Chautauqua Institution is a a non-profit adult education center and living community located in Western New York. Originally it was founded as a Methodist learning community in 1878. Since then its religious community has grown to include 16 different denominations. As the cost of staying in the Institution has increased, the denominational houses have been regarded as the most affordable option for visitors.
For the past nine years, Bud and Pat Brown have volunteered to be the hosts of the Baptist House. They have stayed in the Baptist House since they started coming to Chautauqua in 1977.
As hosts, they describe their job as to be “gracious to everyone who comes inside the front door”. Most of their responsibilities as hosts include physical tasks such as cleaning and day to day maintenance. They also host Sundayworship services, Thursday vesper services, Tuesday social hours, pot luck dinners for their guests, and volunteer their time for various Institution
Bud and Pat met working as librarians in the Robbins Library in Arlington, Massachusetts. As the story goes, one day Pat’s sister returned home and told her that there was a man in the library. After hearing this, Pat jumped on her bike and rushed over to meet Bud. Since then, they’ve been married for 49 years and have spent most of that time living in Buffalo and working as librarians.
