• HOME
  • FEATURES
    • Best Of Cover Shoot
    • Pet Owner’s Stories
    • People
    • Places
    • Issues
    • Remembering
    • Things
    • To Do
  • DEPARTMENTS
    • Finance / Real Estate
      • Financial Articles
      • Top 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold
      • Real Estate
        • Real Estate Experts
        • Articles
    • Attorney Directory
    • Ask the Experts
    • Business
      • Belle Hall Shopping Center
      • Lowcountry Women in Business
      • MP Business
    • Entertainment
      • Golf
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Giving Back
    • Health & Wellness
      • COVID-19 Articles & Resources
    • House & Home
    • Learning
      • Wando High School
    • Love & Marriage
    • Pets
    • Relax & Retire
  • Read Magazine
  • MORE MAGS
    • Charleston Women 👩‍🏫🏢
    • Lowcountry Cuisine 🧀🍷
    • Best of Mt Pleasant Mag 🏆🏆
    • Charleston Women in Real Estate 👩🏘️
    • MP Business Mag 🏢
    • MP Pets 🐶🐱
    • Charleston Independent School Directory 🏫
    • MP Senior Living 👴👵
    • More Mags
      • IOP Mag
      • SI Mag
      • MP Town Hall Magazine
  • OUR TOWN
    • MP Town Hall
    • MP Town Council
  • DIRECTORIES
    • East Cooper Church Directory
    • East Cooper Fitness Directory
    • Local 2019 CPA Tax Directory
    • Mount Pleasant Apartment Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE

Mount Pleasant Magazine

Mount Pleasant Magazine (Mount Pleasant, SC) informs residents and visitors about people, places and happenings around our area.

Shop Belle Hall
  • Best of Mount Pleasant
    • 2021 Best of Mount Pleasant including Previous Years
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Winner Articles
    • 2021 Best of Mount Pleasant Cover Photo Shoot
    • Best Of Magazines
    • Best Of Videos
    • Best Of Party Photos
    • Best Of Plaques
  • Podcast
  • Local Events
  • Our Winners
  • Advertise
    • Advertise With Us
    • Media Kit
    • Video Testimonials
  • MORE
    • MP Neighborhoods
    • East Cooper Online Network
    • Real Estate Experts
    • Attorney Directory
    • News
    • Contact

Honoring Silence:  A Mount Pleasant Resident Goes to Work at Mepkin Abbey

Posted by MPM Leave a Comment

Mepkin By Barbara Gore 1

It is becoming more difficult to escape the outside noise these days. Whether we are at work, at home or out to dinner, the world begs for more of our attention through media – and, in turn, the window of time for doing something meaningful can feel as though it is shrinking away, leaving us with no space for our breath and our thoughts.

More than 10 years ago, Mount Pleasant resident Carole Nicolini, assistant to the director at the St. Francis Retreat Center at Mepkin Abbey, recognized the benefit of a quiet place to foster a relationship with the spiritual world. A new resident of East Cooper at the time and a “cradle Catholic,” Nicolini became a devoted member of Christ Our King Church in Mount Pleasant. One evening, while attending a lecture at the church with friends, she learned about Mepkin Abbey.

“The keynote speaker that evening was Abbot Francis Kline, who was the abbot of Mepkin at the time,” she remembered. “He impressed me with his intellect and his humility. I thought to myself, ‘Once I get settled in South Carolina, I want to know more about Mepkin Abbey.’”

Nicolini answered her first calling to visit the Abbey in the form of assisting its community gardens. She’d recently taken a gardening course through the Clemson University Extension Service and received a list of properties in search of someone with a green thumb and extra time. Nicolini commented that although many other possibilities were on the list, she zeroed in on the Abbey and made immediate plans to volunteer.

“I came here to the gardens and fell in love,” she admitted.

Nicolini’s relationship with her beloved Abbey, now led by Abbot Stan Gumula, has remained fruitful. For about a decade, she volunteered as the bulletin editor in the parish office at Christ Our King and eventually gave her time at the Retreat Center at Mepkin as well. She marveled at how her home church and the Mepkin Abbey communities “helped each other in every way they could,” and made it easier for her to stay in touch. Eventually, she was offered the chance to be on staff at the Retreat Center after about a year of volunteer work.

“I was in awe that I would have such an opportunity,” she said.

Now, many months later, Nicolini has settled into her position, fully embracing the Retreat Center, which was recently remodeled and is frequently booked with individuals looking to escape everyday life. Hospitable and calming, Nicolini struck me as the ideal person for the job when we met; her soft-spoken voice and earnest belief in the importance of quiet time in nature convinced me, as it has convinced others, that such a retreat is worthwhile.

