Page 6 - Priorities #40 2008-March

they had; their performance, whatever it might be, and have a respectful and positive audience. So it was kind of a two-fold thing. One was partly to allow students a forum in which to present their work, and the other was to have an audience that would appreciate it.
SMB: Kind of similar to what we’re doing at the Black Box Theater here at the Priory with the open mic night...
FM: Absolutely. Now we have a place where students and faculty and anyone else can get up and do something that they’re good at; a performance,
a reading, music, dancing—whatever, and have a respectful and enjoyable audience. The number that I’ve been to here since it started have been
This has become a wonderful place to live out my life and my commitment to the monastic community.
amazing. It’s just been a good experience. I think it’s something that’s goingto be developed and probably expanded throughout the years.
SMB: When did you first come to the Priory?
FM: I came to the Priory in 1975. I had been teaching at our college in New Hampshire and working in the admissions department, doing a lot of traveling, representing the school. In a very short time the community decided it would be good to help out the Priory because the school needed some younger blood. They also needed to have a little bit more of an American touch. The Priory then had a rather European flavor to it— monks from Hungary and even India. For example instead of having freshman, sophomore, junior and seniors, they had forms: form 1, form 2, form 3, form 4, etc.
So it was very much in the European style. I was asked to come on a fairly short notice arrived the first of August in 1975. I have to say though the first year was quite an interesting transition. Having worked with college aged students then suddenly
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finding myself with middle school and high school kids was quite a transition. It was very difficult but after that first year I began to get settled. Before long I really appreciated this age group. This has become is a wonderful place to live out my life and my commitment to the monastic community.
SMB: You’ve held a variety of different positions
at the school. Can you tell us a little bit about some of them?
FM: I have taught religion, theology, social justice, art and presently teach photography. I have been the chaplain since I came here, and for about a little over 20 years I was the college counselor. This is a small school and you wind up wearing many different hats. I was also for 20 years, along with Father Marus, the bus driver. That was always a lot of fun. I loved those trips because we’d go to all the away games, taking the students to the symphony, opera, ballet and many other kind of social venues. That was always a blast!
SMB: You have lots of interests; photography, woodworking, music. What kind of role do they play in your life as a monk and educator?
FM: Well I think all of those things kind of
go toward the creative aspect of life, which I think is incredibly important. We have a very strong academic program, as you know, but I think it’s also very important to go beyond the strictly academic. To have a hand’s on experience where creativity
can be seen, handled, looked at and admired by other people. I’ve been teaching photography for quite a long time now and I really enjoy it primarily because it helps people to see things that they ordinarily wouldn’t see.
A good photographer observes his or
her surroundings differently. Often we are in
the presence of beauty that goes unseen. As a photographer and teacher I show students how to find a story in an image. How to compose a picture