Two Exciting Events! Mass and OTSE Open House

The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord!”
(John 1:23)

Mass

The Holy Mass will be celebrated at the Columbus Catholic Worker chapel next week! Fr. Smith from St. Matthias will be presiding. Please join us on Thursday, June 24th at 5:30 pm.

Join us to celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist. As a community rooted in faith, we know that we will shrivel up and blow away like “dust in the wind” if this branch is not connected to the True Vine. So we come to the well to drink.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit in a while, this is a perfect time to drop in and pray together with us.

Our summer resident Kaitlyn, who is on break from Notre Dame University, is planning this and other events. Stay tuned for more details as others unfold!

OTSE

Immediately following the Mass, we are hosting an Open House for the group OTSE (Ohioans to Stop Executions). They are working hard to lay the groundwork for possibly a new regional chapter in the Columbus area, and the Columbus Catholic Worker would like to support this effort in any way we can.

From their announcement:

Regional groups across the state are crucial in OTSE's efforts of activating members and potential supporters at the local level. For this reason, we are hosting an open house gathering on June 24th for those interested in meeting our staff and other community members while learning more about Ohio's death penalty and simple ways to help the movement. This is the perfect way for Columbus area supporters to get more involved in the work to stop executions in Ohio.

This will be at 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., with a short presentation at 7:00 p.m. about Ohio's death penalty and recent developments. Please R.S.V.P. by email to otse.org@gmail.com or by phone to (614) 560-0654. All are welcome, so please consider bringing a friend.

Folks can attend either the Mass or the OSTE Open House, or both. However, maybe it is not a coincidence that St. John the Baptist was himself a victim of the death penalty, so it is not hard to find a common thread between the two gatherings.

Bread & soup and refreshments will be on hand to share.

Clemency Petition

The following is from Kevin Werner of Ohioans to Stop Executions:

Earlier today, supporters of Ohio death row inmate Kevin Keith (pictured at left), who faces execution on September 15 despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence, posted a petition online urging the Ohio Parole Board and Governor Ted Strickland to grant clemency to Kevin.

Kevin Keith has been on death row since 1994. Now, newly discovered evidence points to his innocence of the crime for which he stands to be executed. This evidence has never been presented to a jury.

Kevin's case is so compelling that many prominent groups have filed supporting briefs on his behalf, including the National Innocence Network, an affiliation of over 50 innocence projects and legal organizations around the country, the Ohio Innocence Project, an organization that typically only works on non-death penalty cases involving DNA evidence, and a group of leading eyewitness and memory experts.

More information about his case can be found at: www.kevinkeith.org. Please be sure to take a moment and sign the petition below.

Click here to sign the petition and to learn more about this case.

A Day in the Life

People often ask what we do at the Columbus Catholic Worker. In particular, volunteers and new live-in community members can walk around a big, empty house and wonder what all the fuss is about. People may not know how to plug in.

At the risk of coming across as self-indulgent, I decided to document my activities this Monday morning to give a snapshot of what life is like at 1614. This is not a comprehensive list, as other community members are doing other projects as well, but it is just a little slice of what one person is doing on one morning.

* * *

The day begins with morning prayer at 6 am. This is no small feat for a night owl like me, but things seem to fall apart when we aren’t praying consistently, and 6 am is the only time when we are all reliably at the house on a consistent basis. Jeremiah does a nice job leading us in the Liturgy of the Hours in the chapel, albeit with the lights on a little too brightly, I might add. I go back to sleep afterwards.

Coffee comes next. It is reassuring to say that coffee does not come first but rather second to prayer!

You never know what tasks are waiting for us on voicemail. Perhaps there is a Spanish-speaker looking for immigration advice, a parish question about grounds keeping or a person inquiring about living in our community. Today, it is a total of three calls from donors looking to drop off clothing for the Free Store. I return the calls and schedule a drop-off time later this afternoon.

I then place a call to a local organizer against the death penalty. Momentum is building against the death penalty, and we are ready and willing to help Central Ohio organize to that end. This Saturday, there is a gathering of Murder Victims Families at our place. Anyone out there who has ever planned anything from a high school graduation party to a social justice action knows all the work that goes into making an event happen—phone calls, transportation, refreshments, materials on hand, audio/visuals, scheduling kitchen duties, clean-up, you name it.

The next phone call is to the Diocese. Our summer resident Kaitlyn is working hard to develop the prayer life of the community. I won’t give away any secrets as to what plans are in the works, she’ll unveil those when the time comes! For now it is enough to say we have scheduled a time to meet folks from the downtown office to share ideas and coordinate activities.

Compost has been building up, so I consolidate our containers of food waste into one 5-gallon bucket, ready for a trip out to the garden later this afternoon. Recyclables are also gathered and put on the stoop, to be loaded into a car and taken to a local dumping station (Columbus has dozens all over the city, mostly at schools and fire departments).