Though the Abbey is Roman Catholic, visitors who book a room at its St. Francis Retreat Center come from all walks of life and all faiths, according to Nicolini. During their scheduled stay – either Friday through Monday or a Monday through Friday – guests can choose to experience either absolute silence or to mingle with others staying at the Center. There are 12 retreat rooms, each with a private bath, and couples are accommodated in adjoining suites. Aside from soaking up the solitude and natural beauty of the landscape, retreat-goers are also invited to participate in prayer sessions each day with the monks. They have simple but tasty meals in the guest refectory, adjacent to where the monks eat. And they can choose to meet with Father Guerric Heckel, director of the Retreat Center and a Trappist monk, who offers what Nicolini called “spiritual guidance.”

While guests of the Retreat Center are able to sleep in, the monks of Mepkin rise every day at 3 a.m. for prayer, Mass and breakfast before beginning their daily duties. The monks work six days a week – mostly agricultural tasks such as growing Mepkin Abbey mushrooms or tending the grounds – and take only Sunday for rest. Nicolini believes that the monks are a major reason peace prevails throughout the Abbey.

“The presence of the monks, who have sacrificed their lives to prayer, make Mepkin Abbey a place of peace with prayers all around,” she mused.

Though Nicolini spends a good bit of her time at the Abbey, she likes coming home to Mount Pleasant – and her son and daughter-in-law, who reside in San Diego, enjoy visiting her as well.

“I love Mount Pleasant,” she remarked heartily. “We have amazing people from all over who make it a strong community.”

______________________________________________

Creche Festival photo provided

Experience Mepkin Abbey during the 2015 Creche Festival from either November 16 to 22 or from November 27 to December 5.

A creche is a representation of the infant Jesus in the manger, typically surrounded by the figures found in a nativity set. Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, animals and shepherds are often included in the scenes. Visitors from around the country flock to Mepkin Abbey for an incredible display of unique, handmade nativity sets from around the world. Mepkin’s Abbey’s Creche Festival is a Lowcountry holiday tradition! The monks transform their conference center into a forest of trees and candles which serve as the backdrop for the Nativity sets.

Reservations are required. Find out more at http://mepkinabbey.org/wordpress/2015-mepkin-abbey-creche-festival/.

 

Story by Denise K. James 

Photo by Barbara Gore. 

Sharing is Caring

Possibly Related:

Mount Pleasant Magazine Managing Editor Teri Griffis and her daughter, Alice.Taking Our Kids to Work A Knox Residential HomeBoxThe Mount Pleasant Police Department’s Reaction to the Pandemic Somerby Mount PleasantSomerby Mount Pleasant: Senior Living at Its Best

Filed Under: Places Tagged With: Nov/Dec 2015

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search the Site


We're on Facebook We're on Twitter Mount Pleasant Magazine Youtube Channel We're on Pinterest Mount Pleasant Magazine Facebook Community We're on Instagram
READ ONLINE
Read the digital magazine now.
GRAB A COPY
Where can I pick up a copy of Mount Pleasant Magazine?
SUBSCRIBE
Get Mount Pleasant Magazine Delivered.
Pamper your pets at Hairy Winston Pet Boutique and Grocery!
McCay Kiddy CPAs & Advisors. More Than Numbers. Welcome to the New Age CPA Firm.
Enter your pet in the East Cooper Favorite Pets Photo Contest
Read Charleston Women Magazine online now.
Mount Pleasant's ONLY source for everything PETS!


Online Magazines

Mount Pleasant

Lifestyle Magazine

Read Isle of Palms

Magazine Online

Read Sullivan's Island

Magazine Online

Take a Bite

Lowcountry Cuisine Magazine

Georgetown, SC. Yummy Day Trips
Isle of Palms Magazine - family of sites logo
Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
North Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
Sullivan's Island Magazine - family of sites logo

Recent Posts

Michael’s Barkery Pet Spa & Boutique: A ‘Paws-i-tive’ Experience

By Colin McCandless Michael’s Barkery Pet Spa & Boutique, winner of Best Pet-friendly Business, may have just turned one last November, but that’s still a wealth of experience in dog years, and … Continue Reading

Southern Belles: A Children’s Clothier, Shop for Family, Feel Like Family

By Ali McCloud More than ever, it’s important to support small businesses within our community. “Local businesses have to work so hard to compete with big-box stores like Amazon and other … Continue Reading

Daniel Island Section

Keeping the Dream of Playing Tennis Alive: The South Carolina Junior Tennis Foundation

Since 1973, South Carolina’s Lowcountry has welcomed players from the Women’s Tennis Association once a year for the annual Volvo Car Open, North America’s largest women-only tennis tournament. … Continue Reading

Truly One-of-a-kind: 369 Ralston Creek Drive

Big cities certainly have advantages – culture, dining, employment opportunities and excitement. But face it: Sometimes people yearn for a peaceful, serene atmosphere where they can relax, raise a … Continue Reading

More Daniel Island Section Posts

SEARCH

Featured Pages

Mount Pleasant Apartments
East Cooper Online Network

Copyright © 2021 · Mount Pleasant Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Advertise With Us.