- Oct 30, 2003
- 11,154
- 562
- 42
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
http://www.goanacortes.com/articles/2006/09/13/news/news01.txt
The Simple Life
BY ELAINE WALKER, News editor
Mother Hildegard George, the guest hostess at Our Lady of the Rock Monastery on Shaw Island, poses with Tillie Morrison outside St. Josephs, the monasterys guest house. Morrison, a 2005 graduate of Anacortes High School, spent a year as an intern for the Benedictine nuns. (Photo by Elaine Walker)AHS grad Tillie Morrison embraces service, solitude as intern with Shaw Island nuns
Tillie Morrison wanted to do something different after high school something that made a difference.
So, while her friends headed to college, started jobs or backpacked across Europe, the 19-year-old embarked on a year of quiet contemplation and service on Shaw Island, where she tends cattle, sheep, alpacas and llamas for Benedictine nuns at Our Lady of the Rock monastery.
I love it here. Its so wonderful, Morrison said. Ive learned everything. I dont know where to begin. Animal husbandry more than I could possibly imagine.
A lifelong Anacortes resident, Morrison is interested in veterinary science but had no experience with livestock.
It was nerve-racking at first because I didnt realize how big cattle were, she said.
Now she feeds and milks cows daily and provided other hands-on help. http://adsys.townnews.com/c14266470...ews+middle/682.gif?r=http://www.skagitbiz.comI went through lambing and I pulled a llama out of the mother, Morrison said, her eyes wide at the memory.
The experience has given her insight into more than livestock.
Ive learned a lot about myself, she said. I think I can push myself to do more than I thought I could.
Shes really had to reach down into herself, agreed Morrisons mother, Debbie Moore.
Morrison learned about the monastery from an article in At Home magazine.
Farmland and the dirt road to Our Lady of the Rock Monastery stretch behind Tillie Morrison as she feeds bread to a friendly Highland calf. During her year as an intern at the monasterys 300-acre farm, she tended sheep and llamas, milked cows and worked in the garden. (Photo by Elaine Walker)My mom was looking through it. She knew I didnt want to go to college right away, Morrison said.
Tillie herself wanted to do something that was meaningful, service oriented, Moore said. Through kismet we found out about the Benedictines on Shaw.
Morrison, who is not Catholic, was impressed by the idea of eight women running a 300-acre farm. After her graduation from Anacortes High School in 2005, she met with the nuns and was accepted as an intern with their Land Program. When she committed to staying a year, her friends were surprised.
At first my friends were, Youre going to go live with nuns?, she said.
Im not actually living with them..., she explained. Its cloistered. I cant go beyond that wall.
The nuns home is surrounded by a tall rail fence. A log wall separates their quarters from the chapel, and a barrier across the middle of the chapel signals their separation from the world.
The nuns are not fully cloistered and interact with others. For the first few months Morrison kept quiet in fear of offending them.
At first I didnt know what to say, she said. It took me six months to realize they were normal people. They say normal things and do normal things. Theyre all just making jokes, being funny.
She was highly amused by the sight of nuns driving tractors. She loves shopping with the mothers at Food Pavilion or Costco and watching people do double-takes.
The habit, its like a mind barrier to most people, she said.
The orders precepts include work, worship, hospitality and stewardship.
They believe in prayer through work, Morrison said.
They stop to pray eight times a day Eight services with Gregorian chant, she said. They work then they pray, then they work then they pray.
Morrison works for room and board. She lives quietly at the monasterys guest house, St. Josephs.
Theres no TV, no radio, no newspapers unless I buy them, she said. Theres no McDonalds, no Burger King. Its just forest with people living here.
Shes lived a very minimalist, simple life, Moore said. Shes read more books than shes probably read in her entire life.
Life is quiet, but never boring. Usually theres a loose animal to catch or something else to do.
I love it. Theres always something happening, she said.
Morrison enjoys long walks in the forest. She occasionally visits her parents in Anacortes or catches a movie at Friday Harbor. Before the internship, she volunteered with Key Club but never held a regular job.
Its my first real job and its really eye-opening, she said.
Morrison learned how healthy animals behave and what to do if somethings wrong. She enjoyed it, even through 45 straight days of rain last winter. She said the work wont wait.
The animals are still hungry, even if its freezing cold, she said.
Morrison watched a guest milk cows for a few weeks, then asked to be taught. She said it seems odd, but she enjoys milking.
Its not exciting, like, Woo! Im going to milk a cow. Its really meditative and calming and a good way to end your day, she said.
The nuns make cheese and butter from the milk. Mother Prioress delivers milk on the island.