The rains have interrupted our community garden workdays recently, especially the monsoon that hit last Wednesday evening. Our radishes are a bit past their prime and spinach and lettuce are quickly growing and need to be picked right away. If I get my act together, I can have some packets of salad ready to be given out at the Food Pantry tonight.

Speaking of the Food Pantry, an unexpected visitor came to the door. A young man said his neighborhood just had their yearly barbecue, and this time they added an extra twist: Attendees were to bring non-perishable food items to be donated. He brought several wonderful bags of items to give away. Pat was downstairs stocking shelves, so she and I gave him a tour of the Pantry.

We just got a new phone plan, as our previous provider jacked up our rates. Our old computer is not recognizing the new internet connection, so some troubleshooting is required. Like any business or home, there is no shortage of the day-to-day business concerns, such as working with utilities providers, plumbing problems, lawn care, shrubbery trimming, computers, etc.

The next conversation is with the maintenance man at the parish. We had some flooding in the basement last week. While the Food Pantry generously had the entire basement reconfigured to handle water drainage, there was so much rain last week that the windows themselves were holding back (unsuccessfully) literally gallons of water. I sought advice on how to best clean out the catch basins, as small trees have been sprouting out of them lately. I’ll be dredging them out this afternoon.

Creative juices seems to flow best somewhere between coffee and breakfast, so I am writing this blog post as well as another this morning. The blog is a great way to share reflections and to be a tool to promote issues and advertise events.

Later in the day I’ll do some light cleaning and make coffee for the ESL class & planning group tonight. Erin and Kaitlyn have been recording educational songs for ESL, and Linda, Vielka and Fran has been gathering real-world documents such as job applications to use for classes.

* * *

Admittedly, much of the daytime work above is administrative blah-blah and probably not too exciting. However, the nuts & bolts of the operation make it possible for the other things happen. The community really comes alive in the evenings and weekends as folks gather to directly do the ministries themselves. During the day, it can be quiet but with still lots of planning and preparing, and it is easy to be too busy.

Where else can you spend your days in such a rich environment of service? Picking fresh produce for the Food Pantry, gathering clothing for the poor, planning a social justice event against the death penalty and sharing theological reflections on the blog in the span of just a few hours! I also should mention how good it feels to begin the day in community prayer.

Every day is different. Just to give an example of how different, we had a Fair Trade coffee event after Mass at St. Anthony parish yesterday followed by a community meal & meeting in the evening. On Saturday we organized a new Reading Room and reconfigured the Office at the house. Erin’s group is working on the ESL curriculum and Joan has plans for the Garden and Free Store. Each of them has a story to tell as well.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Bearing Fruit: National Pax Christi Gathering

Consider going to Pax Christi's annual National Catholic Conference on Peacemaking in Chicago this summer! Pat and I went last year, and it was a very good experience that has continued to reap benefits throughout this past year:

It was there that we met the folks from Just Haiti, and we have since begun a lovely relationship distributing fair trade coffee from Haiti.

It was there that we met the folks from the Michigan Peace Team. We invited them to our place in December for an all-day nonviolence training workshop.

It wast here that I first heard John Dear in person and have been transformed by his and Pax Christi's message of nonviolence: Never has violence solved a problem in any sort of long-term way. Only by breaking our absolute addiction to violence do we have any chance of solving the problems of injustice. I decided to take the Vow of Nonviolence and felt transformed.

Bishop Leroy Matthiesen won the 2009 Teacher of Peace award, and we heard him speak about his daring work in opposition to nuclear weapons.

We also picked up a number of hard-to-find books, DVD's and other materials on peacemaking. There were speakers on many issues and justice groups of all types representated.

Last but certainly not least, it was there that we made good contacts with the folks from the national office and have since begun our own chapter of Pax Christi right here in Columbus!

An added bonus is that Pat and I were the guests of Su Casa Catholic Worker and got a chance to tour their facility while we stayed there.

While Pax Christi is the international Catholic peace movement, there were representatives from many denominations, such as the Soujourners community, Mennonites, to name a couple. The peace movement is one of the most truly ecumenical experiences you may have.

With all that in mind, consider going to the conference this year! I'm sure there will be quite a bit of attention on Immigration Reform in light of the recent Arizona law, as well as our too-easily-forgotten international wars. Eric LeCompte (one of the speakers) is the former national organizer for the School of Americas Watch (SOAW), so I anticipate quite a bit of attention on SOA this year.

Click here for detailed information on the conference. You can register though that link, as well.

Maybe we can get a few of us to carpool . . . ?

* * *

From the Pax Christi facebook page:

This year's theme: Know Justice, Know Peace: Ending War at Home and Abroad and includes speakers Rev. Bryan Massingale, Jeremy Scahill, Elena Segura, Jack Jezreel, Sr. Dianna Ortiz, Dr. Megan McKenna, Rev. Joseph Brown, Eric LeCompte, Brigitte Gynther, Adrienne Alexander, Joe Grant, members of the Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team, and more. Special award recognition for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).

