Brenda’s first post!

There is a longstanding Seattle tradition at St Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral a few blocks from the Mansion—a Sunday evening Compline service of plainchants that I had attended once before and found to be enjoyable… a good quiet time. Lew and Clarke, some dear friends for over a decade, were on vacation recently in Seattle and decided to meet me there one Sunday during their visit. Of course I was a tiny bit late. I was carrying a big bright bouquet of flowers for my buddy Clarke I had purchased at the local Broadway farmers’ market that morning. The church was packed when I arrived and the mood was still and somber. The beautiful male voices had already started to sing and I felt at peace. I quickly spotted my friends ( both are a head taller than most!) Lew stepped out into the aisle and put me between them. I felt safe and happy. I closed my eyes and asked God to give me guidance for the future.

I opened my eyes and before me were four large beautiful banners hanging from the tall ceiling. They read WELCOME… INSPIRE… SERVE…TRANSFORM. I started to really read those words over and over to myself. Focusing on what those words truly mean. My role and purpose in Seattle and particularly at the Shafer Baillie Mansion became very clear to me. This is exactly what I want to do at the Mansion. Glenn and I have discussed this job and the changes we are making in our personal lives to move here. So when I returned from the church, I told him what had become clear to me and he said it made good sense to him.

So what do we see ourselves doing here? We want to welcome each and every visitor into this splendid restored home, We want each guest to be inspired from their time at the Mansion and in Seattle. We want to serve our guests a scrumptious and healthy breakfast and then hopefully we all will be transformed into stronger and better people. My wish is for the guests to use this beautiful Mansion as a restorative and relaxing place. A time for reassessing and making plans for their futures, whatever they may be!

Brenda