The nuns are devoted to preserving minor breeds such as Kerry cattle, Scottish Highland cattle and Cotswold sheep. They also have alpacas, fiber-producing llamas and gentle male llamas for 4-H projects. Morrison said alpaca fleece is particularly soft.
Mother Hildegard shears them. I learned to spin from Mother Mary Grace, she said.
The mothers divide responsibilities: Mother Prioress heads the monastery and specializes in chickens and cows. Mother Martina does laundry. Mother Caterina cooks. Mother Dilecta milks cows and gardens. Mother Felicitas tends the herb garden and makes herbal products. Mother Mary Grace makes habits and Mother Ruth cares for some of them. Mother Hildegard George is guest hostess and tends sheep, alpacas and llamas.
Morrison works in the vegetable and herb gardens, helps bottle herbs and works with the sheep. She has Saturday afternoons and Sundays off, but must milk every day except Thursday.
The nuns raise most of their own food, including poultry, vegetables and herbs. They sell handmade items from a corner of St. Josephs and at Shaw Islands Christmas bazaar to help support the monastery. They sell fleece from llamas and alpacas and raw fleeces, battings, spun wool and hides from Cotswold sheep. They also offer homemade items such as jewelry, candy mustard, herbal tea and vinegar, and Gregorian chant CDs.
Morrison attends Mass six mornings a week.
I dont think shed even been to a Catholic service before she arrived on Shaw, Moore said.
At first she didnt know what the Latin service meant, but the nuns made her feel welcome.
They dont make you feel like an outsider, Morrison said.
One of the mothers explained that they dont bring strife into the chapel.
If theres something chaotic going on they just leave it at the door. Theyre just there to pray, Morrison said.
Since Our Lady of the Rock was founded in 1977, interns have come from around the world. Mother Hildegard said Morrison has been outstanding.
In 30 years, shes probably up there in the top three or four, she said.
Eager to learn and eager to correct her mistakes, Morrison gets along with everyone, from young 4-H members to the islands senior citizens, Mother Hildegard said.
She has great enthusiasm for life, which is very refreshing..., she said. She has a wonderful, cheerful outlook. I told her mom shell be successful at whatever she does.
This weekend Morrison finishes her internship by taking six sheep to the Evergreen State Fair with Mother Hildegard. The nuns will be sorry to see her go.
Were going to really miss her, Mother Hildegard said.
Moore said her daughter feels the same way.
She adores the mothers that live at Our Lady of the Rock. Just adores them, she said. They have been good to her and she has been very good to them.
Morrison plans to attend Skagit Valley College and eventually WSU. She said returning to Anacortes will be a big adjustment.
Its going to be a culture shock in a way. Its like fast-paced, she said.
She has appreciated her glimpse into another world.
I feel like Ive stepped back in time, she said. Its really nice. I like to walk. I like to breathe in the peace. Thats what Ill miss most. That and the mothers.
The Simple Life
BY ELAINE WALKER, News editor
Tillie Morrison wanted to do something different after high school something that made a difference.
So, while her friends headed to college, started jobs or backpacked across Europe, the 19-year-old embarked on a year of quiet contemplation and service on Shaw Island, where she tends cattle, sheep, alpacas and llamas for Benedictine nuns at Our Lady of the Rock monastery.
I love it here. Its so wonderful, Morrison said. Ive learned everything. I dont know where to begin. Animal husbandry more than I could possibly imagine.
A lifelong Anacortes resident, Morrison is interested in veterinary science but had no experience with livestock.
It was nerve-racking at first because I didnt realize how big cattle were, she said.
Now she feeds and milks cows daily and provided other hands-on help. http://adsys.townnews.com/c14266470...ews+middle/682.gif?r=http://www.skagitbiz.comI went through lambing and I pulled a llama out of the mother, Morrison said, her eyes wide at the memory.
The experience has given her insight into more than livestock.
Ive learned a lot about myself, she said. I think I can push myself to do more than I thought I could.
Shes really had to reach down into herself, agreed Morrisons mother, Debbie Moore.
Morrison learned about the monastery from an article in At Home magazine.
Tillie herself wanted to do something that was meaningful, service oriented, Moore said. Through kismet we found out about the Benedictines on Shaw.
Morrison, who is not Catholic, was impressed by the idea of eight women running a 300-acre farm. After her graduation from Anacortes High School in 2005, she met with the nuns and was accepted as an intern with their Land Program. When she committed to staying a year, her friends were surprised.
At first my friends were, Youre going to go live with nuns?, she said.
Im not actually living with them..., she explained. Its cloistered. I cant go beyond that wall.
The nuns home is surrounded by a tall rail fence. A log wall separates their quarters from the chapel, and a barrier across the middle of the chapel signals their separation from the world.
