The Melrose house was established in 1961, in Brewster, New York, about an hour northeast of New York City.  In 2004, we began to pursue our interest in sustainable living by starting Bluestone Farm and Living Arts Center. Grown organically, the produce we cultivate and store (by drying, lactofermenting, and freezing) feeds us throughout the year.  Over the last five years, the farm has come to include beekeeping, duck and chicken flocks, maple syrup and honey production, and wine-making among other activities.  

Living alongside Sisters Carol Bernice, Catherine Grace, Emmanuel, and Heléna Marie are four Resident Companions: the Reverend Suzanne Guthrie and her husband Bill Consiglio, Anne Ditzler and Erin Martineau. Together, we are engaged in weaving together our worship and our work, inspired by the writings of the late Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, and Ellen Davis, among others.  (Learn more about the "new cosmology" and the spirituality of farming.)

Sited high in the woods, the convent and the farm are a beautiful setting in which to make a retreat, or simply to visit.  Our accommodations include St. Pelagia's Hermitage, and guest rooms in the Longhouse, which are complemented by a full kitchen and a sitting room.  Guests may join the Sisters for worship in our small, rustic chapel, and for our corporate meals.