Start Time: Friday, July 16, 2010 at 3:00pm
End Time: Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 1:00pm
Location: Rosemont Hotel O'Hare, Chicago

* * *

I left the conference last year impressed with the speakers but unsure whether the event had any long-term impact on me. Reflecting on the past year, it is clear that going to that conference really bore quite a bit of fruit! Like all things that are substantial, it just needed time to incubate and percolate before it could reciprocate.

Haitian Mass and Coffee

by Joan

We are all invited to a Haitian Mass and reception at St. Matthias Church this coming Sunday, May 22 hosted by Fr. Fritz Valcin who ministers to the Haitian community in Columbus. The Mass starts at 1:30. St. Matthias Church is located on the northeast corner of Karl and Ferris Rd.; the address is 1582 Ferris Road. Fr. Valcin suggested that people wear red for Pentecost along with some blue, blue and red being the colors of the Haitian flag.

As you probably know, the Columbus Catholic Worker has been providing fair trade Haitian coffee to Columbus in exchange for donations since shortly after the devastating earthquake hit that country. We've had great success with it - people really seem to like it. And we feel good about helping to support the co-op in Haiti that produces it and provides its worker-owners with a decent living.

We'll be setting up a table laden with our Cafe Lespwa coffee at the reception after the Mass. The reception will start at about 2:30. So please join us either at the Mass or the reception or both this coming Sunday. There should be some very friendly people, good food and music to enjoy and you can help us help some of the people of Haiti in a very tangible way. We need to set up the table at 1:00 so if you're coming for the Mass perhaps you could come a little early and help out with that.

Death Row and the Catholic Church

The State of Ohio put to death Darryl Durr just this past Tuesday. Attempts were made to stop this process, citing that Durr was allergic to the anesthesia. The circus continues in Ohio's saga of executions. Another execution is scheduled every month in Ohio through November (it was originally September when this post was written).

Some argue that justice was done. Yet a crime creates obligations, according to Howard Zehr. Victims and their families may need pastoral care. They may need financial support or help managing daily life. Society may need education to prevent further crimes. Yet, our justice system focuses almost exclusively on inflicting a penalty to the offender while leaving the rest wholly unaddressed.

Where is the Catholic Church on the death penalty?

The US Bishops have been working against the death penalty for decades, along with bishops from numerous other nations as well as the Vatican.

Pope John Paul II led the way by clarifying 2,000 years of magisterial tradition. He put strong limits on any Church support for the death penalty.

A key document is his encyclical Evangelium Vitae, the famed "Gospel of Life. It issues some of the strongest and most definitive statements on capital punishment to ever come out of the magisterium.

It speaks of the absolute respect for life and the indispensable nature of the fifth commandment. The Gospel of Life includes all life: Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity. In several places, the pope affirms that it is only God who is the absolute Lord of the life of man.

Evangelium Vitae was released to the world on the Feast of the Annunciation, fifteen years ago. This Feast Day announces the Good News of the Incarnation of Christ on earth. The very real, and not merely symbolic presence of Christ, is in everyone.

In the introductory paragraph, John Paul II writes that Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world.

Christ of the Breadline, by Fritz Eichenberg

Jesus was not speaking metaphorically when he said in the Gospel Matthew, For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt 25:35), as theologian Thomas R. Rourke points out. This presence of Christ is in each human person, and all humans share this common solidarity. As a result, John Paul II states that all killing, like the story of Cain and Abel, is fratricide--bother against brother.

Not only were all humans created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27), but the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ brings that to fulfillment.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has adopted much of John Paul II's language and reads: The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

Adding: such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.

The Catholic Church's position is nuanced, and as a result it has been the source of a lot of confusion. The rather liberal way the Church has supported the death penalty in previous centuries has not helped in this matter, either.

The bottom line is this: The Catholic Church is basically saying it is not absolutely pacifist. The Church has not, and probably will not, ever 100% rule out the possibility of support for the death penalty. However, this is the furthest thing from a blank check of endorsement.

The overall moral obligation to value and protect all life--including the guilty--must be held alongside not just the right but the duty to protect oneself and the common good of society. If there is an immediate threat, the Church has declared that it will not rule out the death penalty as a possible response.

However, instances of this in the modern world are more in the realm of theoretical possibility rather than something that actually happens. Let's not forget the important clause that shows the scope of Church teaching: Such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.

When describing the "consistent ethic of life," Cardinal Bernardin summarized Church teaching by stating that there should always be a presumption against taking human life.

So then what can justify taking a life? Only a clear and present threat to other lives.

The focus of Catholic morality is living in the mercy of Jesus, taking Gospel risks to "be not afraid" and fostering not just life but well-being. Those should take preeminence over an emergency, last-ditch effort to treat violence with violence. That should only happen after all else has been tried and tried again and there is simply no other option.

