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Update from JMTM Operations Manager
May 8, 2008
I've just returned from a few days at Little Portion to help with the work of setting up the office space in the temporary Common Center, which is now located in a vacant family hermitage. The computers are in place, a telephone system was installed, and a temporary internet connection is now working. Boxes of CDs have arrived to replace lost inventory.
Photos of the damage are wholly inadequate to convey the scope of the disaster. Even now, more than a week after the blaze, there is a sharp odor and tingling sensation in the nose when approaching the burn site. Many in the community still have bronchial irritation. Due to the ongoing investigation by fire department officials, we are still not allowed into the rubble to check the contents of our fireproof filing cabinets and safe. I was told that it is not likely that anything is left even there.
The community members are amazingly resilient and are busy getting back to business, while continuing their daily monastic routine of work and prayer. Daily prayers and Mass are held in the Portiuncula Chapel which was constructed of stone a few years ago, and the noon meal is served in the temporary Common Center. The farm, gardens, and animals were not affected by the blaze, and farm operations have continued. Monday morning, as usual, a truckload of frozen chickens was delivered to buyers a few hours away.
John Michael and the ministry team are in Canada, at the beginning of a nearly month-long tour of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The community felt that the tour should go on as scheduled, that it is important for all of the ministries of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity to continue in full swing.
Donations continue to come in from all directions. Our dear friends at Oregon Catholic Press notified me yesterday of a substantial donation that is on the way from their offices. Friends and fans from all over the world have logged on to John's website and donated generously. Members of the news media have been kind to help spread the word of our tragedy and our need, and I have received hundreds of e-mails with promises of prayers.
We treasure our supporters, donors, friends, and fans who have come forward to help. Please know that the community prays for you daily.
Jim Cosgrove
Operations Manager
John Michael Talbot Ministries |
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