Christmas Grove shines on the lives of those in need

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The Christmas Grove at Mount Benedict Monastery represents those being honored or remembered during this Christmas season.

OGDEN — The Board of Directors of St. Benedict’s Foundation and the Sisters of St. Benedict will light the annual Christmas Grove at Mount Benedict Monastery Dec. 6 with a short service. The 26th annual Christmas Grove will run through Dec. 31.

The service will begin at 6 p.m., and the names of those being honored or remembered will be read in the monastery chapel before those assembled go outside to sing "Silent Night," where the lights will be lit, said Yvonne Coiner, St. Benedict Foundation executive director. "It is really awesome. The lights will be turned on every evening from dusk until 10 p.m. through the Epiphany. We want people to stay and mingle so we have invited members of Weber State University Chamber Choir to sing Christmas carols and we will also have light refreshments and a bake sale featuring cakes and cookies from local Ogden businesses."

A donation in any amount to the foundation through the Christmas Grove provides an opportunity for a donor to honor or remember someone important in his or her life. "An individual can dedicate a light on the tree in the grove in honor of someone living or in memory of someone who is deceased, and there is no set dollar amount to dedicate a light," said Coiner. "We want everyone to feel it is affordable to have someone honored or remembered. Individuals can choose a red, gold, white or green light and can dedicate as many names as they would like. For their donations, we will send a personalized card by mail to the person they have honored or to the family of the person who has passed away letting them know their loved one was remembered. In addition the donor will receive a thank you card as a receipt for tax purposes."

Last year 326 lights were lit, which raised $23,000 for the program, Coiner said. "All the proceeds help us provide for our 16 partner programs. Some of the programs include Family Counseling for women, children and families in crisis. "The crisis could be through child abuse, domestic violence or some other trauma that requires an intervention," Coiner said. "Family Counseling also works with women who are incarcerated. They provide parenting classes for the women before they are released."

The foundation also assists the Upward-Bound Program, a mentoring program for low-income first-generation college and first-generation high school graduates. Other programs include Birthright of Ogden for young girls and women who have unplanned pregnancies, the Center for Grieving Children, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Weber and Davis as well as Ogden Schools Colors of Success, a gang prevention and high school completion program.

Other projects include providing backpacks for school children and turkeys for the holidays, Coiner said. "We have a social entrepreneurial committee who helps people get on their feet and we will be working with United Way and other organizations that provide funding resources and volunteers for nonprofit organizations."

The Foundation was set up after the sale of the hospital in 1994 to assist women, children and families in need in northern Utah, and that is not changing with the recent transition of the sisters, Coiner said. On Nov. 20, the Sisters of Mount Benedict Monastery became members of St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn. "They will continue living in Utah for as long as they can," said Coiner. "The sisters weren’t making any changes with the foundation, they were just securing their future. Our activities, fundraising, and donations will all stay the same. The best part is the sisters don’t have to move to Minnesota."