In Haiti,
where our Community served
(collectively)
for more than forty years,
one would meet vowed religious brothers and sisters who at age seventeen or eighteen
gave their lives to the poor ... now turning seventy and eighty.
They poured themselves out freely every day,
still giving,
still smiling, still joyous.
You will meet these women and men all over the world,
but you will not meet them through social networking,
nor read about them in the mainstream media
or see them on television.
When we left Haiti (through no choice of our own), we did not know where we would end up. The reasons for choosing Hawaii Island were not directly spiritual ones, but owing to our vow of intentional poverty. Wherever we lived, we could not afford a heating bill, an AC bill, a large property tax bill, grocery bills, medical bills, grocery bills. Therefore, we must be able to grow our food years round, have the right soil and right blend of sun and rain, be able to fish (preferably from the sea). Few places on earth meet these criteria.
After we arrived to Polynesia's northernmost islands — the most remote place on earth from any major land mass; at the end of day, near the International Dateline; and far away from the fever of the world — the ministries of the Hermitage grew rapidly. Our agricultural ministry began to require all our waking hours threatening to eclipse the spiritual character of our monastery. By twists and turns, God has sorted our common vocation into two expressions: religious life and farm life.
Hermitage Farm is the scene of our daily labors as we strive in extreme old age to continue as the sisters have for more than half-century. We pray that our spiritual and corporal works of mercy form an organic and balanced whole.
The Hermitage and its farm are all-volunteer organizations registered in the State of Hawaii as a nonprofit public charity. No one in these organizations, including our officers and board, receives any kind of salary or remuneration.
Please contact us if you feel called to help us as a volunteer
or
participate by way of a donation.
Contact information is as follows: