Sr Mary Catharine OP Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 http://www1.cbn.com/video/experiencing-the-light-this-advent-season#Embed%20Video <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://cbn.com/tv/embedplayer.aspx?bcid=4621799741001" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feankie Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Lovely video! Are you selling the candles? How wonderful that this mostly Evangelical Christian station would have you on to explain the candles and the wreath. The times they are a changin :)) Not too long ago they would have demonized anything to do with the Roman Catholics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr Mary Catharine OP Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 1 hour ago, Francis Clare said: Lovely video! Are you selling the candles? How wonderful that this mostly Evangelical Christian station would have you on to explain the candles and the wreath. The times they are a changin :)) Not too long ago they would have demonized anything to do with the Roman Catholics. That's what we said! They do a lot of Catholic stories! Yes, we sell Advent candles but we are sold out for this year! We couldn't keep up! It's too bad that Sr. Maria Johanna wasn't shown more because she now makes most of them. We're looking into ways that are compatible with our life to increase production. Using 100% beeswax is a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I'm glad to see that on that channel. If you sell enough candles, you can renovate the monastery. So now all you need is more novices to make more candles. But wait, you need more room in the monastery to receive more novices. Oy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 2 hours ago, Gabriela said: I'm glad to see that on that channel. If you sell enough candles, you can renovate the monastery. So now all you need is more novices to make more candles. But wait, you need more room in the monastery to receive more novices. Oy. A catch-22. I'm sure the Holy Spirit will provide! Lovely video about the candles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 12 hours ago, Sr Mary Catharine OP said: Using 100% beeswax is a challenge. My sisters had the same experience. Pure beeswax makes for very floppy candles. They started adding a tiny bit of paraffin wax and that solved the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feankie Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I went ahead and ordered a few of the plain beeswax candles. Perhaps I'll remember to order the Advent candles early next year :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IgnatiusofLoyola Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 (edited) I tried my best. I posted about the Summit Dominican Advent Candles twice (at least I think it was twice--if it was once, forgive me.) Sister Mary Catharine--At least for the Advent candles, do you feel it would be misleading about your candles being "nun-made" if you had volunteers help you out? I suspect the most delicate parts of the operation would still need to be made by the Sisters, because they have become so expert, so it wouldn't be totally misleading. I know that very easy to suggest "use volunteers" but often much less easy to recruit and train volunteers. Also (as I understand it) your candle workroom is in the cloistered part of the monastery, and I don't know if using volunteers from outside the Community would cause issues with that. Maybe after the workrooms are renovated, there will be ways to more easily "split up" the process so that volunteers could do one part of the process while the nuns do another. For example, when you have more room, perhaps you will find that you have another postulant/novice/Junior who is a "natural" at making the candles themselves, but volunteers could help with packing, mailing, etc. At least with Advent candles there are fewer decisions to make regarding color, size, etc--you seem to have developed a very good design. (Of course I may be totally wrong about this--for all I know you are getting lots of requests with very good ideas for different types of Advent candles.) Not sure why I wrote this idea, because I'm sure you have thought of all this already. I try my best to help promote the Summit Dominicans' products without being too obnoxious about it. (I try to create threads that Phatmassers can easily ignore if they want). I almost feel guilty about posting about your Advent candles this year since you have run out. Fact is, I feel VERY useless in general, and I worked in marketing for a number of years, so helping to sell a product I love that helps a cause I believe in comes naturally to me. Later thought for Sister Mary Catharine: Last note: Your interview with the 700 Club was PERFECT for an Evangelical audience. You stressed Jesus and other concepts that would be familiar and comfortable. Just by wearing a habit and showing your rosary, you did not play down the fact that you are a nun, but you didn't emphasize it so much that Evangelicals would be uncomfortable. Your interview was masterful, and I suspect that you thought more about the exact words you would use than most people would recognize. My respect for you has increased even more. Edited November 25, 2015 by IgnatiusofLoyola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I just watched you video, which was lovely. It's nice to be able to put a face to a name! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr Mary Catharine OP Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Thanks so much Iggy! The crew was really wonderful and just loved being here. I must say they edited it so that it would fit an evangelical audience. I did try to speak in a way that be understandable to anyone listening and not just Catholics. They specifically asked me to pray the Rosary. That wee shot took about 20 minutes! :-) There was lots of other stuff they filmed but didn't use. As for volunteers, that wouldn't necessarily be an issue but the taper making is sort of a one-nun job. And there is no room! When Sr. Maria Johanna and I are working we keep bumping into each other! And we usually have pots of wax in our hands! Unlike soap, candles are not very forgiving. We are looking into ways to increase production. The most obvious is dipping but the time factor isn't compatible with our monastic life as lived here at Summit. We're looking into increasing the number of molds and a small shed to move operations to. We'll see.....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 2 hours ago, Sr Mary Catharine OP said: Thanks so much Iggy! The crew was really wonderful and just loved being here. I must say they edited it so that it would fit an evangelical audience. I did try to speak in a way that be understandable to anyone listening and not just Catholics. They specifically asked me to pray the Rosary. That wee shot took about 20 minutes! :-) There was lots of other stuff they filmed but didn't use. As for volunteers, that wouldn't necessarily be an issue but the taper making is sort of a one-nun job. And there is no room! When Sr. Maria Johanna and I are working we keep bumping into each other! And we usually have pots of wax in our hands! Unlike soap, candles are not very forgiving. We are looking into ways to increase production. The most obvious is dipping but the time factor isn't compatible with our monastic life as lived here at Summit. We're looking into increasing the number of molds and a small shed to move operations to. We'll see.....! I've got a few gallons of bacon grease and pork lard I could send you. I hear they make great (-smelling) candles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vee Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Great vid! I would have bought some for myself but the cost of shipping to Canada is ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IgnatiusofLoyola Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 16 hours ago, Sr Mary Catharine OP said: As for volunteers, that wouldn't necessarily be an issue but the taper making is sort of a one-nun job. And there is no room! When Sr. Maria Johanna and I are working we keep bumping into each other! And we usually have pots of wax in our hands! Unlike soap, candles are not very forgiving. We are looking into ways to increase production. The most obvious is dipping but the time factor isn't compatible with our monastic life as lived here at Summit. We're looking into increasing the number of molds and a small shed to move operations to. We'll see.....! I'm thinking that your future elevator may not only be a blessing for elderly/disabled Sisters and visitors, but possibly also for your candle/soap business. When things get very busy and crowded in the workroom, you might be able to take over the public rooms upstairs for a few weeks, and transport the candles/soaps up the elevator to be packed by volunteers in the public areas. Granted, I know from being a volunteer myself that volunteers aren't easy to find and train, so this isn't a "simple" solution. I expect that when you FINALLY get a REAL elevator, you are going to find all kinds of good uses for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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