In other words, the death penalty is not an acceptable means of punishment in a purely retributive sense. It is only considered a possibility when collective defense is factored in. When you consider modern prisons and research showing the ineffectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent, it is an extremely unlikely possibility.

Perhaps it would be easier if the Catholic Church could just say it was against the death penalty in an absolute sense and be done with it. That would be simpler. There are many who would like to see the Church embrace a wholly pacifist stance. Some say the Church is already saying that, since the death penalty is not a punishment per se but only a self defense of last resort.

To the average Catholic on the street, the intense theological debates over specific vocabulary do not change the reality that the Church is, for all practical purposes, thoroughly against the death penalty. The gap between absolute pacifism and where the Church stands is extremely narrow if not practically non-existent, to borrow a quote.

In Short: Wow!

It is hard to believe how many projects were begun and completed at the community garden this morning. People brought a lot of skills and enthusiasm, and there were many hands to do the work. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

The best is to let the pictures tell the story:

A team installed the rainwater catchment system off of the old baseball backstop. Last year's system was taken down for the winter, and a modified version was put up today. Frank H. and Brian (above), with Perry looking on from below, are hard at work attaching the panels and gutters.

Perry & son are working to connect the downspouts to the large, 250-gallon drums that were donated by Coca-Cola.


Erin S. is posing next to a thorn less blackberry she just planted.

Earlier this week, Fr. John dropped off a box of thorn less blackberries that he dug up from his family's farm. Erin S., Erin W. and I planted them this morning in a rich mixture of last year's compost. Orchlene brought some stakes and a mighty sledgehammer to mark the location of the little shoots.

Paul and Jim (above) along with Kirk spent the morning sawing and hammering to fashion the new bulletin board. This will be a great way to post announcements, so that gardeners and visitors alike will have a sense of what is going on at the garden.

Suzanne "Queen of the Compost" and Jeff took the lead on building a sophisticated compost management system, using pallets donated by Lars.

Fresh compost will be placed in the bin on the left. As it breaks down, it will be moved to the middle bin. Ready-to-use compost will be in the final bin on the right.

Tim is busy above moving last year's stalks and vines into the new compost bins.


Erin K. and some neighborhood kids painted this colorful community garden sign last year. Joan is busy weather-sealing it, and it will soon be on display!

Zulma, Kirk and Erin K. are in the forefront above, with the bulletin board crew in the back.

The amazing thing is that this is truly a community effort, and no one person made this all happen. Contributions came from all over, and people made their presence felt.

That being said, a special shout out goes to Kirk, for doing so much of the coordinating and behind-the-scenes work to make sure people and supplies were ready this morning!

And the best part of all: There is always plenty of time for neighbors and friends to talk, eat donuts, and just have a good time!

In short: Wow!

Greening the CCW

The Great Catholic Worker Light Bulb Swap is underway! Believe it or not, there are around 200 light bulbs in the Catholic Worker house! So far, we have replaced about 75 with fluorescent bulbs. We've strategically targeted high-traffic areas and high-wattage bulbs, and we'll get around to the rest eventually. The good news is that the kitchen and most of the basement (where the food pantry is located) is already outfitted with long, tubular fluorescent lights, but that has still left quite a few more to swap out.

Used light bulbs can go to the Free Store and to a friend who donated dozens of fluorescent bulbs to us but who himself prefers incandescents (some people are very sensitive to the glare). At first, we waited for them to burn out before replacing, but now we have a way to make sure they won't get wasted, so we decided to swap them out now.

A new Energy-Star refrigerator also graces the kitchen, replacing a model from 1985. Funds were low, but there were some tremendous savings and rebates this past weekend, part of them through the federal government. Even though we didn't have time to properly raise funds, we decided to seize the moment and ended up saving 35% off the price of a new fridge. A generous donor took the risk and purchased it, hoping to split the cost with someone else if anyone out there feels called to help.

Our clothes dryer and washing machine are also at the end of their usable life, and we hope to raise money to replace those, soon. Not only does the live-in community use those items, but we also offer them to some struggling neighbors. While I prefer to air-dry as much as possible, a dryer is useful for bedding and for guests.

We can't wait to replace the 4 gallons-per-flush toilets with newer, 1.5 gallon units. Just do the math: Imagine a workshop with about 40 participants, each flushing 3-4 times over the course of a 2-day retreat. That's around 650 gallons for a single weekend, and that might be a conservative estimate! We already bought 3 new units, now we just have to raise money to get them installed and then move on to the other units (there are a total of 10 plus another in the food pantry).

Like a lot of poor families, it is hard to allocate meager funds in order to be environmentally efficient. It is heartbreaking to scrape together $700 for a new refrigerator only to see about $8-10 in monthly savings. It does add up and it does pay for itself over the course of about 5 years, but when you're broke it is hard to make long-term plans like that. However, the environmental savings makes the decision a lot easier.

