Brother Tom, left, sits with Shirlene King who was one of the recipients of a house built by the Dodge County Habitat for Humanity.

Brother Tom Sheehy’s introduction to Glenmary came in the early 1980s at the Glenmary Farm. It was at the Farm in Lewis County, Ky., where he began to consider a religious vocation in a serious way. Following his time at the Farm and after reading a copy of Glenmary Challengethat he received from his brother, Brother Tom spent three months in New Albany, Ga., so “I could observe the lifestyle and get a sense of what Glenmary is all about.”

He liked what he saw and experienced. Today, Brother Tom serves as the associate director of the Glenmary House of Studies, his first experience in formation since his own days in formation.

Jesting that he had the longest formation in history, Brother Tom was accepted by Glenmary in 1982 and took his Final Oath in 1989. During the years between his acceptance and his Final Oath, Brother Tom obtained degrees in psychology and social work (with a minor in religious studies) from the University of Dayton. Brother Tom’s 11-month novitiate took place in the middle of his studies at the University of Dayton and was under the direction of then-novice director Father Dan Dorsey.

Brother Tom’s first mission assignment was in Glenmary’s mission in Morehead, Ky. Brother Tom recalls he was told with that first assignment to “go to the missions without your construction toolsand do only parish work.” And so he did.

In his five years in Morehead he worked as a youth minister and in social services at the mission. The years in Morehead laid the groundwork for his future ministry in Eastman, Ga., where he founded the Dodge County Habitat for Humanity, building homes for low-income persons. He was assisted by groups of volunteers who traveled from around the country to lend a hand.

“I used a cell phone so I could work on a roof at the same time I was scheduling groups of volunteers,” Brother Tom says.

Brother Tom’s construction skills, combined with his academic degrees, made him especially well-suited for his work with Habitat. What he calls his “dream family story” still brings a smile to his face. The Dodge County Habitat group worked with Alfred Brown, a man who had used a wheelchair for 20 years and built him a house that was totally handicapped accessible..

When Father Dan Dorsey, no longer the novice director but Glenmary’s president, called Brother Tom a couple of years ago and asked him to prayerfully consider moving to the Glenmary House of Studies in Hartford, Ky. “What would I do there?” Brother Tom asked. “There’s nothing to build.”

But he once again took on the challenge of ministry without tools, and with Father Vic Subb, is heading up Glenmary’s prenovitiate program. After almost a year in Hartford helping men to prayerfully discern their vocation to religious life with Glenmary he’s discovered a different type of building ministry—spiritual building.