The members should serve one another. Consequently, no members will be excused from kitchen service unless they are sick. ~Rule of Benedict
Everyone does a turn in the kitchen. ~Procter Community Practices
When stay~home orders went into effect at the beginning of the pandemic, our household, like many, had to adopt new routines and practices. One change we made was how we cooked dinner. Since everyone in our household was old enough to cook and clean, we made a dinner schedule. My husband and I each cooked two nights each week, and our kids cooked one each. The seventh night was for leftovers or sandwiches. This system served us well all through the pandemic, with only one modification. After a few weeks, it became clear that we needed to add the caveat “if you cook, you clean” to our practice. It turned out that some members of our household needed a lesson in mindfulness regarding the messes they made—messes they were happy to leave for someone else to clean.
“If you cook, you clean” helped us all develop a greater awareness of cause and effect regarding our choices and actions, and not just in the kitchen. Inspired by this lesson and the Rule of Saint Benedict, our diocesan camp counselors serve at least one week in the kitchen. All campers take turns serving on “KP” (kitchen patrol) duty: wiping down and sanitizing the tables after meals, sweeping the dining hall floor and taking the compost and slop up to the farm after supper. We do this because it’s important to our camp’s culture for everyone to see themselves as part of a greater whole—to understand that their choices and actions affect the entire camp community. Camps, like our homes and churches, exist for the flourishing of the whole. And it is only when the whole works with great intentionality to lovingly seek and serve Christ in each other, each willing to do the most thankless tasks, that flourishing will happen.
For Reflection
What thankless or inconvenient tasks or roles might you take on for a season to contribute to the flourishing of your household or faith community?
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