The Monks are Going, Going, Gone
They came in quietly, unannounced, a couple of years ago on the 10:05 Trailways bus from Boston. Eighteen monks in all. They were transferred out of a lovely monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts, these priests who traditionally never move at all.
They left quietly these last few weeks, unannounced. They’re moving to a brand new monastery north of Albany. Funny how these things happen. I get the feeling that God is grinning from ear to ear.
We met them because, when they showed up in Woodstock they were temporarily hungry. The story was slow to surface and I wrote about it earlier in this blog and on the Good Morning Woodstock Blog . They shopped at the Good Neighbor Food Pantry until they got their budget straightened out. Once we found them, Peggy made sure they didn’t lack for anything if the pantry had anything to do with it.
In a very short time, weeks, they were delivering food to the home bound on Tuesday mornings with the other pantry volunteers. They filled out an application to be a food pantry with the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley. And, finally, they were attending our mass distributions.
Within a few short months they had their own food pantry going and were serving food to the hungry seven days a week.
Without saying a word, these men of the cloth showed us all how to feed the hungry. They didn’t skimp. They made as many food runs to Albany as they needed. They offered whatever food they had to anyone who needed it.
Then, when I went out and helped open the Reservoir Food Pantry, they made sure we never lacked for yogurt. Every time the pantry opened we had a freezer filled for our hungry.
I mean, these priests showed us all how to feed the hungry. They didn’t offer a three-day-supply of food to someone with the understanding that it needed to last seven days. They didn’t spend a lot of time focusing on questions about where people lived. It didn’t matter whether a person was homeless or not.
When the hungry pulled away from the Holy Assumption Monastery Food Pantry, they had enough food to not only feed the body but the soul.
So now, the priests, who traditionally never leave a monastery and move to another monastery, are packing up their gorgeous beeswax candle factory, their Food Bank ID number, and moving off to a community which really needs their skills, their dedication, their belief system.
Frankly, I was devastated when I heard the news. I went out to visit and write the story. I couldn’t do it.
I sat, visited, and kept asking myself “How can this happen?” The answer is easy, folks. They are being asked to take their skills and expertise to Schoharie County where no one is going to question the ethics of feeding the hungry.
And, I take comfort in the fact that we have not been abandoned in Woodstock. We have been taught our lesson. So…now the monastery is being converted into a convent.
These gorgeous men of God are taking their smiles, their radiant halos, their worship, and their food pantry skills to Cobbleskill, New York and they will press on with their daily lives.
The good nuns will have a pantry in Bearsville for our hungry. I understand they’ve already got their own Food Bank ID number. God is making sure we don’t forget what we learned.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
Food Pantry Blog – The Fat Lady Sings
“The past, with its pleasures, its rewards, its foolishness, its punishments, is there for each of us forever, and it should be.” – Lillian Hellman
MIRIAM’S WELL, THE PANTRY TRUCK, BECAME A MIRACULOUS EVENT FOR ALL IN THE PANTRY. The shopper census in the building dropped by one third because of the food being distributed in the yard at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, in the parking lot at Woodstock Commons, and outside the Community Center in Woodstock Meadows.
IN THE BIBLE, MIRIAM’S WELL SUSTAINED THE JEWS IN THE DESERT. In the modern day Woodstock food pantry, Miriam’s Well, the pantry truck, sustained both shoppers and volunteers as we fed the people. The environment offered in the back of Miriam’s Well encouraged dignity and community. Volunteers craved the dignity and community as much as the shoppers.
“Today was a day right out of a Bible story. I’ve never experienced anything like this! We were almost traveling back in time to the age old gathering at the well.”
“Today at Woodstock Commons was absolutely fabulous! When that little boy ran around the community telling every one we were here, everyone was so happy.”
“Being at St. Gregory’s was so much fun! That tree we park under seems magical.”
“The people at Woodstock Meadows are so happy to get the produce. Many of these people really can’t make it to the pantry.”
MIRIAM’S WELL, THE PANTRY TRUCK, WAS THE PRODUCT OF VOLUNTEERS WORKING TOGETHER TOWARD A COMMON GOAL. The success was 100%.
WE HAD DONE MUCH FOR THE PEOPLE OF WOODSTOCK. Pantry systems were in place so solidly that they were a “lock”. The pantry was “running on autopilot” and going to function perfectly well without my services.
There were volunteers who wanted to move up in the pantry world.
There were volunteers who wanted to be the coordinator.
There were volunteers who wanted to take over pantry management.
There were volunteers who wanted to make more decisions.
The Building Committee was certainly ready for new management.
