And Then There Were Three…

Hospitality in action can be witnessed in the monastic dining room. Not only are guests treated with great respect and congeniality but so, too, are the employees. In just days, a new employee becomes part of our monastic “family.”

Not long ago, we needed a head cook to stabilize the number of chief cooks in the lineup. We felt very lucky when a man who worked at a local restaurant answered our ad. Not only did he give us a different perspective, but he also fulfilled our desire to include both men and women on our roster.

In addition, he immediately added a number of “different” and exciting entrees for our dining pleasure. But it doesn’t stop there. He also talked his mother into joining our staff. What a find—Jason and Carrie!

Of course, without doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic affected our staff shortage, and so, we still needed more staff to be back to normal. Always ready to help us, one of our dining room servers, Micole, asked her son if he was interested in joining her in the monastic dining room. So, then there were two pairs of mother/son personnel.

Sisters were delighted and immediately began to befriend the young man named Dylan. Of course, Dylan was slightly shy at first with so many older women asking him about various things. However, it didn’t take long for him to respond much like his friendly mother.

But you guessed it, we still needed one more person! Ah, so our head baker stepped up and invited her son to join the staff. He did! And so, now there are three! We are hoping in a couple of months, we will be able to assess if this new arrangement has been successful. After all, the number three is magic!

Mary Jane Berger, OSB

Photo: Our monastery bakery, taken by Sister Nancy Bauer