Programs and Events
of the Mount Angel Institute

What Can Monasticism Offer the Church Today?
A Dialogue Between Two Abbots

April 23 | 10:30-11:30am
Mount Angel Library

Join us for a special morning of dialogue between Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, of Mount Angel Abbey, and Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Eparch of the St. Nicholas Eparchy in Chicago. The two abbots will discuss what monasticism can offer the Church and the world today!

Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, is the 12th abbot of Mount Angel Abbey, elected by the community in March of 2016. Abbot Jeremy made his first profession in the community on September 8, 1974, and was ordained a priest in 1981. During his years in the community, Fr. Jeremy taught theology at Mount Angel Seminary and at Sant’ Anselmo in Rome. As Abbot, he continues to teach a class each semester at Mount Angel. He also continues to serve on various Vatican commissions, conducts conferences and retreats throughout the United States (and beyond), and continues to write and publish.

Bishop Benedict is a monastic and former hegumen of Univ Holy Dormition Lavra in Ukraine and holds degrees in medicine and business, and a PhD in theology from Lublin Catholic University. In 2010, he was appointed Auxiliary-Eparch of Lviv and in 2017 was appointed as Eparch of Chicago. Bishop Benedict is the author of several books.

Investing for Catholics –
A Path to Prudent & Faith-Consistent Investing

with Mary Brunson
April 27 | 3:30-5 pm
Mount Angel Library

“The decision to invest in one place rather than another, in one productive sector rather than another, is always a moral and cultural choice.”
– Pope Saint John Paul II, Centesimus annus

What does prudent Catholic investing look like? How might you implement it for yourself? your diocese? your parish? your apostolate?

Join us for a special speaker event with Catholic faith-based investing expert Mary Brunson, co-founder and vice president of Investing for Catholics.

In this highly informative lecture, you will learn the sources of expected investment returns, in general, and how prudent Catholics can invest.

Mary Brunson is a vice president and wealth advisor (Series 65) at Index Fund Advisors, Inc., as well as the co-founder of Investing for Catholics, a division of Index Fund Advisors, Inc. She is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) and considered a respected speaker, author, and authority on developing sound investment policy for prudent investing for Catholic organizations and individuals. Brunson provides fiduciary advice and institutional wealth services to Catholic organizations, including religious orders, archdioceses, dioceses, endowments, and foundations.

Brunson is the co-author of Tending the Flock: Shepherding Catholic Retirement Plans, and author of numerous articles and papers, including papers co-authored with IFA founder and CEO Mark Hebner and Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Harry Markowitz, titled “Can You Do Well While Doing Good?” and “Does Portfolio Theory Work During Financial Crises?” Brunson is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Orange Catholic Foundation and is the head of the foundation’s investment committee. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Catholic Charities of Orange County, and a member of its finance committee. Additionally, Brunson is a former board member for the Magis Institute, spearheaded by Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, and is the former National Chair of the Spirituality Commission for the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW). Brunson is a graduate of University of California, Irvine.

Accredited Investment FiduciaryTM (AIF®) certification is a designation received upon passing course work and exam administered by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, LLC (a Fiduciary 360 company. )

Love Calls Us Here

A book launch with Chris Anderson
May 4 | 6:30-7:30 pm
Mount Angel Library

In the poems of Deacon Chris Anderson’s new book of poetry, Love Calls Us Here, just published by Wildhouse Press of Boston, the divine always meets us in the real world. Here and now. In those everyday moments when something stirs within us, a reality we can’t quite put into words. The quiet poems of this collection invite us to enter this mystery, offering us glimpses of a beauty we never expected. They help us taste the love hidden in our lives – to dare joy and risk hope in these difficult times.

