By the grace of God, the monastic adventure of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek has now endured and prospered for twenty years. From the initial group of 13 monks we have grown to 57, with several young men set to enter before you receive this letter. 
The original log cabin and horse barn have been replaced by a large church (still under construction), a spacious residential building, and a Gatehouse, where people come to have Holy Mass said for special intentions, to arrange to stay with us as guests, to ask questions, and to purchase monastic gifts.
Building Something Beautiful for God to Last a Thousand Years
Through many prayers and 
the help of our friends, we hope to complete the beautiful architectural plan created by our original architect, Thomas Gordon Smith, and continued now by his former student, William Heyer. As we desperately need more living space, we intend first to build another wing of the monastery, the Chapter House, which, in addition to the Chapter Room (an important feature of a Benedictine monastery) and the sacristy, will provide a great number of monastic cells for the monks now living in makeshift sheds. We then intend to continue the building of the abbatial church, the most important of all the buildings.
The Novitiate and Students
Our Novitiate is composed 
of postulants, canonical novices, and those in the first two years of temporal vows. There are two distinct groups within the Novitiate: first the Choir novitiate, whose members will usually study for the priesthood; then the Brothers’ novitiate, where young men receive a complete spiritual formation, but do not study for the priesthood. Currently there are ten in our Choir novitiate, with three to enter soon, and five in our Brothers’ novitiate, with one set to enter very soon. We have several young monks studying Philosophy or the first cycle of Theology here at Clear Creek. One is pursuing a higher theological degree at the Angelicum in Rome.
Moving Forward — Our Thanks
The “One Thing Necessary” spoken about by Our Lord (Saint Luke 10:42) is truly the program for monks. We must seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His justice, knowing the rest will be added unto us (Saint Matthew 6:33). In this time of social upheaval and spiritual darkness in so many places, we know you will fight by our side for divine attributes of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty—the marks of an orthodox and authentic Christian culture and civilization that must ever be restored and fostered until the end of time. Outside the monastery walls and those of the parish, it is the family that fundamentally accomplishes this noble mission. We thank all our faithful friends for all they do with us and for us. May Our Lady of the Annunciation assist us all in this great cause.
