Worship setting

The worship bell that rings for prayer at 6:20 a.m. and 5:20 p.m.


Mt. Tabor Monastery

Chapel adjacent to monastery
Chapel interior
The chapel cross

Praying the Psalms

The singing and chanting of Psalms is the major component of each prayer service. Henry Morris, author of Treasures in the Psalms, writes that, although praise is a frequent theme in the psalms, spiritual warfare is even more frequent, and "the first Psalm contains the definitive statement on this conflict." Morris: "It is singularly appropriate that a book of praise is also a book of warfare and struggle and suffering. . . . it is trust in God that enables the believer to be joyful in spite of trouble. . . . The world is in darkness, but the light of God's promise continually illumines the way."

Psalm 1, the foundation for all other psalms.

Blessed are those
who do not walk in the
counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But their delight is in the law
of the Lord,
and on God's law they meditate
day and night.
They are like trees planted by
streams of water,
which yield fruit in season
and whose leaves do not wither.
Whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not
stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly
of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over
the way of the
righteous,
but the way of the wicked
will perish.

Sr. Jan

Even though Sr. Jan did not learn to drive until she moved to KY in the mid-'90s, she's ready to jump in the car and go, pedal to metal, any time. She credits her driving style to growing up in the 50s, with kids challenging each other in drag races. Just as she learned to drive later in life, Sr. Jan also began her vocation later than most sisters here, ten years ago, following her husband's death. She has two grown sons and seven grandchildren. She is tickled to think her oldest granddaughter is now 16. She began her ministry as nanny to quadruplets and now serves Mt Tabor and the larger community in many ways. Here, she manages the finances, schedules and manages the many guests, and keeps the larder stocked. In the local community, she assists with pastoral care at Our Lady of the Way Hospital in Martin. On a broader geographic scale, she is President of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia as well as Communications Coordinator for the Catholic Committee of the South. She has a strong concern for peace and justice issues. Most recently, she helped organize a conference that focused on issues of nutrition in Appalachia. If you stop in to say hello, Sr. Jan will be the one holding the orange mug that reads: Chocolate, Coffee, Men -- Some things are just better when they're rich.

It's all in how you look at it

Hi all -- Thanks for checking my post. Today there are several. Here's the first:



You bet it can get congested.

Mission Fiesta

A couple of weeks ago, the sisters extended hospitality to the founders of Mission Fiesta, a group that makes annual trips to Guatemala to host fiestas for children in orphanages, teens in group homes, and seniors. They meet at Mt. Tabor each year to plan the next year's schedule. For more info, see their web @ www.mfiesta.org.

Floyd County Rescue Squad potluck

Sunday, 9/30, the Squad plus families gathered at Mt. Tabor for lunch. Sr. Judy (a member of the squad for three years, see 9/18 post) is center front. Bud just wouldn't put down his banana pudding. It was good.

Close encounters of the reptilian kind

One final bit -- Little dog Sophie (see pic, 9/24) may have saved my life. I was in the guest house doing my laundry when I heard Sophie barking like mad. I thought she was pestering the cats, so I went outside to stop her, and there she was in a fang to fang showdown with what was probably a copperhead. She was barking and lunging and the snake was making a show of striking her. I called her inside, no small task since she's a born fighter, plus the dogs aren't allowed in the houses. She finally did come to me, and I whisked her inside, out the other side of the house, into the Ford, and up the hill to the main house. I say she may have saved my life b/c where the snake was coiled was right where I'd set down the watering can less than an hour before, and I'd planned to keep watering after putting in wash! Sophie's a spoiled girl, but she's a very, very, good, brave, spoiled girl. Thank you, Jesus, for tough little dogs, in particular, one certain Jack Russell terrier.

Coal Mining

Enormous mine, maybe ten square miles, tucked back off the highway. Because people objected to strip mining and mountain top removal, now coal companies simply take down the whole mountain.




Bulldozers push the mountain down into the valley







Sr. Kathleen and others work to stop the destruction of the land

Another view of landfill

People live at the bottom of this. Flooding inevitable.

ATV riders enjoy site

Top of mountain preserved b/c owner's relatives buried there. Rest in peace.

Orange paint indicates blast location


The next ridges to go?


The face of the mountain.
Apparently, the coal companies declare bankruptcy to avoid paying damages. I have more pics if you'd like me to email them to you. In 1963, Harry Caudill wrote Night Comes to the Cumberlands: A Biography of a Depressed Area, which prompted national concern for the Appalachian region. Certainly circumstances improved in many ways in recent decades, but as these pictures show, cause for concern remains. Here's a link to a picture of a coal tipple. http://www.pbase.com/kstuebin/image/40350220