Canning Class!

by Erin

We have the fortunate circumstance of having a local expert on canning (Melissa) in our midst, and we are offering a class to share her knowledge. Only 12 participants will be accepted due to limited kitchen space. We currently have 4 reservations-- so sign up quick!

We will be canning apple sauce and tomatoes (two different processes). The class takes place on August 12th at the Catholic Worker House in the kitchen from 6-9 pm. A donation of $3 each person will be accepted to pay for jars, fruit and supplies. Tomatoes will be supplied from the Catholic Worker garden. Scholarships are available to those who need them. If you bring your own jars (2 quart size) a dollar donation will cover other supplies.

Feel free to invite a friend.

If interested, please an email to this address indicating your interest and whether you have jars. Happy canning!

New Developments--Food, Justice

We are on a regular rotation with Justice Gardens. We are scheduled to receive a shipment of produce from them every other Saturday (for the duration of the farm market season). With a regular schedule, we can make sure the produce gets to where it needs to go smoothly and quickly. We are also talking to some other local community gardens, because we are more than happy to take their excess produce.

We also got a shipment from Snowville Creamery, thanks also to a tip from Justice Gardens! This is absolutely beautiful milk from cows raised without artificial hormones. It is also non-homogenized, so the fat content is in a form much better for human consumption. People who are lactose intolerant often respond well to this kind of milk. This is top-of-the-line stuff! Snowville says that they can make a delivery just about every Saturday afternoon. Fresh milk is an unusual luxury for most food pantries, so we are happy to give this a try!

* * *

At the second installment of our book discussion on Disturbing the Peace on Sunday, we heard from a local organizer who takes people to the annual protest at WHINSEC (formerly known as the School of the Americas) in Ft. Benning, GA. Some participants in the book study expressed a desire to make the trip this year. We will be sending out more information as we get closer to the date. We would love to send a large group from Columbus down this year!

I was there in 1999 with about 10,000 people. There were speakers, musicians, booths with information on justice activities. At the close of the weekend, a large portion of the attendees chose to commit civil disobedience and trespass onto the military grounds and face arrest. It is a powerful event, as each participant walks onto the grounds carrying a cross with the name of a person who has died at the hands of US trained graduates of the SOA.

Pax Christi

Pat and I had the pleasure to attend the National Peacemakers Conference held by Pax Christi USA. It was a last minute decision. We literally found out about the conference, and within a couple of days we were in a car headed toward Chicago!

Pax Christi is the Catholic peace movement, with great support by Catholic bishops. As their international website says: "Pax Christi International was started in 1945 as an organisation of Catholics in Europe who wanted to promote reconciliation at the end of the Second World War. " The national website says: "Pax Christi USA rejects war, preparations for war, and every form of violence and domination. It advocates primacy of conscience, economic and social justice, and respect for creation. "

A great synopsis of the weekend is here. Fr. John Dear, who wrote the article, was also one of the presenters. His talk was powerful: "Put down your sword" are the last words of Jesus to the Church.

Bishop Matthiesen from Amarillo, TX, was recognized with the annual Teacher of Peace award. He made a courageous stand against nuclear proliferation, and his efforts helped gather momentum which eventually led to the US Catholic Bishops issuing a statement against nuclear weapons in the mid-80s.

One of the featured speakers--Miguel D'escoto, who is the President of the United Nations General Assembly--was not able to attend due to the continued crisis in Honduras. Participants were more-than-understanding.

We were treated to overnight accommodations at Su Casa Catholic Worker. This very large building is a former friary for German Franciscan brothers. It now houses an intentional community of about 9 members and offers hospitality to Latino families.

It was a great weekend. It gave a jump start to my own justice awareness. Pat saw some old friends he knew at the Catholic Worker in D.C. The presenters were great, and there were numerous vendors and other groups that were distributing information about their work.

We are currently discerning whether or not to start a chapter of Pax Christi through our community. It seems like it would be smart if we tied our justice efforts to the larger peace movements going on nationally and internationally. It is certainly nice to randomly scatter seeds of justice and goodness in the world--it is even better to take those seeds and plant fields in the vineyard of the Lord. Good justice work is organized and strategic. Being connect to Pax Christi would certainly help with that. Please see us if you would like to be involved!

