Dining Hall Renovation
Dear Beloved Community,
It’s been a full year since our dining hall and kitchen renovation
was completed in June last year!
In June 2025, we hosted our first themed retreat since the kitchen
and dining hall renovation completion for our Buddhist Youth Group
Retreat (Gia Đình Phật Tử) with 525 participants!
Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the love you’ve poured into
helping us realize our dream, with our kitchen and dining hall
renovations which now meet the needs of more friends participating in
large scale retreats and of being protected from both the extreme heat
and cold. We no longer have to shiver with chattering teeth, standing
in line during the Holiday Retreat to serve our meals, nor do we need
to bat away mosquitoes in the sweltering heat as we used to with
overflows when there was no more space in the dining hall and had to sit
either in the open veranda or at the picnic tables lined under the row
of majestic oak trees.
We are also grateful for our brothers who hosted our meals in the
brothers’ dining hall and lent their kitchen for the whole of 2025 whilst
the renovations were taking place, both for the personal retreats and
the themed retreats!
To honor this beautiful metamorphose, we would like to show you some
images of our process from where we first started and where we are now.
Before we hosted the Buddhist Youth Group, we had a Hungry Ghost Offering
and a ceremony to bless our newly renovated kitchen and dining hall.
Following that, we celebrated with a special dinner and it was a true joy to
finally reopen our kitchen and dining hall!
Our dining hall is divided into 3 sections: Dining Hall 1, Dining Hall 2, with a
wash up area, public restrooms, a meeting room, and a tea room. Our old
office which used to be located in the dining hall has been moved to where the
old bookshop used to be–and the books store has moved just next door to the office,
across from the basketball court. Our dining halls, meeting room, and
washing-up area also serve as additional locations for dharma sharing groups;
a true blessing to be protected by the elements, from both the rain and the extreme humid heat of the South.
On another note, while we are ever grateful for your unwavering love and
support in helping us complete our renovations, if you are able to, we are
actually still in need your help.
Out of the $400,000 of our original ask, we would like to humbly ask if
you could help us fully realize our goal of completion as we’re still short
of $110,487.
If you have been inspired by our retreats and would like to help us, please
see the many ways of contributing below. Every cent counts!
Again, we sincerely thank you all from the bottom of our hearts and hope to welcome you at a retreat in the near future!
May we continue to grow as a community with both dharma
nourishment and edible nourishment thanks to this work of love.
Come enjoy eating meditation with us soon in our beloved dining hall!
A deep bow,
Magnolia Grove Monastery
A breakdown of the renovation project
Here is a detailed breakdown of the estimated costs of our renovation project:
1. Slab concrete material and labor: $50,000.
2. Expansion and new building (Steel beams) : $400,000.
3. Labor walls, drywall: $45,000.
4. Drywall sheeting: $15,000.
5. DelPro ceiling panels, trims: $50,000
6. Kitchen Vent and hood mounting: $10,000.
7. A/C. Materials & labor: $50,000.
8. Concrete blocks, rebar, wires, plastics: $5000
9. Electrical wires: $15,000
10. Plumbing: $10,000
11. Kitchen drop down ceiling: $10,000
12. Windows & doors: $65,000
13. Kitchen tiles: $30,000
14. Floor stain: $25,000
15. Renew tiles for bathroom: $15,000
16. Misc: $15,000.
17. Demolition: $20,000.
Estimated at around: $830,000 – with unexpected unforeseeable construction costs we are expecting the project to be $1 Million.
Zelle Contributions:
For ZELLE Contributions: 662-654-6750 – Emmie Luan
Memo: For Dining Hall Construction
Please also include your name and address so we can issue you a thank you letter
For Checks:
Make Payable to: Magnolia Grove Monastery
Memo: For Dining Hall Construction
Address: 123 Towles Road, Batesville, MS 38606
Domestic Wire:
Receiving Bank: Regions Bank
Bank Address:
290 Highway 6 West,
Batesville, MS 38606
Routing #: 065305436
Account #: 0184818123
Beneficiary Name: Magnolia Grove Monastery
International Wire:
Receiving Bank: Regions Bank
Bank Address:
290 Highway 6 West,
Batesville, MS 38606
Swift Code: UPNBUS44
Account #: 0184818123
Beneficiary Name: Magnolia Grove Monastery
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