CHERRY HILL – For nine months a year, Msgr. William Brennan becomes a miniature dollhouse maker.
Holding a stack of mini white-painted wooden railings, he describes his meticulous process. “[It’s] a lot of time and patience,” he explains, sitting in the living room of his private home here at Sacred Heart Residence.
He gestures toward the table next to him: an organized mess of paint, glue, a small miter box and saw, hammers, nails and other tiny wooden furnishings. All are perfect for the task at hand.
“I spent all day yesterday painting the staircases, drilling holes in them and fitting in the rungs,” he continues. “This calms me down, keeps me out of trouble,” he adds with a laugh.
He is currently at the end of a process that began in early March, and the shell of the two-story house with a red exterior, green door and white trim is nearly complete.
Soon, he has to have the staircases installed, fence set up and doors hinged, among other to-dos, for nearby Holy Eucharist Parish’s annual craft fair. On Nov. 12, the parish community will continue its decades-long tradition, and Msgr. Brennan’s creation will be among the items featured for raffle.
This is the retired priest’s 30-plus-year hobby, born out of a lifelong passion for construction.
The youngest of four children, Msgr. Brennan was born in 1936 in Staten Island, N.Y. “My grandfather built houses on Staten Island, and my father, Hubert, helped him. After my parents got married in 1928, my father built the house they moved into.”
As a young boy, Msgr. Brennan was constantly at his father’s side, “watching him and asking questions. Eventually, he taught me woodworking, electric [and] a lot of things around the house.”
He forged a path to the priesthood and was ordained for the Diocese of Camden almost 60 years ago by Archbishop Celestine J. Damiano. During his ministry as a pastor of several parishes and as a high school principal, he still made time to work on houses, including a family home in Manasquan.
For four decades, “I was always doing something with it, such as painting or maintenance,” he says.
It wasn’t until a health crisis during his ministry in Incarnation Parish, Mantua, in the late 1980s that he became acquainted with a smaller, more delicate type of housework.
“I was recuperating from cancer treatment [in my leg], and somebody dropped off a dollhouse kit to keep me busy,” he explains. “I kept doing it.”
Recently painted miniature railings wait to be installed on a dollhouse Msgr. Brennan is constructing for the upcoming Holy Eucharist Parish craft fair.
He estimates that he’s made more than 40 dollhouses in the past 30-plus years, not only for parishes, but for young nieces and grandnieces.
“It takes a while; the work gets slower,” Msgr. Brennan says. “I put in three to four hours a day on each dollhouse.”
Gazing at his current project, he mentions that “I used to put electrical components in the houses, but I can’t do that anymore; my fingers aren’t as nimble as they once were.”
Although the cancer in his leg is gone, its aching effects are not. Still, his hobby persists.
“I keep saying every year that [this] is my last one,” he says. “Then comes the time to begin again, in March, and I go, ‘Let’s try another one.’”
This year, he has been slowed a bit due to the need for cataract surgery, which was set to take place a few weeks before deadline.
“I’m hoping to get the surgery out of the way so that I can get back to really working,” he says.
His routine doesn’t include much background music or television, but plenty of prayer, especially to a patron saint of woodworkers. “I pray to Saint Joseph when I have a problem, ask him to lend a hand.”
He adds, “I feel connected to my father and grandfather doing this work. As well, I’m going to make some child happy at Christmastime.”
The annual Holy Eucharist Parish craft fair will take place 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 12 at 344 Kresson Road. In addition to Msgr. Brennan’s dollhouse, there will be crafts and gifts for all ages as well as lunch, refreshments and baked goods available. For more information, call the parish at 856-429-1330.
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