There are also plans to research how the boiler system works in this building, as most of our energy costs go to heat the place. It can be expensive to bring in a boiler expert to do this research, but there is quite a bit of potential savings. The boiler itself may be fine, but the complicated valve and pipe system can dramatically affect efficiency if it is not set properly, we have recently learned.

* * *

Our core group member Erin just made some improvements on her house, and it is worth pointing those out as it can be useful for others to know about these things.

First off, she qualified for a free comprehensive home weatherization program! She did this by meeting certain income requirements. There was a team that came over to stuff the walls full of insulation, seal the duct work, and perform numerous other weatherization tasks. She also got a new furnace.

Check out this link for more information on this federally-funded program, and pass this information on to others. A local group called IMPACT did the work. The best way to start the process is to call IMPACT directly.

Replacing appliances and light bulbs are wonderful things, but the real hippopotamus in the living room is the energy savings that comes from a properly insulated home.

Last but most certainly not least, long-time Catholic Worker friend Jonathan through his company Rainbrothers will be out today installing two new rain barrels at Erin's house. The fresh water that runs off her roof will now be used to water her vegetable garden and flowers.

It took me a while to understand how rain barrels could be an environmental benefit, but it works like this: Instead of pumping city water that has been treated with chlorine and other chemicals, she can instead harvest the fresh rainwater from her roof. Significant amounts of water are overflowing the city sewers as they run off rooftops, roads and sidewalks. That water would normally be used to build up the local water table, but instead it is being flushed out in the drains. It makes no sense to drain away the water that is naturally falling onto her property only to pump it back up again, treated with chemicals.

* * *

There is still nothing better than plain old fashioned conservation. Despite all the advances in energy efficiency, nothing save quite as much energy as simply not using it in the first place!

Death Penalty Witness

L to R: Dave and Frank downtown on Fridays.

The death penalty is no laughing matter, but it is easy to trade a few smiles while holding a sign on the witness line.

I often struggle with the effectiveness of such a vigil. However, we are standing right outside of the State Capitol building as well as the offices of the Governor and numerous other government personnel. Lawyers, street vendors, judges, beggars, senators & representatives, students, bus riders, office workers of all types, tourists and others walk and drive past us every Friday. It is important that they realize there are people out there who are opposed to the death penalty. We are a visual reminder to them that folks care about this. We are a support to others who want to take a similar stand. We are a healthy challenge to those who don't.

As Daniel Berrigan and numerous other peacemakers have said, we are called to be faithful, not effective. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't take reasonable steps to be effective, either. Some folks scatter seeds in the wind, but a wise farmer will cultivate organized rows. The important thing is not to get too hung up on the results of our action, because we may never see them.

Standing the heart of downtown as folks mill around on their lunch hour is a good time and place to be doing this. I'd love to see the vigils expanded. Wouldn't it be great if folks were holding a sign at that very place five days each week? What if a rotation of people were doing this all day long? What if we had people all up and down the street in multiple locations? Folks would really take notice.

Grapes, Raspberries, Seed Starting and Final Introductory Meeting

Above, Fr. John discussing the finer points of grapes with Bob on Friday.

Our community garden was given a wonderful treat this past week. Fr. John, a local grape enthusiast and expert, offered us grape starters from his family's farm in southern Ohio. He also offered to give a public tutorial about planting and pruning grapes. We did this on two separate afternoons, this past Friday and Saturday.

There is a lot more to proper grape planting than I ever could have imagined! Fr. John showed us the nuances and tricks he has learned over his years tending grapes. We first dug large holes around the fencepoints. A special root hormone and beneficial fungi were placed around the roots. We used last year's compost, which is rich and ready to use, mixed with some topsoil and peat moss to put in the holes. The grapes were then planted, thoroughly watered, and covered up. They were also snipped to no more than two buds per plant.

Midge (the dog), Jean, Paul, Perry, Zeila and Joan look on during Saturday's planting tutorial.

After the planting, the group traveled a couple blocks to the home of one of our garden leaders, Orchlene. She had some unruly grapes in her backyard, so we got a chance to learn how to prune grapes and get them ready for the new year. I probably need to witness this a couple more times before I feel comfortable, but all of us did learn a lot. While doing that, we dug up 7 red raspberry plants that had spread like wildfired and were interfering with her grapes. Later in the day, we planted all 7 at the St. James community garden.

One of Orchlene's freshly-pruned grapes, pictured on the left.

We had plans to start a perennial garden this year, and the offer of grapes came serendipitously right after that. Also, the raspberries that Orchele would have just thrown away were like gold to us--buying 7 raspberry bushes would have set us back quite a bit if we were to buy them at a nursery. It is amazing how these pieces come together. The sad part is that we won't see any fruit from these this year and quite possibly not even the next, but when it comes we'll be so glad we did this!