Perpetual Sundae Bar

I don't remember who it was, but I remember the moment exactly. We had a meeting to try to figure out a way to thank the Dominican sisters for leaving us their convent so well furnished and loved. A statue? A speech? Some other gift? Some visionary soul shouted out: ICE CREAM PARTY!

Those words echoed through the Catholic Worker and set in motion a chain of events that has steered the course of our community ever since.

Cheryl got the ball rolling by dropping off tubs of ice cream, bottles of syrup, nuts, sprinkles, cherries and whipped cream. In other words: A recipe for success.

The ice cream party at the Dominican Mother House was not a one-time event (I'll be blogging about that event in more detail soon). The perpetual ice cream bar has been a mainstay of Catholic Worker life ever since. It is a balm for many ailments.

Every so often we break out the sundae bar during ESL class, and the students are overjoyed. Some chop up whatever fruit we have on hand to make a banana split or some other concoction.

Erin comes over frequently to help out at various events, and she often brings her kids. While her kids generally love the house (there is nothing like playing hide-and-go see here!) sometimes the kids just want to be at home doing their own thing. They patiently wait for her. The cure? Sundae bar! Suddenly those frowns are upside down!

Weary travelers? Long day? Need an excuse to hang out? All roads lead to ice cream around here. Some scoop in peanut butter. One ESL student spoons on at least a half-dozen Maraschino cherries. And still others just like a plain bowl of ice cream. The style may be different, but the core reality is the same: This is how we do business.

Whether the crowd is Dominican nuns, Latino immigrants or fidgety children, ice cream is a common thread that runs through our lives. We owe so much to the genius out there who suggested it! Whoever you are, please come forward to collect your reward, which is--you guessed--it: A sundae!

Innovation

Some patrons of the food pantry are truly overjoyed at gifts of fresh vegetables. However, you may be surprised that sometimes these fresh vegetables are not a welcome addition! It is not that people don't like them or appreciate them. The problem is that they require a lot of time and usually other ingredients to make them work.

Just imagine coming home with a bundle of radishes or basil. These are nearly always a component in larger dishes which require at least a half a dozen other ingredients. Even a simple squash requires cooking oil and at least a little seasoning. People in poverty often don't have the time, energy or other resources needed to make a meal like that. They are busy just trying to survive and often prefer ready-to-eat meals such as cans of soup or stew.

Many thanks to Grace, who volunteers at a couple of local pantries as well as the Catholic Worker, for pointing this out.

One idea is to package up combinations of produce that complement each other.

Salad works well in this regard. Within the bags of lettuce, we are now including items such as a garden fresh radish, green pepper, carrot or cherry tomatoes--whatever is available. We top it off with some single-serve packets of salad dressing. People can simply open the bag and help themselves to a complete salad without needing any other ingredients.



Erin suggested putting simple recipes with a bundle of items. Perhaps tomatoes and basil leaves with a little note showing how they work well on a grilled cheese sandwich or chopped up together in a cold salad with some cheese.

* * *

In other news, we have had some theft at the garden. The real trajedy is that we would have been more than happy to give space for anyone to grow all the fresh vegetables they could ever need. We would also have been happy to give them produce from the community sections of the garden. Unfortunately, the theft occurred in a gardener's private plot.

We are thinking of ways to address this in the future. Perhaps we could put up signs inviting people to pick, but in certain areas only.

Theft is probably part of the reality of a community garden, but it is still sad. So far we have been blessed that the garden has been virtually untouched by theft or vandalism all year. All we can do is have faith that the people who took it must have really needed it, perhaps a young kid wanting to provide for his ailing grandmother.

* * *

On the brighter side, the jalapeño and chile pepper plants are starting to produce in abundance. We'll be handing them out to our Latino friends at our ESL class tonight!

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In still other news, let me direct you to a picture of the beautiful okra flower:

Peter Would Have Been Proud

Our first book study session of Disturbing the Peace took place last night. We started shortly after 7:00 pm. While the session "officially" ended at 8:30, folks continued talking until nearly 10:30. It was a wonderful night of conversation, education and--as Bill pointed out--clarification of thought, in the Catholic Worker tradition.

