1990s Carmels in UK/Ireland

[Journeywithchrist]

Hello VS! (this is my first post!!!) I was wondering if anyone had a list of the 1990s Carmels in the UK/Ireland. I was under the impression that there was only one (in England),  but I discovered another one by chance (I could be wrong however).

Thank you!

[John Paul]

Praised be Jesus Christ!Welcome to VS!If you read a lot of the carmelite threads you may have heard Chiquitnga she may know but I'll look now for you.

...Hmmmm.....

kirkedge.org.uk

look on the thread for The Discalced Carmelite Nuns - 1990 and 1991 constittutions. Hopefully someone can provide a link.

The Carmelite Nuns of Oxford,UK.

in Ireland ...

I could not find anything sorry.But anyway God Bless You and the Blessed Mother Pray for You

[Journeywithchrist]

Thank you so much! I'll start looking through older threads

[Chiquitunga]

Kirk Edge & St. Helen's

http://www.kirkedge.org.uk/

http://www.carmelite.org.uk/StHelens.html

[Nunsense]

Both of the 1990s' Carmels in the UK, Kirk Edge and St Helen's, are aging communities and at one time they considered merging. They decided against it because neither community wanted to leave their own monastery. Now that St Helen's is closing, it might be that some of those nuns end up at Kirk Edge, but the facilities there aren't really set up for nuns who need special access, as there are many stairs throughout the building. There is a chair lift to some of the cells, but not to the refectory and personally I think it would be very difficult for those who need wheelchair or walker access.

This article talks about the St Helen's closing. I had a lot of trouble copying over the formatting so perhaps it might be easier to read it from the web link.

 

http://www.sthelensreporter.co.uk/news/local/monastery-to-close-due-to-ageing-nuns-ill-health-1-7049468

Monastery to close due to ageing nuns ill health

10:13Wednesday 14 January 2015

 

 

A monastery which has been a fixture in St Helens for more than 100 years is set to close due to the “age and ill health” of its nuns.

Lingering doubts over the future of the Carmelite Monastery in Eccleston were finally confirmed by church leaders this week.

The dwindling number of postulants - just eight at present - has spelled closure for the Green Lane haven of silent prayer and peace following a 100-year mission.

The Carmelite sisters arrived in St Helens from Notting Hill in London in 1914 and settled in Springfield Hall, the former residence of the Cotham and Walmesley families.

The caring nuns soon established a reputation for business acumen in selling homegrown garden produce, Christmas cards, and more importantly, the respect, affection and goodwill of residents.

It is believed that the sisters will be resettled in spring 2015 with the site then potentially earmarked for residential development.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Liverpool said: “It is with great sadness that the Carmelite Sisters announce the closure of their Monastery in Green Lane, Eccleston, St Helens.

“With no new vocations to the Order the Sisters have decided after much prayer, reflection and discernment that because of age and ill health the St Helens community will disperse to other monasteries.

“The St Helens Monastery will close on a date yet to be decided during the coming year 2015.

“The future of the buildings will be determined following the closure. 

“The sisters thank the local community for their prayers and support over many years and promise continued prayer for the people of St Helens in the future.

“They ask that people pray for them during the difficult months that lie ahead.” 

Dedicated disciple Kevin Heneghan said: “Their departure will be a source of great sorrow for both Catholics and the faithful at large. The sisters will be wished ‘God speed’ by all whose lives were enriched by them."

Edited April 9, 2015 by nunsense

[orapronobis]

How are the sisters of kirk edge doing for vocations?

[Nunsense]

How are the sisters of kirk edge doing for vocations?

​Well, maybe Journeywithchrist will enter there since she's interested?  

[Journeywithchrist]

Stranger things have happened!  Please don't anyone hold their breath though, I was only received into the Church a week ago, not exactly ready to enter Carmel just yet!

[Nunsense]

Stranger things have happened!  Please don't anyone hold their breath though, I was only received into the Church a week ago, not exactly ready to enter Carmel just yet!

​Well, welcome to our little family.

[Jennifer]

Welcome to the "phamily "......I'm sure  that you will enjoy the fellowship here.

God bless.!!

[Journeywithchrist]

Thank you!

[beatitude]

Welcome aboard.

I would be careful about getting too wrapped up in the distinctions between 1990 and 1991 Carmels, especially as a new Catholic. I don't think those constitutional differences are a good starting point for religious discernment, as they make it so easy to get caught up in the 'externals' of the life (habit design, type of sandals worn) if you don't already have a relationship with a Carmelite community and a deeper understanding of Carmelite spirituality to help you put the differences in context. That understanding can only be gained through prayer and practice in your day-to-day life, not through reading documents. When I was a teenager discerning my vocation, I was in contact with a Carmelite monastery near me, and a parishioner who had very high regard for a second, more 'traditional' Carmel tried to be persuade me to visit this second Carmel too. One of the things she mentioned was how beautiful the nuns looked in the traditional habit, especially their sleeves. I was only about seventeen at this time, so I didn't know much about the religious life, but I doubted that I should be contacting Carmels on the basis of their sleeves! But it is very easy to get drawn in by these things, especially if they look novel to us.

