Dear Friends,

Since becoming abbot on July 6 of last year, one of my responsibilities has been to work with our capital campaign and development office team. My job is to present the vision of Mount Angel to prospective donors and to share our plans for ongoing improvements on the hill. This is very easy and exciting for me because the Abbey and Seminary have such a compelling story of God's grace at work.

At the heart of the Abbey is the praying community of monks. Seven times a day we gather with our many friends to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in the Abbey church. In this environment thousands of men and women of faith find a place of spiritual renewal each year. Here we have the opportunity to listen with "the ear of the heart" to God's voice.

From this spiritual center flows our work of priestly formation in Mount Angel Seminary. We have been privileged to educate and form men for the priesthood for 115 years. Never has there been a more critical need than today for well-educated, mature, healthy and holy priests.

During the ups and downs of the last 40 years, Mount Angel Seminary has been continually renewing itself according to the mind of the Church and in response to the needs of contemporary seminarians. This renewal has often been quite difficult but it has been rewarding. The most significant improvements have been in the screening of applicants and the ongoing evaluation of seminarians. Today Mount Angel Seminary has 170 seminarians enrolled in the undergraduate and graduate formation programs from dioceses and religious communities throughout the West.

When I share our vision with prospective donors, with spiritual benefactors, the media and others, I say without hesitation that Mount Angel Abbey is dedicated to the worship of God and to providing pilgrims with a safe and peaceful place for prayer and spiritual renewal. In this environment, the Church has called us to provide a priestly formation program that will supply the People of God with holy and well-formed priests.

To realize our vision requires that Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary establish partnerships with those willing to support us in prayer, with professional expertise, and with finance backing.

St. Benedict had an unusually clear vision of the sacredness of material as well as spiritual things. Following the parable of the talents (Gosepl of St. Matthew ), all gifts - spiritual, monetary, intellectual - are to be offered back to God for the building up of the Kingdom. To accomplish the important work of the Church at Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary, we need to assistance of many talented and faith-filled partners.

May God continue to bless all those who have supported the Abbey and Seminary for so many years. May the Lord of the Harvest bless you a hundred fold.

                                          Abbot Nathan