Even if you didn't attend the first session, please come for the second. It will be in two weeks on July 26th at 7:00 pm. We have copies of the book for borrowing or for a donation. Read through Chapter 9 before session 2.

This is not something to miss!

Check out Erin's comments here about the book study and other thoughts about social justice.

You can also read her other post which talks about a concert we attended at the North Columbus Friends Meeting (Quakers). While distributing flyers for the book study, we were invited to this show, and it was quite good! The performer was Tom Neilson and he was wearing and anti-SOA T-shirt! How about that!

Room to Grow

Kirk built a wooden box so that gardeners can drop off their vegetables to donate (see picture). You may have seen it outside the back door of the Catholic Worker. It has holes on the side so the veggies can breathe.

We have been able to provide a nice selection to the food pantry lately. We've been stocking the fridge with bags of salad, green beans, squash, turnips and collards. However, we could easily provide 3-4 times more produce without being excessive.

When the time comes, there will certainly be enough tomatoes, but some of the other crops could have been planted more densely. With that in mind, there has been some major planting going on so that we'll be strong by the end of the season. We can certainly ramp it up for next year.

While it may look like all the space in the garden has been taken up, there are spots all over that are available for planting. There are some sections where nothing has really sprouted, and there comes a time to admit that it's not happening there and re-till it. Tim & Frank H. found room in some of those areas to put more beans. There are piles of what used to be sod all around the no-till corn section that are already perfectly mounded up for squash. There is a 3-foot wide perimeter that goes around the whole garden where we have been storing our supplies and mulch. There is quite a bit of room in there for more crops. I've been squeezing in squash and bean seeds all over. Just when you think there is no more room, you find there is a bounty.

There has already been talk about how we might organize this for next year. Some folks who did not get on board want to participate next year, including members of the Latino community. The current gardeners gobbled up the space and quickly expanded to other sections. It is fun to watch the enthusiasm and to see what plans the Holy Spirit has for this!

Unexpected Bounty

It is not everyday that someone pulls up to the house with a pick-up truck full of fresh produce to donate, but that's exactly what happened on Saturday!

A group called Justice Gardens works hard to distribute the bounty of local gardens to folks in need. Our very own gardeners James & Erin K. referred us to them as a delivery site. The group gets donations from vendors at the Clintonville Community Market as well as Panera Bread and makes a point of delivering them to local shelters and free pantries.

We sorted through it and got it ready--there were bushels and bushels of mostly organic zucchini and heads of lettuce. There was also an assortment of cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, kale and swiss chard. Having available refrigerator space made a difference, as Justice Gardens otherwise would have to deliver everything immediately. We added some yellow squash, jalapeños and kohlrabi from our own garden.

We distributed it in two places: We took a load down to Faith Mission. The majority we shared with the Latino community. We set up a table and gave it away after one of the Spanish Masses this weekend.

This gave us a good opportunity to connect with the Latino community. They are hard working, and we usually need to insist before they take gifts of any kind. We shared in a friendly spirit and talked about our ESL classes and the legal clinic. Bev was helpful speaking Spanish (shown in the picture above) and Erin S. distributed flyers and produce. Many have not experienced much hospitality from the non-Latino community, so this was a good chance just to radiate some good feelings.

Fresh, organic produce is always a good thing to share. Some folks live in apartments and don't have access to a garden of their own. We are certainly hoping to involve more members of the Latino community with our garden next year!

That's me peeling a kohlrabi in the bottom picture--many of the Latinos had never tasted that vegetable before. We handed out some slices and some were impressed!

Many thanks to Justice Gardens for bringing an unexpected twist to our weekend--they are a new group, but their ministry is an important one and we'll be looking for ways to work with them in the future. Thanks also to James & Erin K. for the referral!

Hospitality News

People sometimes come to the door of the Catholic Worker asking for help. On a couple of occasions, we've been able to offer them food and refer them to shelters in town.