These poems – careful observations, graces and insights quietly shared – will awaken readers to do something of the same; that is, to notice in any given day as much as we possibly can, things large and small, and to realize we are immersed in a world of wondrous gifts.
–Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, OSB

Chris Anderson is a Catholic deacon, poet, and emeritus professor of English at Oregon State University. He has a BA in English from Gonzaga University, an MA and Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington, and a Masters in Theology from Mount Angel Seminary. He has written, co-written, or edited 14 previous books.

On the Trinity: An Organ Concert

with Dr. Charles Tompkins
June 1 | 3 pm
Abbey Church

Dr. Charles Tompkins is Distinguished University Organist and Professor of Music Emeritus at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, where as a member of the music faculty from 1986 to 2022 he taught organ, harpsichord, music theory, and church music. He also oversaw the design and installation of the magnificent Hartness Organ, a 3-manual, 42-stop instrument by C.B. Fisk of Gloucester, Massachusetts, (Opus 121) in the university’s Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel. Following his retirement from teaching last December, Dr. Tompkins began a new position as Distinguished University Organist, in which he provides organ and harpsichord continuo accompanying for the university’s outstanding choirs (Furman Singers, Furman Chamber Choir, and Belle Voci Women’s Chorale); directs Furman’s yearly Hartness Organ Recital Series; and plays for university convocations and services. He also plays for numerous weddings each year in Daniel Chapel. 

An acclaimed performer, Dr. Tompkins remains an active organ recitalist, presenting programs at universities and churches throughout the United States, often in conjunction with masterclasses and lectures. He was a featured recitalist for the June 2023 American Guild of Organists Southeast Region convention in Augusta, Georgia. Dr. Tompkins also continues his career-long work as a church musician through his current positions with two historic Greenville congregations. As organist of First Baptist Church, Greenville, he presides each Sunday morning over the largest pipe organ in South Carolina, an 86-stop instrument by Casavant Freres Ltée. As Artist in Residence for Greenville’s Christ Church (Episcopal), he plays for a series of Sunday afternoon Evensongs and other special services, as well as for the 10:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist, performing on both a 65-rank Goulding and Wood pipe organ and an 80-stop Cornell Zimmer/Walker Technical digital organ.

Klavierübung, Part III, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

• Prelude in E-flat, BWV 552
• Three settings of the Chorale “Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr” (“All Glory be to God on High”), BWV 675-677
• Alternatively: Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit, BWV 669; Christ, aller Welt trost, BWV 670; Kyrie, Gott Heiliger Geist, BWV 671
• Fugue in E-flat, BWV 552

Intermission

Sonata in B-flat, Opus 65 No. 4, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

• Allegro con brio
• Andante religioso
• Allegretto
• Allegro maestoso e vivace

Postlude pour l’Office de Complies, Jehan Alain (1911-1940)

Air (from Suite No. 1 for Organ, CN 19), Florence Price (1887-1953)

Finale (from Organ Sonata No. 1, CN 29), Florence Price (1887-1953)

Fellowship: Ecumenical Encounters

June 15 | 9 am – 5 pm
Mount Angel Library

Join us for a day of ecumenical fellowship, dialogue, and communion, focused on the Paschal Mystery and the Word of God, with lectures led by Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, OSB. The Mount Angel Institute desires to promote a spirituality of communion among Christian groups, centered on the transformative good news of the Gospel.

*All events will be held in the library auditorium, unless otherwise noted. The cost for the day is $30.00, which you can pay at the door by cash or check. Email the MAI Coordinator for registration.

Bach: Ascension Oratorio

Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Period Orchestra
June 29 | 3:00 pm
Mount Angel Abbey church

The Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Period Orchestra explore the universal human experiences of grief, healing, acceptance, and joy. Join “exuberant” conductor (Gramophone) John Butt for an emotional journey, from the opening text of BWV 21 – “I had much grieving in my heart” – to the lively, trumpet-dominated choruses and exquisite vocal solos of Bach’s “Ascension” Oratorio.

