We First Eat with Our Eyes Part II

Continuing with the thoughts in my last post here, I share  a couple of pictures that were taken in two different convent retirement settings.

.

This was the table setting for Easter.  Pleasant to the eye!  The food service line is separated from the dining area by an attractive, curved glass-brick type barrier.  Attractive in itself, and only about five feet high, it has the effect of adding grace to meal time.

The Sisters' custom here is to seat only four at each table. The decision was deliberate.  It is easier for each to hear the other with just four chairs, and, it was explained, if there is a Sister with any cognitive impairment the four per table seating facilitates greater participation in the conversation. This operational activity is an example of aligning practice with mission, of making sure that the environment supports the vision.


The following photographs depict "presentation".  In this provincial house setting, the Sisters are served restaurant style.  In my visits there, service has always been warm and gracious.  There is never a long wait for a Sister's meal to arrive --- and to arrive with such art and grace!

This was the menu for Chinese New Year's: Egg drop soup, cashew chicken and steamed rice, homemade egg rolls and fruit. All made 'from scratch'!

This portrays a typical weekday evening meal.

The woman who directs the kitchen is a person with a passion for what she does.  In correspondence with  Rosanne, she responded to a resource I thought she would appreciate: "I find that the more information I have, the better care through food, I can provide to the Sisters."

"Care through food"!  What a great and valid concept!  Every person serving elders is a care giver!  Every person so engaged is offering the ministry of service! Thank you, Rosanne, and all the Rosannes in our retirement settings!