The prior Saturday, Joan and Orchele led a seed starting session at the Catholic Worker house. Over a half dozen folks come out to plant several trays of seeds for the community garden as well as for themselves. There are over 15 trays of seeds perched in windows throughout the Catholic Worker house. They are sprouting nicely. We have several trays of marigolds (perfect as an organic repellent to garden pests), tomatoes, peppers, Brussels sprouts, cabbage--you name it.


A tray of new sprouts upstairs in the Catholic Worker house.

Planting our own seeds saves a great deal of money, and it brings us one step closer to the whole life cycle of our garden. We have been blessed with quite a bit of seeds still left over from last year as well as donations from folks this year. Fr. John also gave us a large zip lock back full of dried hot peppers--each full of seeds!

Zeila worked hard to save seeds last year, especially from marigolds. This year, we are going to focus on saving more seeds so that we can be a totally self-sufficient garden!

We had our third and final Garden Tutorial meeting last night. Suzanne "Queen of the Compost" led us in a presentation about the finer points of composting. Kirk followed that up with a round of "Garden 101" principles. We were happy to see a nice representation from the Latino and Vietnamese communities. Zulma gave a presentation at the Spanish language Masses last weekend, and we also got some participants from our ESL classes.

Romero

Today, March 24, 2010, marks the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador:

A prayer on the 30th anniversary of Romero's martyrdom

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen.

(Prayer written by Bishop Ken Untener, attributed to the words of Archbishop Romero.)


From Pax Christi:

Oscar Romero is often called the "Martyr of the Americas of the 20th Century." He served as the Archbishop of San Salvador for three years. The murder of one of his dear friends, Father Rutilio Grande, caused him great pain and set him on a journey toward becoming one of the greatest prophets Catholic social justice activists have ever known. He spoke out against the government repression in El Salvador and against the poverty, hunger and helplessness of the majority of the Salvadoran people, during a time when those who spoke out and publicly opposed the situation were killed or "disappeared."

And Justice For All Immigrants

See below for current actions of our community, our neighbors and our Church for the cause of Immigration Reform, including some events coming up this weekend:

Let's hear it for Rich Nathan, senior pastor of the Vineyard Church of Columbus for his excellent opinion piece on the need for immigration reform which ran in the Columbus Dispatch yesterday.

He cites the impracticality of deporting 12 million contributing members of society. The whole issue of immigration encompasses a broad range of problems, such as employers willing to exploit cheap labor, a nation running rampant with myths about the reality of illegal immigration and the sheer life-or-death desperation that compels these people to cross the border in the first place. He also explains that there are real, practical solutions available.

He writes:

Furthermore, enforcement-only policies are no solution. Deporting 12 million illegal immigrants is utterly impracticable. Not only would it cost hundreds of billions of dollars ($206 billion over five years, according to the chamber), it would destroy families and communities across the country.

The way forward is clear. We need to secure our borders, crack down on dishonest employers and require illegal immigrants to register with the government and meet certain requirements, including learning English, working and paying taxes before they earn the chance to become citizens. Such practical reforms would strengthen our economy, serve the interests and honor the ideals of our nation, and provide immigrants with the opportunity to fully join our society.

The full text is here of Rich Nathan's piece.

The vision is very similar to the recommendations of the US Catholic Bishops.

As a friend of mine says, "immigration is a reality." How do we deal with this reality? Putting up a wall from Tijuana to Brownsville is juvenile and infeasible. It also doesn't address the massive amount of illegal immigrants from Canada, Europe and elsewhere.

Keeping families together and allowing a temporary worker program so that folks can work in America and take steps toward long-term residency is needed.

As Van Morrison sings, you don't pull no punches, but you don't push the river. This river is flowing. It needs to flow. I believe it flows with the blessing of the Holy Spirit. The river of immigration flows with the Biblical thirst for justice, the hope for safe refuge, the faith in the Promise of the Promised Land, and the love these people have for their families which compels them to risk life and limb for a better tomorrow. If you get in the water and try to push this river, you will find yourself flailing and making a fool out of yourself as the water rushes past you.

Getting caught up in legalities is not how to look at it. The system is broke and people cannot wait until it is fixed. A crying baby needs milk today. Unjust laws need not be followed, especially when the sheer weight of the humanity of 12 million people is pressing against them.

* * *
Our Pax Christi group hosted Angela Johnston, diocesan Director of Latino Ministry last week. She showed the video Dying To Live. From the link: "Dying to Live" is a profound look at the human face of the immigrant. It explores who these people are, why they leave their homes and what they face in their journey.

Indeed, the human story can dispel many myths. The one fact that has stuck with me the most is the sheer desperation of these immigrants. These people love their families, their country and their culture. They are not sneaking into America on some "get rich quick" scheme or to rob us of free health benefits. Just consider the facts: Why would anyone risk their lives, live in long-term separation from their families and risk all sorts of other horrors to sneak into America? A person would only do that because their other options are worse.