J.S Bach: Cantata: Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 2i
J.S. Bach: “Ascension Oratorio,” BWV 11

OBF Chorus
OBF Period Orchestra
John Butt, conductor

To reserve seats, please see University of Oregon event calendar.

Beginning Intensive Iconography Retreat

with the Classical Iconography Institute

July 7 – 12, 2024

Please see Classical Iconography Institute’s website for course fees and registration, or call Christine Thum Schlesser at 503.710.8800.
Registration deadline: June 7, 2024.

The Classical Iconography Institute returns to Mount Angel with class sessions organized around the Liturgy of the Hours and monastic mealtimes. Beginning students start the program by first writing The Mandylion (Holy Face of Christ).

Classical Iconography Institute is dedicated to training iconographers capable of writing liturgical icons for the Church. The Institute continues the legacy of the Iconographic Arts Institute, founded at Mount Angel Abbey in 1987, which focused on the most ancient tradition and methods of sacred iconography from instruction by master iconographers. In 2022, the Iconographic Arts Institute nonprofit experienced a change in leadership and a new location, expanding its scope to year-round traditional instruction in sacred iconography. Classical Iconography Institute’s teaching studio is currently at the Holy Rosary Parish campus in Portland, Oregon.

Saint Benedict Festival 2024
Feast | Pray | Meet the Monks

Noon Prayer to Vespers | Saturday, July 13

The Saint Benedict Festival at Mount Angel Abbey begins with midday prayer with the monks in the Abbey church, followed by a leisurely buffet picnic on the Abbey lawn. Experience classic Benedictine hospitality, live music, and good conversation with friends and family. Deepen your understanding of the Benedictine way of life through the special events of the afternoon:

• The Abbey Experience booth provides a glimpse into the cloister.
• An iconography exhibit in the library foyer portrays art and prayer.
• A selection of the Abbey’s illuminated manuscripts is a glimpse of ancient monastic prayer.
• Enjoy Benedictine Brewery beer and local Oregon wines.
• Visit the Abbey’s bookstore and coffeehouse.

The afternoon closes with a procession with the monks, chanting the litany of St. Benedict and carrying a statue of St. Benedict into the church before vespers.

Find more information and ticket form on the Saint Benedict Festival web page!

Children’s Book Club: The Little Way of a Pilgrim

July 20 | 3-4:00 pm
Mount Angel Library

Join us for a family afternoon and book reading with monks and Jennifer Anna Rich, author of the children’s book, The Little Way of a Pilgrim.

Travel alongside our pilgrim in this whimsically illustrated retelling of the Russian classic, The Little Way of a Pilgrim. Here is a serious adventure poised to embed the love of the Jesus Prayer in the hearts of children and their bedtime readers alike. As he sets his curious feet forward, our pilgrim is tenacious in his quest for prayer. His winding path leads him into a deep love for all creation, offers tools to overcome anxious thoughts, and reveals surprisingly simple ways of experiencing the joy of being with God.

There will be snacks and beverages for children and wine and cheese for the adults. Along with the reading, there will also be activities such as coloring and drawing.

Please Note: A parent or guardian must be present during the book reading and all activities.

Abbey Back Festival

July 24, 25, & 26, 2024
and a Children’s Concert Saturday morning, July 27

We have a very exciting program planned for this summer that promises to continue with surprises. Johann Sebastian Bach has influenced composers and musicians throughout Western music for more than 300 years. Join us on our inviting Willamette Valley hilltop for an evening with Bach concerts in the church, a delicious picnic buffet, and feature concerts hinting at Bach’s influence. And, the Friday night surprise – a jazz concert – Bach to Gershwin!

Daily Festival Schedule

5:20 pm           Vespers
6 pm                Church concert
6:30 pm           Picnic buffet supper
8 pm                Feature concert

Please see the Abbey Bach Festival page for full details for the evening concerts, July 24, 25, and 26, as well as the Children’s Concert with Alon Goldstein and the Guy Mintus Trio on Saturday morning, July 27.