How do you support yourselves?

Our main source of income is donations. Some of these come from guests who stay with us, some from our supporters who pledge small monthly amounts for our sustenance. Other donations come from those who support our prayer ministry. We constantly remember our benefactors in the Divine Liturgy and other services.

We also run a small business, the Monks' Oven Bakery in Big Bear Lake. The bakery is about a 90 minutes commute from our monastery, which does place a considerable strain on our time and energies. Manual labor is, however, an important aspect of the monastic life. The Father frequently warn against idleness and insist that monks should at least try to earn part of their own living.

In our bakery we make breads, cakes, cookies, pies and other products. We sell some of this wholesale to local restaurants in the Big Bear area. The rest we sell through local grocery stores or direct to the public at farmers' markets in Big Bear, Victorville and Yucca Valley.