To them, it is a sheer matter of survival. Economic and political conditions are so bad in their native land that they are forced to try. The ironic part is that those conditions are so bad in large part through the policies of the American government and international businesses.

* * *
From the Bishops' Justice for Immigrants website:

On Sunday, March 21st, JFI will host a Mass in support of immigrants with celebrants Cardinal Mahony and Bishop Wester at 11:00am at St. Aloysius Church (19 I Street N.W., Washington DC 20001). Afterward, please join thousands of people on the National Mall to urge our members of Congress to introduce and pass immigration reform legislation. With the expectation that comprehensive immigration reform could soon be considered by Congress, it is crucial that supporters of reform make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. Anyone that cannot attend the March 21st events can still take action in support of reform by sending electronic postcards to your members of Congress postcard.


From a Justice For Immigrants flyer:

Show your solidarity with comprehensive immigration reform

On Sunday March 21, thousands of people from across America—including some 25 buses from Ohio--will travel to Washington DC to call on Congress and the Administration to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

If you want to travel to DC, there are still spaces on a bus from Columbus. Contact Ruben at 614-571-1759, as soon as possible.

If you can’t travel to DC, join Columbus supporters on Saturday, March 20:

9 AM Parish Mass
10:30 AM Welcome & Prayer for Cross-Country Bus Riders
Christ the King Catholic Church
2777 E. Livingston Ave., Columbus 43209 (4 blks west of S. James Rd.)
Come out to welcome and support over 50 Californians from the faith-based community organization, PICO-National Network. They are stopping at Christ the King Church for a brief respite on their cross-country journey to DC. There will be brief witnesses to the need for comprehensive reform. Then we’ll send the bus riders off on their last leg of the journey with prayer & support.

Questions: Nancy Powers, Justice for Immigrants Campaign, Ohio co-coordinator
614-284-3692 or nancy.r.powers@gmail.com.


You can also go here:
1 PM
Rally for Reform
Ohio State House (as the buses leave for D.C.)


For more information about the need for comprehensive immigration reform, go to http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/

Full House!

The house was positively throbbing with activity the past several days, with two very different events on the weekend and another one last night:

Swap Party

Just so you don't think we're serious all the time, Erin threw a very wonderful Swap Party! Folks brought items to trade in for items that other people brought. People received a poker chip for each item they brought which they could then redeem for other items.


The living room was filled with tables of household goods, purses & shoes, knick-knacks and toys. I never thought my 2006 commemorative Burger King Bobble Head would find a home, but it was one of the first items to go. Erin warned me not to bring junk, so I almost decided against showcasing that one! The old adage is true that one person's junk is another's treasure.

While it was a fun, social time, it also served a purpose: In our modern society, we are trained to be independent. We often take for granted that the only way to get something is to buy it ourselves. Erin's swap party showed another way: People can simply share what they have. You may find something unexpected or perhaps you may find exactly what you've been looking for.


Ginger shares details of her recent trip to the Holy Land with Charla above.

Folks were thrilled to get rid of stuff they had around the house they no longer wanted. They were also equally thrilled to take home "new" items from others--and not a single cent was involved in the transaction! Leftover items were shuttled to the Catholic Worker Free Store, and perhaps kept until the next Swap Party. The main question that folks were asking was--When is the next Swap Party? The answer: Pretty soon! Stay posted for details as they unfold.


Erin was reunited with longtime friend Edna.

H1N1 Inoculations

We have long since wanted to offer health-related services through the Catholic Worker house. Columbus Public Health and Mt. Carmel Church Partnerships asked us if they could set up a clinic for free H1N1 inoculations, and we gladly accepted.

The event was a success with 142 people inoculated! There were folks from the parish and neighborhood. The majority of the clientele were from the 12:30 Spanish-language Mass at St. James the Less.

The building was packed, but the line moved quickly. Snacks of fruit, granola and donuts were moving quickly. Joan and I spent much time constantly mixing up new containers of frozen juice. The medical teams were 100% professional and did a classy job registering folks, shepherding the line and giving the inoculations themselves.

Clinics such as this one are often in uncomfortable or cramped quarters, based on where they are at. We were glad to help provide a homey atmosphere for everyone involved. Children in particular thoroughly enjoyed playing with the Thomas train set that Erin recently donated to us!


Nurses and administration personnel are setting up for inoculations in the picture above.

Children will need follow-up shots after a month, so we are looking into options to providing that clinic here, as well. Clinics like these are important, as the population is still not adequately immunized to offset the next wave of the "swine flu" which is expected to hit soon. Latinos in particular are high-risk for developing life-threatening complications from it.

Click here for a listing of upcoming vaccination clinics through Columbus Public Health.

