Social
Concerns
Summer Fellowship
Abbey of Regina Laudis
Location Details
Description
The Abbey of Regina Laudis is a community of contemplative Benedictine women dedicated to the praise of God through prayer and work. We pray for the world through chanting the Liturgy of the Hours and maintain guest houses for people of all faiths seeking the regenerative dynamic of monastic life. Part of this dynamic involves facilitating volunteer experiences on our 400 acres of farm and forest. The vegetable, and flower gardens, orchards and hay fields, cows, sheep, chickens and donkey offer moments of transformative encounter whereby one may grow in right relationship with creation and Creator.
Student Role
A multifaceted work schedule will be devised based on the student’s interests and the needs of the community with regard to the care of the Abbey land and its ministry of hospitality. Working alongside nuns to cultivate our hay fields, gardens and orchards, tending to the cows, sheep, chickens, and donkeys, and wood-splitting may be part of the student’s time. Additionally, students may participate in hospitality work through house maintenance and food preparation such as cheese making and preserving. The student may also assist nuns in facilitating land experiences for guests. The major interactions will be with the religious community and with the earth itself, which Pope Francis has named among the most abandoned and maltreated of the poor. Participating in the work will be guests of all ages and backgrounds, groups visiting for a contemplative land experience, interns here for a year-long experience and practicum students here for a summer experience. Through this shared labor, the land becomes a medium of relationship and self-discovery. He or she will also be engaging with guests by sharing accommodations and family-style meals. Additionally, we invite the student to participate in the prayer of the community through attending daily Mass and the chanting of the Liturgy of the Hours.
Work Schedule
Students will work Monday through Saturday. Morning sheep feeding, barn or garden work takes place from 7-8am. The community then prays the office of Terce followed by Mass (optional) from 8-9. Work resumes roughly from 10am-12pm, when we break for Sext & None prayer (optional), followed by lunch. There is rest time after lunch, then we return to work from 2-4:30pm. From 5-5:30pm we sing Vespers (optional) then supper. Occasionally there will be days of harvesting the hay, when the afternoon work period will stretch into the evening. Other than the hay days, students are free from 7pm onwards, but invited to attend later liturgical offices at night.
Orientation
Beforehand, students will have a conversation via Zoom which will cover any form of preparation needed, and will be met on arrival and given an introduction to the Abbey. There will be on-the-job training as we teach our practices of animal husbandry and land management through instruction, demonstration and application. Students will be shown how to use the tools needed for each task. Students will meet once a week to have a one-on-one conversation with a member of the religious community acting as site supervisor who will listen, answer questions, assist the student in reflecting on her or his goals and experience, and change the work schedule or address any difficulties as needed.
Housing Information
Students will be living in the male or female guest houses on the Abbey grounds. They will probably have their own rooms, with a shared bathroom. There are usually no more than 10 guests at a time. There are around 30 nuns of various ages and backgrounds who live in the monastery and with whom the students will be working. Expectations are that the students engage hospitably with other guests, maintain a peaceful, quiet environment within the guest houses, and attend lunch and supper in the guest dining room.
Spanish Language Proficiency
Not Applicable
Other Language Proficiencies
Occasionally we have guests from other countries, but there is no particular language other than English required for the work. However, familiarity with Latin is helpful for engaging with the litrugy.
Drivers License
If the student has a license and is willing.
Student Preferences
If the student has a license and is willing.
Start And End Dates
Eight consecutive weeks between May 17 and August 16, 2026
Other Comments
We can take men or women, up to 2 students total. It is helpful if the students have some background with physical activity like sports before coming. Because of the physical nature of our work, a student might struggle if they have a history of tendinitis or back injury. A desire to really plunge into monastic culture is helpful. Students drawn to arts or the physical sciences often find an experience of the abbey fruitful, but the diversity of life here offers many entrance points for those from a variety of backgrounds.