Monastery trip

For one of my classes I had the option of either writing a paper or going to a Monastery. An opportunity came up for me to go to St. Bernard's Abbey near Birmingham, so I went. Please excuse the picture quality--these were taken on Jason Poarch's camera.
A shot of St. Bernard's Abbey. The monks gather here four times a day for prayer and scripture reading.
It was really thought provoking getting to know some of the monks--I guess I knew that they did normal things like eating and sleeping, but it was kind of strange at first seeing them line up in the cafeteria.
This is the choir area where we sat for the prayer gatherings. It was really powerful when we sang the word. There is something about gathering together in community and singing scripture--it really helps to meditate on the words when you are singing in a group like that.