An Urgent Appeal for Aid for the New Stjenik Monastery

The following was sent to us by Fr Steven Allen (TOC-Kallinikos) requesting help for the monastery at Novi Stjenik, Serbia. It is clear from the sisters’ appeal that anything we can send can help, and it sounds quite urgent, as basic staples are needed.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Spyridon,

As most of you know, my daughter, Sara Elizabeth, is a novice at Novi Stjenik Monastery in Serbia. The sisters there live in great simplicity, growing their own food and sharing what little they have with others. This winter, as is well known, has been very cold and very snowy in Europe, and the monastery has run out of various supplies earlier than usual. By this time of year, they do usually have to buy some food to supplement the dwindling supplies left from the previous autumn harvest, but this year they have no money left, because they have given everything to the needs of the missionary work of the Church in Serbia.

The monastery blog at http://stjenichanka.blogspot.com/ now has a post about the situation. It’s in Serbian, of course, but I’ve pasted a Google translation below. It’s rough, but you will get the picture.

If you would like to help, you can go to the Donation link on the blog page and follow directions from there, or send a check to me, in my name but memo’ed “Novi Stjenik” or “Serbia”, and I’ll put it in my daughter’s bank account here in Michigan, which the sisters can access with her ATM card in Serbia. Every little bit helps!

My address is

22303 Downing St.
St. Clair Shores, Michigan 48080

May the Lord reward your love with His grace!

with love in Christ,
Fr. Steven

Dear our brothers and sisters,

As you have already sent, past winter was extremely difficult everywhere, including in our sisterhood, rather long, and is still going on. The current winter is not as intense, but still keeps the forest roads by ice and snow. Although the lower regions and cities, heavy snow is completely melted, and already feel close to spring, Kucajske mountains are still covered with snow cover, in places with deep snow drifts and icy, so the third month in a monastery here is completely cut off from the world, inaccessible and to go, and to visit. The only possible contact with civilization is the snowmobile, and it is very difficult and a longer period was blocked.
Our food supplies were approached its end, and most barrels with food, you can see the bottom. Ourselves, will not be possible to restore the monastery’s food supplies, with our modest financial means. Because we currently have no inflow of funds, nor do we have some savings. All existing savings and donations received, we have invested in the construction of monasteries, the recent acquisition Vladičanskih vestments, and all that is necessary for the functioning of our `Bishop Acacius. Most recent contributions’ – we get this winter, we have made ​​to the rear of the dinar in the project of establishing the revivification of the church Lisina, because our church was urgently necessary for the local area, Resava end.

You are my dear brothers and sisters have always participated in the extreme dedication of our efforts, projects, works. That’s why we found the freedom to contact you for help so we could easily divide along our difficulties and necessities.
Do not want this application to help you go to the expense. It is necessary to collect as much as who can basic supplies. Do not go over their forces. Perhaps you have a jar in the hoards of jam, pickles, some lettuce, tomato juice, whatever you may not need this hour, a monastery will be useful, each jar of anything edible. So, that food aid is not just bought groceries, and everyone is given the opportunity to help even with a jar, anything, and everyone will be perfectly fine.

Necessary staples as sugar, salt, oil, pasta, beans, rice, tomato paste, lentils …
Such graciousness of our people, who, one and all, are in difficult circumstances, with low and irregular incomes, love and support that you have encountered, though, and was not absent, it seemed to us like a warm spring sun on vegetation after winter . Indeed, the great God.

That which we are very comforted and encouraged by the above, is the fact that it has followed an unusually strong response of our friends of the monastery – at the request of the sisters for food assistance. Received the first box of food, and to them our pilgrims from afar, you brought in Despotovac, the closest city to the monastery, where the monastery appendage “The Lord looked and heard, and wrote a book of remembrance before Him for those who fear the Lord and that thought upon his name. (Malachi 3, 16).

All your love and mercy toward us unworthy, wrote in the book Lord of Life.
We got calls from our friends, the faithful, who are unable to buy groceries, or to submit it, or are physically too far away, and asked us to that account can be paid in cash – to buy food.

Dinar and foreign currency accounts are at the beginning of our blog, subtitled in where it says DONATION. If someone is so easy to help the monastery, but to search a storage room or go grocery shopping, and can be paid through contributions of food to help, of course, your help is really more than welcome.

Your gratefully in the Lord
New-Stjeničko sisterhood.