SSS at the Catholic Worker House

For our March Second Sunday Supper, a group of about 10 of us went down to the Catholic Worker house in Sherman Heights. Andrea and Anne helped set up and prepare us an Italian feast. The two hosts and current residents at the house, Chris and Patrick, graciously welcomed us in and made us feel at home. After dinner, Patrick and Chris gave us an overview of Catholic Worker in general, as well as this specific house.

Catholic Worker is a movement started by Dorothy Day in the depths of the Great Depression. She saw that although the Church spoke out for social justice (and had been doing so for quite some time), following through on the principles through concrete actions was often lacking. She began establishing hospitality houses where people could come for food, clothing, shelter, or even just a friendly face. One of the basic principles of the movement is to not just treat the symptoms of hunger, homelessness, etc., but to rather enable people to improve their situation in life.

The first houses were in New York City, but have now spread across the country and even to some other countries. The houses are maintained by unpaid volunteers, who make sure all who enter are welcomed and their needs are cared for. There is no hierarchy or other formal structure to the various houses, although they do share ideas and provide references to people that are moving from one area to another. Most Catholic Worker houses are not registered as 501c3 charities, although the San Diego house is. This enables them to receive donations from local businesses, including Trader Joe's and Henry's, to feed the hungry each week.

The San Diego Catholic Worker has existed for approximately 40 years. The house that we visited only recently opened back in August (although they had had a house in the past). Chris and Patrick are busy trying to build trust and a sense of community in the neighborhood, and have already hosted people in need, including a Haitian refugee family. They are currently looking for one or more volunteers who would be able to commit to being at the house in the evenings (eg. 6 PM - 8 AM) so that they can minister to more people in need of food, clothing, or shelter. If you are interested, get in touch with someone on the YAG core team and they can connect you with them.

Chris and Patrick encouraged us to live intentional lives and to treat each person we meet as an Alter Christus, another Christ. For more information about Catholic Worker in San Diego, including their weekly lunches, check out their website: http://www.catholicworkersd.org. More information about the movement in general can be found at http://www.catholicworker.org/.

-Brian Buesker