The nuns are not fully cloistered and interact with others. For the first few months Morrison kept quiet in fear of offending them.
At first I didnt know what to say, she said. It took me six months to realize they were normal people. They say normal things and do normal things. Theyre all just making jokes, being funny.
She was highly amused by the sight of nuns driving tractors. She loves shopping with the mothers at Food Pavilion or Costco and watching people do double-takes.
The habit, its like a mind barrier to most people, she said.
The orders precepts include work, worship, hospitality and stewardship.
They believe in prayer through work, Morrison said.
They stop to pray eight times a day Eight services with Gregorian chant, she said. They work then they pray, then they work then they pray.
Morrison works for room and board. She lives quietly at the monasterys guest house, St. Josephs.
Theres no TV, no radio, no newspapers unless I buy them, she said. Theres no McDonalds, no Burger King. Its just forest with people living here.
Shes lived a very minimalist, simple life, Moore said. Shes read more books than shes probably read in her entire life.
Life is quiet, but never boring. Usually theres a loose animal to catch or something else to do.
I love it. Theres always something happening, she said.
Morrison enjoys long walks in the forest. She occasionally visits her parents in Anacortes or catches a movie at Friday Harbor. Before the internship, she volunteered with Key Club but never held a regular job.
Its my first real job and its really eye-opening, she said.
Morrison learned how healthy animals behave and what to do if somethings wrong. She enjoyed it, even through 45 straight days of rain last winter. She said the work wont wait.
The animals are still hungry, even if its freezing cold, she said.
Morrison watched a guest milk cows for a few weeks, then asked to be taught. She said it seems odd, but she enjoys milking.
Its not exciting, like, Woo! Im going to milk a cow. Its really meditative and calming and a good way to end your day, she said.
The nuns make cheese and butter from the milk. Mother Prioress delivers milk on the island.
The nuns are devoted to preserving minor breeds such as Kerry cattle, Scottish Highland cattle and Cotswold sheep. They also have alpacas, fiber-producing llamas and gentle male llamas for 4-H projects. Morrison said alpaca fleece is particularly soft.
Mother Hildegard shears them. I learned to spin from Mother Mary Grace, she said.
The mothers divide responsibilities: Mother Prioress heads the monastery and specializes in chickens and cows. Mother Martina does laundry. Mother Caterina cooks. Mother Dilecta milks cows and gardens. Mother Felicitas tends the herb garden and makes herbal products. Mother Mary Grace makes habits and Mother Ruth cares for some of them. Mother Hildegard George is guest hostess and tends sheep, alpacas and llamas.
Morrison works in the vegetable and herb gardens, helps bottle herbs and works with the sheep. She has Saturday afternoons and Sundays off, but must milk every day except Thursday.
The nuns raise most of their own food, including poultry, vegetables and herbs. They sell handmade items from a corner of St. Josephs and at Shaw Islands Christmas bazaar to help support the monastery. They sell fleece from llamas and alpacas and raw fleeces, battings, spun wool and hides from Cotswold sheep. They also offer homemade items such as jewelry, candy mustard, herbal tea and vinegar, and Gregorian chant CDs.
Morrison attends Mass six mornings a week.
I dont think shed even been to a Catholic service before she arrived on Shaw, Moore said.
At first she didnt know what the Latin service meant, but the nuns made her feel welcome.
They dont make you feel like an outsider, Morrison said.
One of the mothers explained that they dont bring strife into the chapel.
If theres something chaotic going on they just leave it at the door. Theyre just there to pray, Morrison said.
Since Our Lady of the Rock was founded in 1977, interns have come from around the world. Mother Hildegard said Morrison has been outstanding.
In 30 years, shes probably up there in the top three or four, she said.
Eager to learn and eager to correct her mistakes, Morrison gets along with everyone, from young 4-H members to the islands senior citizens, Mother Hildegard said.
She has great enthusiasm for life, which is very refreshing..., she said. She has a wonderful, cheerful outlook. I told her mom shell be successful at whatever she does.
This weekend Morrison finishes her internship by taking six sheep to the Evergreen State Fair with Mother Hildegard. The nuns will be sorry to see her go.
Were going to really miss her, Mother Hildegard said.
Moore said her daughter feels the same way.
She adores the mothers that live at Our Lady of the Rock. Just adores them, she said. They have been good to her and she has been very good to them.
Morrison plans to attend Skagit Valley College and eventually WSU. She said returning to Anacortes will be a big adjustment.
Its going to be a culture shock in a way. Its like fast-paced, she said.
She has appreciated her glimpse into another world.
I feel like Ive stepped back in time, she said. Its really nice. I like to walk. I like to breathe in the peace. Thats what Ill miss most. That and the mothers.
