Mystic Monk Coffee
Mystic Monk Coffee
David L. Turnipseed
University of South Alabama
As Father Daniel Mary, the Prior of the Carmelite Order of monks in Clark, Wyoming, walked to chapel to preside over Mass, he noticed the sun glistening across the four-inch snowfall from the previous evening. Snow in June was not unheard of in Wyoming, but the late 2009 snowfall and the bright glow of the rising sun made him cons ider the opposing forces accompanying change and how he might best prepare his monastery to achieve his vision of creating a new Mount Carmel in the Rocky Mountains. His vision of transforming the small brotherhood of 13 monks living in a small home used as makeshift rectory
- into a 500-acre monastery that would include accommodations for 30 monks, a Gothic church, a convent for Carmelite nuns, a retreat center for lay visitors, and a hermitage presented a formidable challenge. However, as a former high- school football player, boxer, bull rider, and man of great faith, Father Prior Daniel Mary was unaccustomed to shrinking from a challenge.
Father Prior had identified a nearby ranch for sale that met the requirements of his vision perfectly, but its current listing price of $8.9 million presented a financial obstacle to creating a place of prayer, worship, and solitude in the Rockies. The Carmelites had received a $250,000 donation that could be used toward the purchase and the monastery had earned nearly $75,000 during the first year of its Mystic Monk Coffee operations, but more money would be needed. The coffee roaster used to produce packaged coffee sold to Catholic consumers at the Mystic
Monk Coffee Web site was reaching its capacity, but a larger roaster could be purchased for $35,000. Also, local Cody, Wyoming, business owners had begun a foundation for those wishing to donate to the monks’ cause. Father Prior Daniel Mary did not have a great deal of experience in business matters, but he considered to what extent the monastery could rely on its
David L. Turnipseed
University of South Alabama
As Father Daniel Mary, the Prior of the Carmelite Order of monks in Clark, Wyoming, walked to chapel to preside over Mass, he noticed the sun glistening across the four-inch snowfall from the previous evening. Snow in June was not unheard of in Wyoming, but the late 2009 snowfall and the bright glow of the rising sun made him cons ider the opposing forces accompanying change and how he might best prepare his monastery to achieve his vision of creating a new Mount Carmel in the Rocky Mountains. His vision of transforming the small brotherhood of 13 monks living in a small home used as makeshift rectory
- into a 500-acre monastery that would include accommodations for 30 monks, a Gothic church, a convent for Carmelite nuns, a retreat center for lay visitors, and a hermitage presented a formidable challenge. However, as a former high- school football player, boxer, bull rider, and man of great faith, Father Prior Daniel Mary was unaccustomed to shrinking from a challenge.
Father Prior had identified a nearby ranch for sale that met the requirements of his vision perfectly, but its current listing price of $8.9 million presented a financial obstacle to creating a place of prayer, worship, and solitude in the Rockies. The Carmelites had received a $250,000 donation that could be used toward the purchase and the monastery had earned nearly $75,000 during the first year of its Mystic Monk Coffee operations, but more money would be needed. The coffee roaster used to produce packaged coffee sold to Catholic consumers at the Mystic
Monk Coffee Web site was reaching its capacity, but a larger roaster could be purchased for $35,000. Also, local Cody, Wyoming, business owners had begun a foundation for those wishing to donate to the monks’ cause. Father Prior Daniel Mary did not have a great deal of experience in business matters, but he considered to what extent the monastery could rely on its