Wind River has long been in partnership with the Benedictine Sisters in Bristow, Virginia, supporting their mission with friendship, funds, and local connections. In addition to inspiring harmony through their non-profit ministries, spiritual direction and ESL classes, the Sisters also share their grounds with the community as a place of peace for prayer.
“I worry quite a bit,” Sister Andrea Verchuck says, “about the anxiety that we find in our young people of this day...I wish they could somehow learn how a peaceful, non-hectic life can help them to be less anxious.” The Benedictine Sisters have declared their grounds a place of peace, open to all. Those who wish to visit need only ring the doorbell and ask permission to walk the grounds.
The Sisters also maintain St. Andrew's Cemetery, a portion of the monastery's burial grounds set aside for the very smallest miscarried babies. Grieving parents often struggle to find places to bury these tiniest of children, and the Sisters have made space for over 600 babies, a powerful ministry to grieving families.
Another unique feature of the monastery's grounds are two “prayer silos.” When the property was being renovated, the plan was to demolish these original farm silos. But the structures are large and sturdy, and the cost to destroy them was prohibitive. Instead, the structures were painted white and the roofs were removed, creating a musical space for spoken and sung prayers. In the silos, a single voice echoes and reverberates, amplifying whatever prayers are raised. Inspiring harmony, indeed!
