Reflections, Resources and Recommendations

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Reflections, Resources and Recommendations

• For Benedictines and their Friends Visiting the
  Web
• Bro. Richard Oliver, OSB
• 27 September 2002

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Three Themes

• The webpage as a dwelling principles of
  cyberhospitality
• Sharing information, teaching, transmitting text
  resources for Oblates
• Using the web to create community

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Section One Cyberhospitality

• Let all guests who arrive be received like
  Christ, for He is going to say, I came as a
  guest, and you received Me (Matt. 2535 RB
  531).

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Approach to webpage design

• Look, Ma, what I can do!!!
• Web page as product
• Where I am compelled to be
• cool and sport the latest.
• I cant do this!!! Lets forget it.

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Another View

• A web page at its best becomes a welcoming portal
  for those who are searching for different kinds
  of information.
• The web weaver builds and maintains a
  comfortable, accessible, updated space.
• The web porter manages the questions,
  inquiries, communications from visitors.

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Resources for Web Weavers

• www.osb.org/welcome.html
• General philosophy and links to helpful sites.
• http//employees.csbsju.edu/roliver/scrip/
• The Scriptorium, Abbey Web Office
• practical tips for HTML authors

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Resources for Web Porters

• Webkeepers Twenty-first Century Monastic
  Porters by Diana Seago, OSB, and Linda Herndon,
  OSB in Benedictines www.mountosb.org/cyberporters.
  html
• Benedictine Internet Report (Jan. 1998)
  www.osb.org/bic/report.html

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Message and Technique what is your goal?

• A technically sophisticated site
• http//www.farnboroughabbey.org/
• A simple site
• http//www.benedictinesisters.org/
• An intermediate site
• http//www.sbm.osb.org/

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Section TwoTransmitting Information

• ...let all occupy themselves
• in reading RB 48.

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Scribes Old and Newhttp//employees.csbsju.edu/ro
liver/scrip/scriptoria.html

• Complaints
• fatigue
• not creative
• boring text
• Blessings
• lectio divina
• indoors
• stability

• Complaints
• standards
• browsers
• hack work
• Blessings
• lectio divina
• worldwide
• stability

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ResourcesAcademic Spiritual

• Saint Benedict
• Rule of Benedict
• Dialogues, Bk II
• Historical Overview
• ABA AMN
• General Information
• Liturgy Chant
• Whats New

• RB Daily
• Daily Reflection
• Universalis
• Blue Cloud
• Lectio Divina
• Retreat Centers
• Oblate Formation
• Monastic Websites

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Anglican Benedictineswww.osb.org/intl/angl/

• Communities living according to the Rule of Saint
  Benedict
• Communities living in the spirit of Saint
  Benedict
• Selected Anglican Resources
• Friends of Saint Benedict and
• The Benedictine Experience

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Prayer and Spirituality

• "In the sight of the Angels
• I will sing praise to You"
• (Ps. 137), RB 19.

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The Liturgy of the Hours (1)

• Reading and Psalm Cycle for the Liturgy of the
  Hours, from Mount St. Scholastica in Atchinson,
  Kansas (with commentaries for the readings)
  http//www.mountosb.org/
• Exellent resource about short breviaries
  www.kellerbook.com/

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Liturgy of the Hours (2)

• You can pray the liturgy of the hours from your
  computer screen at www.universalis.com
• You can listen to the liturgy of the hours at
  www.monksofadoration.org/audiolit.html

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Monastic Spirituality

• New Melleray Abbeys Primer on Monastic
  Spirituality contains instructions on lectio
  divina and contemplative prayer.
• The link below will take you to their index page.
  To find the Primer choose the Vocations
  folder.

www.newmelleray.org/
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Contemplative Spirituality (1)

• An Interreligious site by David Steindl-Rast, OSB
  www.gratefulness.org/

• A wonderful prayer site by the Irish Jesuits
  www.jesuit.ie/prayer/

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Contemplative Spirituality (2)

