1. Personal
Stories: They Are Finely Attuned to God and People
Our
Publishing House published a book titled The Yonder Land in 2011. Its main
characters are the residents of the Boarding Home No.3 for the mentally
challenged, as well as the sisters and brothers of the Sisterhood of Saint
Elisabeth, nuns of St. Elisabeth Convent, and doctors. There is a chapel in
honour of St. Xenia of Petersburg in the Boarding Home. Today, just a couple of
days after the patron saint's day of this chapel, we would like to share some
excerpts from this wonderful book with you…learn
more
2. Joy
and Growth Under the Snow at the Women's Farmstead
In the
pre-dawn darkness of mid-February, our car from Saint Elisabeth Convent slid
over the snow through the gate of the Women’s Farmstead, and pulled up to the
house in which Fr. Andrew would celebrate Divine Liturgy. It was my second week
staying at the convent, and I, along with another guest and one of the nuns who
had herself never yet seen the Women’s Farmstead, were being given the
opportunity to visit this unique place…learn
more
3. Children,
Parents and Teachers of the “Iсhvis” School Gave a Concert Devoted to Victory
Day
“I want
that there won't be another…” was the slogan of the concert that took place on
the eve of the Victory Day (i.e. the victory in World War II) in the “Iсhvis”
school. The artistic performance that was on the
stage that day, fully expressed the pain that our land had to face during the
World War II…learn
more
4. Fr.
Andrew Sommer and the Members of the Prince Vladimir Youth Association Visited
St. Elisabeth Convent
On May 21, members of the Prince Vladimir Youth
Association from the United States, under the direction of the Father Andrew
Sommer, were able to tour the various workshops and the two farmsteads of St.
Elisabeth Convent. Nun Anfisa provided a detailed guided tour of the ceramic
and sewing workshops along with many other workshops for the guests…learn
more
5. Over
200 Adults with Special Needs Participate in a Feast Day Organized by the
Brothers and Sisters of St. Elisabeth Convent
The
holiday celebration in the residence for adults with special needs began with a
service. At the Liturgy, which was served in the assembly hall, more than 200
residents prayed which accounted for over half of all the residents. After the
Divine Liturgy, everyone participated in procession around the main building.
The holiday concluded with lunch in the open
air and friendly interactions…learn
more
6. Make
the World a Better Place: A New Workshop for People with Disabilities
One of
the newest projects in St. Elisabeth Convent is a unique workshop called
“Dobrodel” (one that does good deeds) especially designed for people with
disabilities. The workshop gives a chance to people with special needs to
overcome social isolation and find themselves in society through work…learn
more
7. Pilgrimages
for People with Special Needs
The volunteers of the Fund in honour of St. John
the Russian have organised two pilgrimages for children and adults who live in
boarding homes for people with special needs. They visited St. Elisha Laŭryšava
Monastery on July 22 and Holy Annunciation Monastery in Malyja Liady on July 28…learn
more
8. The
Brothers’ Lives: Diaries of the Rehabilitation Centre of St. Elisabeth Convent
The Rehabilitation Centre of St Elisabeth Convent is a
place where labour and prayer help people to build their new life — different
from the life in a prison cell or a hospital ward. Many of those who come to
the rehab have a dark past. Their new life calls for a different attitude to
themselves, to their neighbours, and to God. The old self has to die to give
way to the new self in the eternal life…learn
more
9. A
Visit to the Not Indifferent Ones: a Personal Story about the First Meeting
with Special Children
Sometimes they only need physical contact. They are excited
every time you touch or hug them. The feeling of having someone around makes
them sure that they are protected and at peace. I’m talking about the children
who stay in the Boarding Home for Children with Special Needs, where I went to
take part in an Orthodox worship service together with the sisters of St.
Elisabeth Convent…learn
more
10. How
Women with Troubled Fates Receive Shelter in St. Elisabeth Convent
Women’s Rehabilitation Center of St. Elisabeth Convent
was established in 2011 on the territory of a former military base near v.
Nialidavičy (Minsk Raion). The Convent bought several buildings and received
some other buildings later for free. There had been a church here, too, but it
burned down several days prior to land registration. The circumstances suggest
that it was arson: some local resident must have set the church on fire because
they didn’t want women who had been on the wrong side of the law to live near
their villages. They thought that if they burned down the church, there would
be no rehab, either. Time has proven them wrong. Today, a new church is being
built here…learn
more
11. The
Equine Therapy: New Friends, New Treatment
In 2010
on the territory of one of the rehabilitation centres of St Elisabeth Convent
there appeared a stable with a couple of horses. This rehabilitation centre is
situated about 30 km from Minsk in a village called Lysaya Hara (Bald
Mountain). As of today more than 10
equines live in the spacious stalls of the stable. Two of them - Purga
(‘Blizzard’) and Begonia, mares of average height and quiet tempre - are used for
therapeutic horseback riding…learn
more
12. A Cycle of
Goodness: How the Workshops of St. Elisabeth Convent Appeared and What They
Give to Other People
The House of Love of Labour of St Elisabeth Convent
was founded with the blessing of the Very Rev Andrew Lemeshonok, the spiritual
father of our Convent. It preserves the main principle of the original
facility, that is, serving one’s neighbour. It is fitting that a nun named
after Saint Chionia, an Italian martyr who was orphaned when she was very
young, is in charge of the House of Love of Labour…learn
more
13. The
Dog’s Chance: How Nuns Save the Lost at the Men's Rehabilitation Center
More than two hundred homeless or alcohol-addicted men
gather on a farm 19 miles from Minsk during the winter, where they are
supervised by just a couple of sisters from St. Elisabeth Convent…learn
more
CONVERSATION