Gill supports Stevens 100 percent and was one of the
incorporators in Tintem. But he realizes his friend is up
against tremendous odds. A monastery would help people
get back to basics, he says, which would bring a change in
their hearts and minds. Besides, Gill adds, Tintem would
be a great support for priests in the surrounding areas.
"It's like having somebody at home praying for you
while you are out on the firing line," he says.
Gill and Stevens became friends in 1971 when Gill
served as pastor in Central City and Stevens was pastor at
Duncan. Tlicy continued their friendship after Stevens left
Duncan and was sent to parishes in Neligh and Tilden.
Although his new lifestyle is a dramatic retreat from
community life, Stevens says he enjoyed serving as a parish
priest. ' "i ';.:! . .:
'The work of the priesthood is to make people happy,"
he says. "Not the backslapping kind of happiness, but
reaching to the very roots of a person's existence, on a
level nobody else does. It's the best crap game in town."
Once Stevens moved to Tilden, thing; started rolling in
his favor.
That's where Ms. Taylor heard Stevens talk about his ' going to stay. In December, Collins received his habit
dream of building a monastery. She offered him the land the first step in becoming a Tintem monk.
"The work of the priesthood is '
to make people happy. Not the
backslapping kind of happiness,
but reaching to the very roots of a
person's existence, on a level
nobody else does. It's the best crap
game in town."
Daniel E. Sheehan of Omaha. Besides granting approval,
Sheehan released him of his diocesan work as a pastor so
he could devote all his energy to Tintem. But despite such
backing, Sheehan says the diocese will not make any
financial contributions to the project.
"I think it's going to be very difficult," Sheehan said,
"because it's a very counter-cultural idea that doesn't
appeal to many people anymore." Sheehan says he has
been impressed with the response Stevens has received so
far but thinks the biggest challenge is yet to come
recruiting possible candidates.
"The main challenge is to get some candidates who are
looking for that same type of monastism," Sheehan said.
"If he can get the people to come and live there, then he
can get the financing needed. If he gets three or four more
candidates, it would go."
eurrently, Stevens shares the barn with only one
other monk, Boyd Collins of , Houston, Texas.
Collins, 31, ran his own print shop but after
reading an article about Stevens, he decided to
write him a letter. After one visit, he said he knew he was
that had once been "home" to her family. After only one
visit, Stevens says he knew he had the perfect setting for
his monastery.
"I had originally thought I would build Tintern in
Colorado in the Rockies or by the sea," Stevens says. "But
jwhen the land became available, I jumped. It's like no
.other part of the state."
On March 21, the incorporation papers were drawn up
and Stevens received formal permission from Archbishop
.if i s 1
"4 v't'
J :. r'..
4
Stevens says getting candidates won't be a problem, but
trying to decide which ones to accept will be difficult. Since
the first announcement that he was planning to build
Tintern, Stevens says he has received 500 to 600 inquiries.
The selection process is very slow and several candidates
have come and gone. Stevens is choosy but has narrowed
the candidates to four men in their 30s. He wants only four
because that is all the barn can comfortably hold until the
larger monastery is built. Age is a factor, he says, because
of Tintern's "pioneer situation."
"I want normal people who would be successful
husbands, fathers, farmers or physicians who are outgoing
yet willing to sacrifice some of that for this kind of life,"
Stevens says. "I don't want people who are trying to escape
something."
But no matter how much excitement he generates or
how hard he works, Stevens. keeps hitting walls.
Contributions to the. monastery have gone from a
steady flow to a trickle. The completion date, originally set
for 1983, has been pushed back to 1988. Even his efforts
to organize a formal fund-raising committee fell "flat on
its face," in 1983 because of the farm crisis.
Jody Asmussen of Neligh, a member of the silent Tintern
Board, said the monastery will be a success if Stevens can
gather support outside the Oakdale area. People are
interested, she said, but too financially strapped to
contribute.
"His greatest strength is his belief in what he is doing,"
Mrs. Asmussen said. "Otherwise he would never have
gotten this far because there have , been so many
discouraging moments."