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Donations sought for Bridgewater Township monastery after fire destroys church

Photo of fire damage from the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America’s website: www.ROEA.org.

TheÌýchurch at the Monastery of the Ascension of the Lord, a 53-acre religious community on Sheridan Road north of the village of Clinton, was destroyed by fire around noon on Friday, August 12, 2016. No one was injured.ÌýAccording to the Daily Telegram, fire departments fromÌýManchester Township, Saline, Clinton, Tecumseh, Sand Lake, and Ridgeway Township fire departments worked to douse the flames. The cause of the fire is as yet unknown.

This monastic community belongs to theÌýRomanian Orthodox Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America.ÌýArchbishop Nathaniel, ArchbishopÌýof Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate, traveled to the monastery to be with the monastic community immediately following the fire.

The EpiscopateÌýis collecting donationsto support the monks in their struggles to recover after the fire. You canÌýdonate by mailing a check to theÌýDiocesan Administrative offices atÌýROEA, PO box 309, Grass Lake,ÌýMI 49240-0309. Note “Ascension Monastery Fire” on your check.Ìý The total collected will be distributed to the monastery.

The monasticÌýcommunity wasÌýestablished in the early 2000’s.

by Fritz Swanson

Fritz Swanson has written for The Believer, the Christian Science Monitor, Print Magazine, McSweeney's, Esopus, LSA Magazine, and The Mid-American Review. He serves as a trustee on the Manchester District Library Board. He's the designer and publisher of ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ.