ABBEY BANNER - St. John's Abbey

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Daniel Durken, OSB FEATURE The village of Spunk Lake originated in 1858 when Nicolaus and John Keppers bought government land three miles west of a nascent Benedictine monastery for $1.25 per acre. The name may have derived from Ojibwa Chief Spunk whose tribe had sparsely inhabited the Indianbush area now called Collegeville. By 1869 ten families had settled the locale and applied to Rupert Seidenbusch, OSB, first abbot of Saint John’s, for pastoral services. The abbot appointed Prior Benedict Haindl, OSB, to begin this new mission, dedicated to Mary’s Immaculate Conception that had been defined as a dogma of faith in 1854. The Keppers’ wagonshop served as the first church and school until 1871 when a new log house was built to house both entities. The following year James J. Hill, founder of the Great Northern Railroad, changed the name of the settlement to Avon; he liked to give English names to communities along his train page 10 Abbey Banner Spring 2009 “The greatest memorial we can give to our pioneers is to fill with credit their places in the parish.” (Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, OSB) route. Avon is the river in England associated with the city of Stratford and William Shakespeare. Avon parishioners were soon planning a new frame church, completed in 1878 and dedicated to Saint Benedict in honor of the first pastor. This building was in use for nearly half a century. Throughout these formative years the parish was served by a multitude of Benedictine and diocesan priests. The parish history, A Century of Sacrifice and Prayer, lists more than forty pastors assigned during these 100 years for as brief a time as two months and as long as thirteen years. In 1901 a two-story brick veneered rectory was built and is still in use. A grade school was added, built and owned by the parish but paid for by the city. This building now houses the parish center, a Montessori school for three to six year olds and several offices for local businesses. Saint Benedict’s Church of Avon, Minnesota Blane Wasnie, OSB, pastor Meinrad Seiferman, OSB, was pastor when the present church was built in 1928. Gilbert Winkelman, OSB, who taught architecture at Saint John’s, was the architect. When Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, OSB, inquired about the payment for Father Gilbert’s Daniel Durken, OSB
professional services, Father Meinrad replied, “Father Abbot, you promised us a donation, so let’s call it even.” In 1997 during the pastorate of James Reichert, OSB, the entrance to the church was extended to create a gathering space that includes an elevator to the nave, stairway to the basement, reconciliation room, cry room and bathrooms. Supported by the successful capital campaign initiated by pastor Eugene McGlothlin, OSB, a thorough renovation and updating of the present church was planned and supervised by the present pastor, Blane Wasnie, OSB, and parishioners. In early 2007 the project, which includes the following, was completed in six weeks of intensive labor without interruption of weekend liturgies. • expansion of the sanctuary with a new hardwood laminated floor and the leveling and partial carpeting of the nave • restoration and repositioning of the original main altar of gneiss, a beautifully mottled stone older than granite, and moving choir to area once occupied by the altar • new baptismal pool and font for adult and infant baptisms • renovated tabernacle • new sound system, lighting, organ, ambo and choir chairs • new cabinets in the sacristy Inspired by their parish Mission Statement—“We are people of God, welcoming, proclaiming, celebrating and serving one another”—the 600 current Catholic households are dedicated to nurturing the seeds of faith, hope and love planted by their pioneers. In the spirit of Saint Benedict, “May they prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring them all together to everlasting life” (Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 72). + FEATURE The renovated sanctuary. The oil painting is the work of B. Imhoff in memory of Eileen A. Roche, a young parishioner killed in a car accident in 1930. Small statues of saints and vigil lights occupy a space at the rear of the church. Daniel Durken, OSB This unique statue of Saint Benedict, the parish patron, is the work of Mark Kurtz, known locally as “The Chainsaw Man,” who carved it using only a large and small chainsaw. The white oak tree trunk is about 200 years old and was harvested from the Alfred Jacob farm near Holdingford, Minnesota. It weighs 800 pounds, stands 6’ 10” and was cured for fifteen years. Daniel Durken, OSB Aelred Senna, OSB Abbey Banner Spring 2009 page 11
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