A woman came to the Catholic Worker asking for help, yesterday afternoon. She said she had been evicted and had nowhere to stay. A volunteer helped her to some food and a blanket. Erin was called in and discussed options for shelters. Not being able to find anything, Erin took the woman back to her house to stay the night (since we are currently not set up to provide emergency shelter at the Catholic Worker). Plans were made to get the woman prepared for one of the local family shelters, but after breakfast she disappeared.

Please keep this woman Cynthia in your thoughts and prayers! She was friendly and well-mannered, but we certainly don't know her whole story.

The Catholic Worker does not recommend that people take strangers into their own homes without first being part of a supportive community that can share the burden and provide the proper preparation. For example, we were careful to make sure there were at least two Catholic Workers around whenever possible. It is also crucial to go through some serious spiritual discernment before taking on a ministry (and the potential risks) like this. Erin was not acting alone.

Part of the vision of the entire Catholic Worker movement is to foster a greater sense of hospitality in our society. This sense of hospitality has been sorely missing in the last few decades as Americans are positively terrified of strangers. We live in isolation from the people around us. However, prudence is in order. The Catholic Worker movement has traditionally done hospitality in community, not as individuals acting alone.

Hospitality can be a very beautiful witness. When a group manages it well, it can a relatively safe, nurturing atmosphere. It is an amazing thing to realize that somewhere in town there is an open door, a place where you can go if you are in need! For advice on doing this, contact a local Catholic Worker community!

Woodcut above by Ade Bethune.

SOA: Past and Present

We are going to have a showing of the movie Romero on Monday, July 6th at 7:30 pm. I saw the movie several years ago and loved it. I've been meaning to watch it again so it's fresh in my mind for the upcoming book study on the School of the Americas.

Please drop on by and join me, we'll have refreshments and snacks, of course! Whether you attend the book study or not, you are certainly welcome.

* * *

There is also something going on right now in the world that also relates directly to what our book study will be about. You may have noticed in the news that there was recently a military takeover of the government in Honduras.

At first, the story may seem rather ordinary: Another third world government has been overthrown. That's hardly even news, right? Well, it bears looking a bit further: The government that was overthrown was democratically elected. That's sad, but again, is that really news in that part of the world? Going even further, the man who led the uprising was trained in the USA by the US military.

While this is tragic, certainly the US can't be blamed if someone they train is a bad egg and goes off and does something terrible, right? Our government professes to support democratically-elected governments around the world. That was supposedly part of our rationale for entering Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other places.

Honduras is not an isolated incident, though. This article brings the story into a larger context. Literally dozens and dozens of US-trained and supported personnel have been involved in all sorts of takeovers, wars, abuses and atrocities all over Latin America for decades. Even worse, the constant state of chaos that is the result of all these atrocities keeps this part of the world dangerously impoverished and suffering.

So what is our government doing supporting people who are doing the opposite of what Americans value? Is our government simply mismanaging this, or is this intentional? Neither seems excusable, in my opinion. I don't know about you, but I think those are very good questions!

We'll be exploring these topics in the coming weeks, please join us!

Charity & Justice

Charity grounds our justice work,

Justice work gives vision to our charity.

The marriage between justice work and charity has always struck me as being a defining characteristic of the Catholic Worker movement. There is something about doing both that enhances the community and the mission. It brings a synergy with such a diverse group of people working together. The result is both balance and vision.

You may be campaigning for housing justice in one room with a homeless man sleeping on the couch in the next room. Another community may be working to bring emergency relief to Somalia or Darfur in the afternoon while spending the morning handing out food to their neighbors at a soup kitchen. There is involvement in the local as well as global community. There is dialogue between the rich and the poor. Poverty has a face, and charity has a direction.

We have seen this dynamic right in our own ministries here in Columbus. We are starting a book study on the School of Americas. We will soon be discussing some big issues of imperialism and military spending and how they are tied to atrocities in Latin America. In our ESL classes, there are people who have direct memory of those same atrocities on a very personal level. Some have lost family members and had to flee their homeland. They now struggling to learn English and survive in a new land.

