So It Begins: Groundbreaking for New Woodworking and Organ Building Center
July 26th was a momentous day for Saint John’s Abbey Woodworking and Abbey Organ Builders as around 200 monks, donors, friends, and co-workers gathered in Collegeville to break ground for the new woodworking and organ building center.
While the ceremony was driven inside by heavy rain, weather’s necessity allowed this congregation of supporters to gather in the now empty cathedral-like space of the lumber shed. Afternoon light shone through a break in the clouds and into the upper windows of the shed, illuminating this moment of renewal.
Over nearly one hundred years of service this building has held lumber as well as countless scenes of the intricate labor of woodworkers and their craft. We are honored to be able to carry on this work on the same grounds, crisscrossing the footsteps of Brothers Hubert, Gregory, David, and the many others shown in old photographs. We are also fortunate that this work will not take place under the drip-drop of a leaking roof, with even heat in the winter, and in the company of new colleagues who build pipe organs.
The next months will be busy with construction, and we hope to keep you up to date on what is happening. Stay tuned for updates on the project!
Thank you again to all the donors and contributors who have brought The Work of Our Hands project to this next step. It has taken the work of many hands to get us to this point and we are deeply grateful.
Postscript: Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see a wonderful short film created by Caleb Thompson documenting the final days of the lumber shed and kiln.
