Christmas

I spent Christmas at the Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery outside Grahamstown. It’s a branch (do monks use that word?) of the Order of the Holy Cross, an Anglican Benedictine order. It was a restful, quiet, and pleasant, just what you’d imagine Christmas at a monastery to be. I enjoyed the chance to get into the rhythm of the daily office and raid the monks’ library.

The monastery is set amid some beautiful country and during the one brief, non-rainy spell, I ventured outside.