When you hear that, you might pause. I certainly did. Suddenly, the book study is no longer coffee and polite banter. There is a seriousness and a reality that becomes present. We come out of the clouds and our feet start to feel the ground. We need this. We human beings can get lost in the abstract world of ideas and have difficulty connecting those ideas to real flesh and blood. People rattle off facts and figures about tens of thousands of people dying in wars and disasters, but can we really appreciate the scope of the problem that way? Just meeting one person who has been personally affected can do more than hearing all the statistics in the world.

In a likewise manner, if we don't work for justice we can easily burn ourselves out helping individuals. It would be worth everyone's time to find out if there is something we can do to address why they are suffering in the first place. Random acts of charity can be beautiful, but without focus one has to wonder if it is effort well spent. I wouldn't plant a field by randomly throwing seeds in the air. Why would I practice the Works of Mercy in the same way? And why would I do justice work without knowing what it is like at the street level?

A Taste (and Thirst) of Heaven

Picture of me from a couple of weeks ago--the garden has grown significantly since then!

Gardening has been a taste of heaven. It is not just the work that is being done, although that is lovely. It is not just the fresh produce we are eating and sharing with the poor, which is also wonderful. It is the fact that it is such a great experience of community.

A typical Wednesday night could involve a handful of people working in the garden. People work not just on their own plots but are often found watering and weeding their neighbor's, as well. Children of the gardeners as well as some neighborhood kids may be climbing the nearby mullberry tree, coming back with fingers and shirts stained purple from the ripe berries. People passing by express delight. Conversations happen, the work is shared, the harvest is on its way! It is gentle and simple and right.

* * *

Our friend Jonathan from the Rainbrothers recently stopped by to help us with the water situation. What is the water situation, you may ask? Well, we have none. Gardeners have been dutifully bringing buckets and tubs they have filled at home. We were thirsty for a water supply on site.

The baseball backstop has provided the answer. Jonathan installed some metal sheets on the top to form a makeshift roof. He attached some gutters as well. All that is left is to funnel the rainwater into some downspouts and into rain barrels at the bottom.

You can see the whole project here. Joan and Tim are hard at work in the foreground, with Jonathan in the back

Here is Jonathan attaching the metal sheets.

If you stop by to visit the garden, be sure to help yourself to some sugar snap peas! They are growing up the fence on the east side of the garden.

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In other news, it has now become a lot easier to prepare the lettuce for the food pantry. Thanks to a donation of a new salad spinner from Erin, we can now bag up light and fluffy lettuce!

Book Study: Disturbing the Peace

Please join us as we kick off this justice ministry (by Erin and Bev):

The Columbus Catholic Worker is sponsoring a book study with authors Jim Hodge and Linda Cooper sharing their book Disturbing the Peace: The Story of Father Roy Bourgeois and the Movement to Close the School of the Americas. The study begins July 12 and will meet for 4 sessions--every other week at 7:00-8:30 pm at the Catholic Worker House located at 1614 Oakland Park Avenue. Participants are asked to purchase their own book online or at a local bookstore and to read the first 4 chapters before the first meeting. We also have some copies of the book on site, so contact us to make arrangements.

Please RSVP to Frank here before July 9.

The following synopsis is a description from the authors who will be leading the study with us:

Examine the life of a once gung-ho Navy Lt. who, after working with war orphans in Vietnam, abandoned his military career to become a missionary among the poor in Latin America where he saw grave human rights abuses. After learning that the United States Army had trained the killers of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and four US churchwomen, two of whom were his friends, he set out to close the US Army School of the Americas that has trained hundreds of assassins and dictators.

The larger story details how the SOA peace movement grew, drawing thousands of people from every faith and walk of life, including students, veterans, religious leaders, film stars like Martin Sheen and Susan Sarandon, death penalty foe Helen Prejean, and legendary musician Pete Seeger as well as the Indigo Girls. It’s a movement that has challenged religious and government leaders much in the tradition of Dorothy Day. The movement prompted the Pentagon to close the school, only to find it re-opened under a new name.

Two Upcoming Events--Please Join Us!

