Projects

Or, putting the labora back into Ora et Labora

One of my hobbies is book design. This is an honourable and ancient occupation of monks, and I worked at it long before I worked at amateur monasticism. I’ve gotten fairly proficient over the years, so I’m often asked to put together publications for folks.

Currently, I’m working on two major projects in this regard:

1. The Saint Martin’s Abbey Oblate Manual: Thanks be to God that I’m not responsible for content on this puppy. The text was completed by fellow oblates, and all I’m doing is layout and making some corrections per Br. Edmund Ebbers, our Oblate Director. Nevertheless, this is taking me far longer than it should. Mostly, this has to do with the fact that I’ve just moved, and I can’t currently find the whopping thick set of edits that Br. Edmund sent me.
2. Parish Vespers: Our parish Benedictine Spirituality Group has been sponsoring Evening Prayer on Mondays for over a year, and we’ve been largely using printouts from Universalis. We’ve been using a lot of paper, and other parish groups are now starting their meetings using our booklets (despite the fact that we’re using Monday’s text when they’re meeting on a different day).

   We looked for a good book for parish use, but we haven’t found anything that really works. Our solution is to try and come up with something ourselves. I’ve got some ideas for how to organize this so there’s a minimum of page flipping, but the concept continues to evolve.

At odd hours and times, I’m laying out a slim volume of Gospels and Psalms (Douay-Rheims: no copyright issues!) of which I’m growing quite fond.

My major non-book project is the Chapel. As I mentioned, I’ve just moved; in back of the house, next to the garage, is this odd little building. I think it may have been a carriage house or something at one point – if it was a garage, nothing larger than a Model-T Ford is likely to fit. Most recently, it’s been a garden shed.

It needs a new roof, new flooring, new wiring, and new drywall. New siding wouldn’t hurt either. The building has solid bones, but it has seen years of neglect. My goal is to turn it into a tiny chapel – a place where I can get away from the bustle of the world, a place to pray, a place to just sit and be silent.

Since I’ve mentioned this idea, several people have spontaneously volunteered their services. An artist friend volunteered to paint a mural inside. Another offered to donate a small stained-glass window. It’s amazing to me how fired up people are when I tell them my plans.