pages anonymously or ask our prayers through the Prayerline.

Whatever your reason for visiting our site, we hope you will find something that will be a blessing to you.

How to get the best from this site

If you click on any of the items in the main menu at the top of the page, another page will open with a submenu down the left-hand side. Each item there will lead you to another page. If you wish to search for a particular item, please use the search box in the sidebar. There is also a comprehensive site map.

You can return to the home page at any time by clicking on the Holy Trinity Monastery logo.

Mobile web site

If you are using a mobile device, you should be automatically redirected to the mobile version of this site which is optimized for use on small screens. If you prefer to type in the domain yourself, the address is www.benedictinenuns.net.

Online Retreats

These have a dedicated web site at www.onlineretreats.org (link opens in new window).

Blogs: Colophon and iBenedictines

Our old blog was called Colophon and had grown too big and unwieldy to be continued in its original form. We have retained it as an archive with an unchanged structure and permalinks, so you should still be able to find items you have bookmarked. You can reach it by going through the blog page, where you will also find a link to our new blog, iBenedictines. iBenedictines can be read on this site or at its standalone address, www.ibenedictines.org. There is also a version optimized for use on small screens.