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- Building project: the Final Piece
P U B L I C A T I O N S
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A R T I C L E S
- St. Gregory's Abbey and Benedictine Monasticism
- The Rule of St. Benedict as a Guide to Catholicity
- A Review of Two Recent Books on the Rule of St. Benedict
C O N T A C T S
Back in 1988, when we were starting the building campaign to raise money for a new set of monastery buildings before the structures we were living in crumbled away, I read about how many abbeys in earlier times took twenty, thirty, maybe forty years to build. My reaction to that was: "I hope it doesn’t take us that long to build the new monastery!" and my question was: "How could the monks and nuns cope with such a long, slow process?" Twenty years later, I can say that it has taken this long, and monks can cope with the slow process when they have to. There is such a thing as patience. It is a gift the Holy Spirit will give to one who is willing to receive it.
When we built the new library and guest reception area in 2001, we were down to one piece to go. The urgency of building a new guest house, St. Benedict’s, delayed this final phase, however. But now the time has come for us to fill in the last piece and be done with it. Much of what is left of the old monastery is the oldest part of it: the farm house that was bought by Dom Paul Severance and Dom Francis Bacon back in 1946. This house was sturdy enough to outlast our former dormitory that was put up a few years later, but it is no longer strong enough to hold up without extensive and costly repair and maintenance, and its multi-level floor plan is difficult for some people to negotiate. All this time, we have been patiently accumulating the funds to put us in range where one final appeal will put us over the top for completion of our building program.
The focus of this final phase, the focus of the whole building
project, will be a bell tower. This bell tower will be an entrance to
the monastery near the church, and will open into a wide
passageway that connects with the church to the left through a
narthex and to the rest of the monastery to the right. As with all
of our new buildings, it will be barrier free. As promised at the
beginning of our campaign, the names of all building fund
donors, or the persons in whose memory or honor the gifts are
made, will be kept in a book housed in the new passageway, and
those whose total gifts are $2,500 or more will be inscribed on
the east wall. It will be a large enough area for tour groups to
gather, and it will also be a good place to start the Palm Sunday
and Easter Vigil liturgies before processing into the church. South
of the passageway there will be two offices and a work room for
the monks.
Our architects have completed the basic plans, and we are
negotiating with a contractor to build this final phase. We do not
have precise beginning and completion dates at this time, but as
of now, we expect to break ground sometime in June.
- Abbot Andrew
architect’s drawing of the new building with church on the left and entrance to
library/refectory on the right
To be assured of having your name inscribed on the wall, please have
building fund donations or fully paid pledges to us by August 15, 2008. Any
donations sent to us intended for the building fund should be clearly marked
on the check or accompanying letter as designated for that intention.
Donations can also be made here at the Abbey’s website by clicking on this button:
We thank all of you for your generosity and prayers over the years.
Progress:
June 23
The old farm house was demolished
June 24
The rubble from the demolition was cleared away and the basement area dug
out to fit the new construction
July 10-11
Excavation for the basement completed.
July 17
The concrete for the foundation of the new building was poured.
July 23-25
Moulds prepared for basement walls
July 28
Concrete poured into moulds for basement walls
August 26
The area around the basement walls has been backfilled; a lull waiting for steel columns and beams.
September 22
Structural steel is scheduled to arrive this week. In preparation for work to resume, the west-facing church facade is being removed.
Oct. 2, 2008
After a long & frustrating delay, the steel beams and pillars were delivered to the building site.
Oct. 3, 2008
Installation of the pillars and beams begins.
Check back for updates as the project progresses.