"Monk"

Three Rivers, MI, USA
male, age 57
single
Speaks: English, Trappist sign
Joined Feb 14, 2006

more about Aelred G. »

I have been in the monastery most of my life, entering less than two years after my nervous breakdown in the Gulf of Tonkin helped me realize that it was time for me to make my own decisions about life, rather than just doing what others wanted me to do.

I was reared Baptist in small town USA when Eisenhower was president and kids rode bikes everywhere and every neighborhood had drug stores and grocery stores as well as factories (a world that seemed eternal and now seems gone for good).

I went through my agnostic phase, then discovered a spiritual hunger that waxed and waned, perhaps best described as my agnostic/Buddhist phase.

When I decided that I had best return to my roots before I rejected them, I found my home in the Anglican tradition, although I was very active in the Newman Club & did consider becoming a Roman Catholic and joining a Trappist monastery. The fit between St. Gregory's and me seemed right and here I am.

I was appointed Novice Master in 1982 (responsible for training newcomers) & Prior in 1989 (assistant superior). In 1992 I was ordained to the priesthood to minister to the monastic community. In 1992 I was ordained to the priesthood to minister to the monastic community. I am also responsible for the choir and the ceremonial in church (where we spend a lot of our day).

It's a great life if you can stand it!