I had a book that I’d been putting off for several years. It was calling to be finished. I’d dreamed about taking writing classes.
Peggy was the best take out manager on the planet.
Guy Oddo had been “living” the pantry for several years.
They would make a wonderful foundation team for the new pantry management. They were well known, well liked, and respected by both shoppers and volunteers. They were active in their local congregations so they would represent the Interfaith Council faction well. They were both knowledgeable of Food Bank policies, guidelines, rules. They both believed in following the rules and they were both honest. They would be acceptable to the Food Bank.
The shopper population at the Woodstock Reformed Church was significantly reduced. Pantry deniers were going to have a difficult time complaining about extreme overcrowding in the building with significantly fewer people in the halls.
EVEN WITH THE REDUCED NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WERE BEING SERVED.
A NEW PANTRY OPENED IN BEARSVILLE WHICH WOULD FURTHER REDUCE PANTRY CROWDING IN THE BUILDING. Fr. Nicholas was opening the pantry at the Holy Ascension Monastery 7 days a week. He had a plan for controlling the lines: call ahead to tell him you’re on the way. His number: 845-679-0600. Dignity, caring manners, a smile and the best food Fr. Nicholas could bring to the monastery pantry.
THAT WASN’T THE WHOLE STORY. People from surrounding communities were asking about starting pantries in their communities. Along Route 28 there are no pantries from Phoenicia to Margaretville. People were asking.
One evening, I was taking a rare moment to enjoy a perfect Woodstock evening. The temperature was cool. The sky was indescribably beautiful. I couldn’t help but stop for just a minute to sit on a bench on the Village Green.
A nice young couple came up to me and talked about the need for a pantry in Boiceville. Sean’s pitch was convincing. I bit.
ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2013, THE FAT LADY SANG.
Thank you for reading this food pantry/hunger blog/book.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Please send a comment.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
food pantry blog – Father Nicholas
“Praise be to God.” – Father Nicholas
I first heard about Father Nicholas when a volunteer from St. John’s Roman Catholic Catholic Church asked me, almost in a whisper, if we had any extra food for some priests. Through the grapevine, I heard Heidi Motzkin knew some people (priests?) needing food.
HMMM. Then I heard another story about a group of priests needing food. Things were kind of quiet for a week or two. I didn’t act very fast because, in this business, it really takes a shout to get my attention. Anyway, I kept hearing little whispers so I got really curious. Who are these guys? Where are they? Do we know them?
So, Peggy Johnson, our Take Out Department manager at the Good Neighbor Food Pantry, and I got in the car and off we went! Out on Coldbrook Road in Bearsville is a very special place – The Holy Ascension Monastery. We drove out there and were greeted by a tall thin man with a full beard and pony tail, wearing a black cassock, a tall black hat, and black combat boots.
The story went that the monastery had, for a long time, housed three monks. Then, one day, several monks in the Boston area loaded a U-Haul truck and drove to Bearsville. Several other monks boarded a bus in Boston and rode to Woodstock. They increased the population at the monastery to twenty. The monastery needed extra people because they’re building a large, beautiful Church building on the grounds. I went to their website and saw what a beautiful building it is going to be.
In the confusion of the expansion, everything had been taken care of except, of course, the extra food needed for these priest/construction workers and volunteers.
Food? You need food? Peggy was delighted, excited, enthusiastic. She was on this job right away. A duck on a June bug had nothing on Peggy. Within days (hours?) the Holy Ascension Monastery staff had food. Peggy learned about their dietary considerations, as well as the number of people needing food.
Like a Supply Sergeant in a Mash unit, Peggy learned that the food bank had #10 cans of food. Nothing would do until our pantry storeroom had a whole shelf filled with them for Father Nicholas.
Fresh produce? Father Nicholas came by each week and got all the produce he needed.
Well, it wasn’t long until Father Nicholas and the Holy Ascension Monastery had their food needs straightened out and no longer needed Good Neighbor Food Pantry food. So, as smoothly as greasing a cake pan, Father Nicholas and his fellow monks became part of the volunteer pantry crew. He delivered food to homebound households every week. He brought yogurt to our pantry weekly.
And, as if that weren’t enough, Father Nicholas and the Holy Ascension Monastery became a food pantry for the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley serving food to anyone dropping by: pilgrims, homeless people, hungry people living in the area. The Holy Ascension Monastery is open seven days per week. People are allowed to take what they need and return as often as they need.
And, of course, while all this was happening, every one of us fell in love with the monks. Never in a million years would any of us have met these gorgeous men of God if it hadn’t been for the pantry.
The face of God is everywhere. All you have to do is work at a pantry, open your eyes, and look around.
Is that cool or what?