Please join us on Saturday, June 20th, at 6:00 pm for a Dinner and House Discussion. We will be hosting a couple of people who are considering moving into our community as live-in volunteers. It will be a great time to meet them and see if we are a good match. It will also be a good time for our community to talk about where we are and where we'd like to be. Your input and your presence would be greatly appreciated! We want to talk about some upcoming justice-related ministry events as well as our overall vision for being a house of hospitality, so please join us!

* * *

Please also join us on Monday, June 22nd at 7:00 pm for an Ice Cream Social & Country Gospel event to show appreciation for the Dominican sisters. This will be held at the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, right behind Ohio Dominican University.

They left us a fully furnished and well-loved convent which is now our new Catholic Worker House. In particular, we want to thank Sr. Barbara, who has done so much to welcome us to our new place and facilitate this whole transition.

We will be serving ice cream and spending time talking with the sisters. The musicians include members of St. Francis parish who are generously donating their time and talents.

Whether you are new to the Catholic Worker community or a veteran, we would love to see you there to share this with us! We can use helpers to scoop ice cream, talk about the Catholic Worker with the sisters and just to socialize.

St. Mary of the Springs (motherhouse)
2320 Airport Drive
Columbus, OH 43219

Any questions, contact Frank. We apologize for the short notice for these events, but these were the best times we could come up with considering all the logistics and different schedules we had to coordinate. We hope to see you there!

Decked out in Green

Much of what you can do for the environment revolves on how you manage your clothing!

Buy fewer clothes. Remember, they all come from either agricultural sources (cotton, linen, wool) or oil-based ones (polyester, rayon), so a savings in either category has a tremendous ecological benefit. Buying less means less land scoured with conventional farming practices, less oil consumed and fewer toxins released. Shop instead at thrift stores and deck yourself out in retro style.

Since agricultural items grown for clothing are not eaten, there are much fewer restrictions on pesticide use. Cotton uses approximately 25% of the world's insecticides and more than 10% of the pesticides.

I feel spoiled that I now have 2 pairs of jeans. A few shirts and a few pants are all you need. I am sympathetic if clothing is your passion, but get creative with accessories and be honest about the fact that much of your wardrobe sits unused in your closet. Donate what you don't need to thrift stores.

Appliances account for 17% of household energy use, and aside from your refrigerator, your washer and dryer are the biggest consumers!

Wash your clothes less often. A day at the office does not require a thorough wash in heavy-duty laundry detergents! Hang them up to wear again (socks and undergarments excluded, of course). Each time you wash clothes, you use water, put detergents into the environment, increase the demand for plastics (containers) and use energy to power the machines and heat water. The best way to save on your laundry footprint is simply to not do laundry! You will also enjoy the added bonus of having more free time as you spend less in the laundry room.

Avoid clothes dryers! Just hang them up to dry. I have a large drying rack which takes care of business, and most items are ready within 24 hours. If time is an issue, I have found that running a regular fan pointed toward the hanging clothes speeds up the process with minimal energy use. If you are really ambitious, put them on a clothesline outside. The sun is a natural bleaching agent, so it can help you avoid the chemical variety of bleach. I only use the dryer when I am in a true hurry or occasionally as some items need to be fluffed and de-linted.

While we're at it: Avoid bleach. Unless you're washing hospital garments, it is just unnecessary and harmful to you and the environment.

Use energy efficient appliances. They conserve water and use a more concentrated detergent (reducing the amount of plastic container waste). Some dryers don't even use much heat at all, so they are a much better option than traditional varieties.

Wash in cold water. You will save on your hot water heater by using less energy and probably save your clothes from the stress of getting washed in hot water.

Use natural laundry detergents. They all seem to work just fine for me, and many smell great. You'll be saving on oil and phosphates from the environment, decrease your carbon footprint, and keep those toxins off your skin. In addition, consider using a smaller amount of soap. A lot of people use way too much!

Taken together, these steps are not very hard. Too often, we don't think about our clothing choices when we consider environmental stewardship. But everything from making clothes to maintaining them produces a significant strain on the environment. Keeping a simple wardrobe, washing it minimally and using natural cleaners can have a substantial environmental impact and help simply your life, too!