Donations sought for Bridgewater Township monastery after fire destroys church

Photo of fire damage from the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America’s website: www.ROEA.org.

The church at the Monastery of the Ascension of the Lord, a 53-acre religious community on Sheridan Road north of the village of Clinton, was destroyed by fire around noon on Friday, August 12, 2016. No one was injured. According to the Daily Telegram, fire departments from Manchester Township, Saline, Clinton, Tecumseh, Sand Lake, and Ridgeway Township fire departments worked to douse the flames. The cause of the fire is as yet unknown.

This monastic community belongs to the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America. Archbishop Nathaniel, Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate, traveled to the monastery to be with the monastic community immediately following the fire.

The Episcopate is collecting donations to support the monks in their struggles to recover after the fire. You can donate by mailing a check to the Diocesan Administrative offices at ROEA, PO box 309, Grass Lake, MI 49240-0309. Note “Ascension Monastery Fire” on your check.  The total collected will be distributed to the monastery.

The monastic community was established in the early 2000’s.

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by Fritz Swanson

Fritz Swanson has written for The Believer, the Christian Science Monitor, Print Magazine, McSweeney's, Esopus, LSA Magazine, and The Mid-American Review. He serves as a trustee on the Manchester District Library Board. He's the designer and publisher of The Manchester Mirror.

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