March 10, 2010

At the end of March the monks discontinued the use of a catering service that brought and set out two meals a day, seven days a week, for the monks and guests. Dish washing and kitchen clean up after meals were also part of the catering service.

Beginning the first of April Fr. Philip Simo began preparing our meals for five days a week, with a hired cook filling in the other days. The monks join in for the dish washing and cleaning of tables after the meals. The community is grateful to Fr. Philip for generously providing this service, which will result in a significant reduction in the costs of food service for the Abbey.

In connection with this change some friends of the Abbey and some monks have begun trying to raise vegetables in a fenced-in garden near the kitchen. The garden was originally built and cultivated by a member of our school staff, Bill Lippe, with his wife, Valerie, and their friends, who have turned it over to the Abbey for its use at this time. The monks are grateful to them for their generosity and for the honey they share from their beehives kept at the Abbey.