Suzie’s Aunt Ellen is an Episcopal nun. Until I met Suzie and Ellen, I didn’t know there were Episcopal nuns, nor that there was any kind of monastic tradition left in American religious groups. But Ellen is living in a convent, called the Order of St. Helena, which recently relocated to a beautiful, calm piece of property in North Augusta, South Carolina, just across the river from the more famous Augusta, Georgia, with its golf and all.
The convent consists of a large central building containing the chapel, dining hall, and administrative offices; separate cottages/houses for the sisters; and a guest house containing eight individual (single) rooms and a large kitchen/common area. We stayed in the guest house for two nights.
The facilities are new, and distinctly modern in design, resulting in an interior that is clean and filled with light.
When we arrived on Saturday evening, we were invited to afternoon prayers, which consisted of the sisters signing/chanting verses from the Psalms in a “call-and-response” fashion. Very simple and moving. After the military ceremonies at Fort Benning, the crowded hustle-and-bustle of Atlanta, and the hordes of Bull-dawg fans in Athens, it was a calming and soothing relief.
Today we spent the day in and around Augusta. A morning visit to the Waffle House (!), followed by a walk along the river downtown:
From there Suzie did a search and found the Savannah Rapids Park, another beautiful spot along the Savannah River and the historic Augusta Canal:
The Savannah River at the Augusta Canal locks
The Savannah River at the Augusta Canal locks
The next spot we found was in some ways even more beautiful and interesting: The Phinizy Swamp Park. Elevated wooden trails took us over a swamp adjacent to the river south of Augusta. We saw waterfowl, turtles, flowers, and these unusual things, which Ellen called “Cypress Knees“:
We finished the day with a remarkably excellent (and inexpensive) Mexican dinner in North Augusta. Yum.
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