The past week we've been working on the new novices' quarters at
St. Anthony's Monastery. They buy a prefab building then put a new roof over the entire building and create an entire facade around it with arches and walkways etc. The ends of the building have an entry covering. Here Elder Paisios decides it would be nice to use the "attic space" above the covering as a chapel, so we are discussing how that can be accomplished.
This is Javier and Onesimus (another contractor from Tucson who is also working on the building in his spare time) installing the facia board on the "cooler" side of the building where the attic space above the covered porch is used to house the air conditioning unit.
This is the opposite side of the building where the chapel will go. There will be about an eight by eight foot space for the altar and about that much space for the nave, and a 3 foot walkway around the outside of the chapel. Here we're installing the roof.
Javier and Onesimus are on the top of the roof rafters installing the facia trim around the roof. I like both of my feet firmly on concrete or dirt. I stayed on the ground and took pictures.
Tomorrow Javier and I head to
St. John's Monastery in California for a couple weeks (where MP. Jonah used to be the abbott), to sheetrock and paint
their new Church. Its actually pretty cool that we're in a recession and I don't have any "real" work, I'm getting to do stuff I really enjoy doing. I'm hoping to be able to do some interviews with the new Abbott, Fr. Meletios while I'm there. God willing, the next blog post will be from St. John's in a couple days. Pray for our safe journey (I tend to fall asleep while driving...Javier said he's bringing an air horn. I told him the "constant remembrance of death" is good for his soul, that's why two of my former employees are monks now).
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This is Javier and Onesimus (another contractor from Tucson who is also working on the building in his spare time) installing the facia board on the "cooler" side of the building where the attic space above the covered porch is used to house the air conditioning unit.
This is the opposite side of the building where the chapel will go. There will be about an eight by eight foot space for the altar and about that much space for the nave, and a 3 foot walkway around the outside of the chapel. Here we're installing the roof.
Javier and Onesimus are on the top of the roof rafters installing the facia trim around the roof. I like both of my feet firmly on concrete or dirt. I stayed on the ground and took pictures.
Tomorrow Javier and I head to St. John's Monastery in California for a couple weeks (where MP. Jonah used to be the abbott), to sheetrock and paint their new Church. Its actually pretty cool that we're in a recession and I don't have any "real" work, I'm getting to do stuff I really enjoy doing. I'm hoping to be able to do some interviews with the new Abbott, Fr. Meletios while I'm there. God willing, the next blog post will be from St. John's in a couple days. Pray for our safe journey (I tend to fall asleep while driving...Javier said he's bringing an air horn. I told him the "constant remembrance of death" is good for his soul, that's why two of my former employees are monks now).
7 comments:
A safe journey and a blessed stay at the Monastery, s-p.
Would it be possible for you to ask the Fathers to remember my seriously ill Godmother, the Presvytera Cecilia, at their Liturgy ? I would be so greatful.....
Thanks for sharing your stories of working on these projects.
I'm curious about how this building came about... seems like a fairly substantial (and complicated) roof to put on over top of a pre-fab. It was less expensive to do it this way, rather than a whole building from the ground up?
Elizabeth, I will do that. Thanks for the prayers. Bill, that's what I thought too, but in one way, a roof is a roof and since it is prefabricated trusses that span the walkways and patios it would be the same roof on top of a "ground up" or the prefab. I also wonder if they are getting the prefabs donated from someone, they have several buildings done like this. They always have something interesting going on there and usually have no blueprints. Like the chapel, the details are made up as they go along so we have a bit of "headscratching time" on the projects, which drives Onesimus nuts, but I love that kind of thing. They have a couple monks who are extremely talented in construction, but they are spread pretty thin so they call in help on a lot of projects.
God grant you a safe journey and a blessed time at St. John's Monastery. I look forward to seeing more blog posts and hearing your interview with Fr. Meletios.
As a guy who likes to delegate, think I'd let Javier do the driving, you do the constant remembrance of death thing (from the backeat).
Would Fr. Meletios... be the same as in in Fr. Meletios Webber? Either way, a treat.
That was supposed to be "backseat" :)
Guess my keyboard was off busily remembering death. Or it's gonna be... !
Hi JtTH, as it turns out Javier didn"t come with me, he stayed to work on St. Anthony's with Onesimus. So, I'm driving solo and promised my Wifie I'd pull over if I'm dozing. And yes, it is Fr. Meletios Webber. I'm looking forward to meeting him.
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