• The site of the Taize community. Contains the
  songs and prayer instructions. www.taize.fr/en/ind
  ex.htm
• Instruction and information on centering prayer
  at Contemplative Outreach Ltd. www.centeringpraye
  r.com/

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Lay Benedictine Spirituality

• Listening and Responding Benedictine
  Spirituality in Non-monastic Contexts by Wil
  Derkse www.stthomas.edu/cathstudies/logos/derkse.h
  tml
• Catholic, Benedictine Values in an Educational
  Environment by John Klassen, OSB Emmanuel
  Renner, OSB and Mary Reuter, OSB
  www.osb.org/acad/benval1.html

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Information for Oblates

• and Benedictine Friends

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Oblates Reference Site

• At the OSB website,
• information and links about Oblates
• www.osb.org/obl/

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Manual, Constitutions for Oblates

• Saint Vincent Archabbey, PA Formation Manual
  www.osb.org/sva/obl/
• Saint Andrews Abbey, CA What it Means to
  be an Oblate, and Oblate Constitutions www.valyer
  mo.com/oblates1.html

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Camaldolese Oblates

• The eremetical branch of the Benedictines
  includes a Rule for Oblates at the website
• www.camaldolese.com/

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Internet Oblates

• Oblates of the
• World Community for Christian Meditation.
• Laurence Freeman, OSB
• Monastery of Christ the King
• London, England

www.wccm.org/obl01.html
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Of Historical Interest

• The Benedictines by Dom David Knowles OSB
  LittD (1896-1974) www.osb.org/gen/knowles/
• The Origin of the Oblates from the Oblate
  Manual (1955) www.saintjohnsabbey.org/obl/info/o
  blhistory.html

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Oblate Newsletters Online
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Various Styles of Newsletters

• Saint Walburga Abbey www.walburga.org/oblates.html
  
• St Procopius Abbey www.procopius.org/spirituality/
  oblates/1stOblatePg/1stoblatepg.html
• Saint Johns Abbey www.osb.org/oblate/
• Benedictine Sisters of Clyde, Missouri.
  www.benedictinesisters.org/c6.html
• Some monasteries (like Blue Cloud) use a listserve

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Section 3 cybercommunity

• ...for the strongest kind of monks,
• the Cenobites (RB1).

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Benedictine Interest Listserves

• OSB-L at listserv_at_vm.marist.edu Low volume
  general Benedictine list
• MonasticLife at http//groups.yahoo.com/ High
  volume, lively list offshoot of OSB-L
• Oblateforum at http//groups.yahoo.com/ A list
  for Benedictine Oblates

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Benedictine-related Interests

• Center-l at listserv_at_maelstrom.stjohns.edu About
  the practice of centering prayer. Quiet to lively
• Interreligiousdialog at http//groups.yahoo.com/
  loosely connected with MID, mostly book
  discussion
• And many others

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You Could Start Your Own Group

• It is easy to do at places like
  http//groups.yahoo.com/ even if you are not
  technically savvy, and dont have listserv
  software
• You could also run your own listserv, but the
  advantage of the Yahoo site is that one can do
  everything on the web, and ones mailbox does not
  get cluttered

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Shameless Advertisement

• The OSB Website Store
• www.cafeshops.com/osb

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Appendix

• Choosing an ISP
• Internet Service Provider

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Choosing an ISP / Web Server

• Setup Fee (rare? waived?)
• Monthly Fee (AOL 21.95/mo. 239/yr.)
• Duration (stability)
• Disk space / storage
• Hit limits

• Statistics (WebTrends, analysis software)
• E-mail 6-12 usernames AOL 5 screen names
• FTP (file transfer protocol)

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Choosing an ISP (2)

• HTTP 2 (hypertext transfer protocol)
• CGI (common gateway interface) or
• ASP (active server pages M)
• Active X
• XHTML

• Front Page Extensions
• Audio files
• Video streaming
• List management
• Chat
• Instant Messaging

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T h e E n d