My advice would be to wait a little while and settle into your life as a Catholic. Perhaps you could make an Advent retreat with a religious community - not necessarily a vocations retreat. Then contact a few monasteries - Kirk Edge, as you're interested in them, another Carmel (perhaps the one closest to you, to keep it simple), and maybe a house from a different religious order. Write to them, learn about their life, find a spiritual director if you can, but most of all take time to grow in your faith. What attracts you as a new convert may not be what attracts you a year or two from now. Look to the deep things that should be the basis of every attraction - prayer, Eucharist, the sacrament of confession, reading the Bible - and you won't go wrong.

[Journeywithchrist]

Thanks for the advice! It's more for research purposes at the minute, I'm just really interested in these Carmels and want to know more about them. I'm not in a position to even think about entering anywhere for a good few years so I just want to learn as much as I can before I'm ready to start reaching out to communities.

Thank you!

[Nunsense]

Thanks for the advice! It's more for research purposes at the minute, I'm just really interested in these Carmels and want to know more about them. I'm not in a position to even think about entering anywhere for a good few years so I just want to learn as much as I can before I'm ready to start reaching out to communities.

Thank you!

​Well, some of them might not be around by the time you get to your decision making. Just keep an eye on any you are interested in and learn as much as you can about them. Some will survive and some won't.

[John Paul]

Welcome to the "phamily "......I'm sure  that you will enjoy the fellowship here.

God bless.!!

​Did you know St.John Eudes said fellowship is prayer so VS must be prayer !

[Nunsense]

I missed Beatitude's post the first time around but have since gone back and read this thread. Her post is excellent and great advice. 

I have lived in both 1990 and 1991 Carmels and I can echo her sentiments that a vocation is about more than just the Constitutions or the habit style. 

Kirk Edge is a difficult community to get to know very well from the outside so if you are still thinking about them in a couple of years and we're both still on phatmass here, shoot me a PM and I will be happy to give you some 'inside' information about them.  

[Antoniette]

St. Helen's did officially close in Feb 2015. Some of the nuns dispersed to nursing homes (religious ones) others are still temporarily placed. It's closing had been considered for a while now. Their extern novice did not stay and their youngest sister was taken by cancer. i believe that pushed the sisters over the edge. it really is a sad time for the surviving sisters, and please include them in your prayers. I don't know how I would handle being vowed to live and die in a house, remaining 10, 20 or even more years and uprooted in my 70's. The sadness is compounded by the fact it was a great prayerful Carmel.

 

[Nunsense]

St. Helen's did officially close in Feb 2015. Some of the nuns dispersed to nursing homes (religious ones) others are still temporarily placed. It's closing had been considered for a while now. Their extern novice did not stay and their youngest sister was taken by cancer. i believe that pushed the sisters over the edge. it really is a sad time for the surviving sisters, and please include them in your prayers. I don't know how I would handle being vowed to live and die in a house, remaining 10, 20 or even more years and uprooted in my 70's. The sadness is compounded by the fact it was a great prayerful Carmel.

 

​It is happening more and more that frail and elderly nuns cannot stay in their own monastery but must go somewhere else for the care and attention they need and that the community can't give them because they are also aging or in poor health. Even the new postulants tend to be older than they used to be, so there just isn't the youth and vitality that is needed to keep elderly sisters at home until they die anymore. In the communities where they have had to send a sister away, they do make every effort to visit the sister as often as possible when they can, but even that isn't easy. 

It can be very difficult for the sister involved but the community also experiences a loss at her absence. I have been in communities where they have tried very hard to keep the infirm sister with them but it has placed an enormous strain on the resources of the rest of the community, especially if they are no longer a large or young community. I know that one sister I nursed (90 years old) dreaded the idea of being forced to leave her 'home' but fortunately the community was able to hire a part-time nurse for the night work and sisters were able to care for her during the day, so she didn't have to leave. But another sister, who suffered from Alzheimer's, became impossible to keep, so they sent her to Sclerder, a Carmelite nursing home in Cornwall. But even that Carmel closed last year and handed over their monastery to Chemin Neuf, an ecumenical Christian community. That is a real shame because another sister where I lived said she wanted to retire there when she got too 'old' (she was 85 at the time she said it!). The news article is here http://www.carmelite.org/index.php?nuc=news&func=view&item=1140 . 

 

The article does say that more sisters are staying at home with their communities, but this hasn't been my experience in the past. Perhaps the future is looking brighter for this kind of thing though.  I think the main problem has been the design and layout of the older monasteries, not being easily accessible for wheelchairs or walkers, but some monasteries are making renovations to solve these problems.