Richmond Religious Community Faces Opposition on Expansion

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To get to the Saint Benedict Center, you drive down a dirt road and over a one-lane bridge to an area called Tully Brook.

Three buildings look as though they may have been part of a typical New England farm.

The largest serves as a chapel and houses most school rooms.

A second contains the community hall and residences.

The smallest building has more classrooms and offices.

15 people live there full time.

About 40 children from the area attend school there.

And the center would like to expand to double that capacity.

Jim Buzzell is a member of the town's planning board.

And he attends services at Saint Benedict’s chapel.

“At the present time SBC has a very small school and it’s kind of crowded and they need some expansion. They also have a small chapel and that’s very crowded so they’d like to have better quarters for a chapel. That’s basically what’s involved” (buzexpand.wav :23).

The plan calls for a new building in the shape of a cross to hold both the school and the chapel.

That may seem like a modest proposal, but not everyone in town is pleased with it.

In fact, the Saint Benedict Center has been coming before Richmond’s Planning Board for over two years just to satisfy concerns.

And since December the hearings have been continued five times just to give everyone who wants a chance to speak. .

Judith Graves has lived in Richmond for 37 years.

“….we love our dirt road lined with stone walls and I would be devastated if any big place would come near us on the road and want to put in some kind of a big corporation of some sort like what the Benedicts are trying to put in over in Tully Brook.” (judithpreserve :15).

Brother Andre Marie is Saint Benedict’s Prior and dresses in the modest black habit all residents wear..

He runs the center and says he has no intention of destroying the town’s beauty.

“We want Richmond to stay green. We’re not planning on building a shopping mall or a Walmart.” (bamwalmart :5.6).

But those assurances don’t satisfy residents like Russ Provost.

He moved to Richmond from Cape Cod, where he witnessed a great deal of growth.

“I don’t want to see a business, whatever business…church, educational thing, whatever…come in with that type of capacity going up and down the road. I couldn’t walk my dogs, I would be afraid for the kids to go up and down the road. It would destroy my way of life as I chose to live here in Richmond.” (russprotect2.wav :17)

Brother Andre Marie admits residents have legitimate concerns about safety and environment.

But he believes some in town are resisting the center’s growth for religious reasons.

St Benedict's, is a congregation of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary which is not recognized by the Catholic Diocese.

Its mission is to convert Americans to what it calls the one true church, the Catholic Church.

Brother Andre Marie:

“Our religion claims we are the one true church founded by Christ and there’s no salvation outside the Catholic Church. That’s not something that’s exactly politically correct. And some people seem to be under the delusion that there is a democratic process, which allows people like them to prevent people like us from building buildings in the town of Richmond.” (bamtrue :24)

But resident Russ Provost disagrees.

“We’ve been labeled that this is anti-religion This has never been a religious issue. It’s been a zoning issue. It’s been a quality of life issue. The opponents keep phrasing it that we are intolerant. We aren’t. That’s plain and simple. We are not. We are just against that expansion in the rural areas of Richmond” (russintolerant :21)

Kim Matson, Richmond's police Commissioner, grew up in town.

She's heard the charges of religious bigotry, but doesn’t believe resistance to the Center’s expansion is due to intolerance.

“Whenever something is brought up with Saint Benedict’s you’re accused of religious intolerance. And I have a very tough time with that. It has nothing to do with tolerance or intolerance of any kind. It has to do with rural residential living.” (kmtolerance :16).

Despite Brother Andre Marie's feelings that some in town are discriminating against his community and mission, he's still hopeful.

“If the planning board site plan review process works according to the laws that are there, we’ll be able to do what it is we are seeking and without putting so huge a footprint on the town of Richmond that it will alter the rural character of the town which we actually love because it’s conducive to our contemplation. It’s conducive to our religious atmosphere.” (bamclose :25).

The Planning Board is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday (later today)

The Planning Board’s chair hopes they can make a decision by May.

For NHPR News, I’m Rose Kundanis.