Community Gardening

The garden steering committee decided to host three informational tutorials in the months of January, February and March. Last night was the second one. Both events so far were a wonderful time of community and friendliness. Jean is becoming famous for her creations out of the "Monastery Soups" book. Yesterday was cabbage, potato and chicken soup, last month was--believe it or not--Brussels sprout soup. Others brought fruit and desserts. At the January meeting, James and Etta brought the largest chocolate cake we've ever seen, and Debbie has baked a cake for both events, as well. We cracked open one of our few remaining jars of homemade salsa, too.

Last night, we were treated to a talk by Lisa, who is an inspector for The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA). She is a prolific organic gardener both at home and work. She gave a wealth of practical information about how to grow and maintain an organic garden, including everything from maintaining the soil with compost, choosing organic fertilizers and pesticides, and managing pests.

This year's gardeners promises to be a stellar group. They are a mix of neighborhood folks, parishioners and others who have come through the Catholic Worker network. We are quite pleased at how it is turning out!

Jean also decided to brew a batch of our recently-arrived Just Haiti coffee. Folks were quite pleased at the flavor. When we announced at the end of the meeting that we have bags of it we can offer for a donation, two people quickly took us up on the offer. We certainly do not profit on this at all (in fact there is a small loss until we are able to buy in bulk quantities), but we are happy to distribute it for a very worthy cause. See the post below for more information.

Join us on Saturday, March 13th from 1pm - 3pm for a Seed Starting Party! Joan and Orchlene will be leading the session. Bring you containers, pots, seeds or anything else you can think of, or just come to learn. We should have some materials to share, as well. In some cases, one package of seeds can grow dozens of plants, which can yield a tremendous cost savings.

Just Haiti Coffee

We are proud to have on hand a large quantity of fresh coffee from the organization Just Haiti!

Pat and I discovered them while attending the recent Pax Christi National Conference in Chicago last summer. The coffee is grown in small cooperatives and fairly traded. In addition, it is organic and sustainably shade grown.

From their website: Just Haiti works to alleviate poverty, hunger, violence, illiteracy and disease in Haiti by fostering small-business development, education programs, employment opportunity, infrastructure improvement and environmental quality.

The coffee is quite good. We have on hand a regular gourmet roast as well as a darker, Haitian-style roast. We would be glad to distribute it to you for a reasonable donation. Our expenses are $9.95 for each 12 oz package plus shipping--well within a normal price range for gourmet, Fair Trade products. If we are able to move a large quantity, then we will be able to make bulk purchases to cut costs a bit, but for right now we are experimenting with smaller quantities to see how it goes.

I was impressed to discover how well established the Fair Trade market is in Columbus after doing some market research. Many churches and vendors sell quite a bit of Fair Trade coffee and other products. However, I was also surprised to discover no signs of Haitian coffee anywhere in town. That is a gap we intend to fill!

Just Haiti invests in sustainable development in Haiti--the kind of development that may have prevented many of the recent earthquake deaths through better infrastructure and a population more spread out in rural areas. While Just Haiti mostly supports communities near Baradères on the southwestern "arm" of the island (about 100 miles from the earthquake epicenter), they are taking in a surge of refugees from Port-au-Prince. In addition, some buildings have been damaged directly by the earthquakes in that area.

The organization Just Haiti not only distributes coffee, but it also takes donations directly through its website to support sustainable development and earthquake relief in rural areas. Check out the links above for more information!

Stop by the Catholic worker house to try out some Haitian coffee. We will be glad to brew you a pot! You are welcome to take home a bag.

Reflections on the Death Penalty Vigil Line

I finally got my clothing right.

There is something of a science when it comes to dressing appropriately to be outside for an hour holding a sign and standing in place. I've been getting frostbitten fingers and numb legs standing with Dave downtown the last couple of weeks. Today, I made sure to have long johns, thick gloves and my trusty mountain vest underneath my jacket. It also helped that the weather has broken for the better recently.

It has been hard to eat after these vigils, but on previous weeks that would have required a discipline that I don't have. Not having much more than morning coffee in my belly, I have been going home and eating ravenous portions of bacon and eggs or a fat sub afterwards. It is understandable after standing in freezing temperatures on an empty stomach, but it has never sat right. With the onset of Lent, I'm eating a sensible meatless breakfast and then fasting for lunch afterwards. There is something about standing in the reality of the death penalty that makes fasting seem necessary.

It is good to share time on the vigil line. Sometimes I feel I'm doing more to lift the spirits of long-time vigiler Dave, who usually stands alone on these Friday afternoons. I hope our conversations are not a distraction to the work we are doing, but good company probably keeps the movement going more than anything. In the spirit of Catholic Worker hospitality, being a friendly face to share the work fits right into our charism.

So we stand for an hour holding signs. I try to make eye contact with passers by and smile--I'm not sure what else to do. A couple of people approach us in an hour to express support, sign a petition or ask what we're doing. It is easy to imagine if these vigils could be on every day of the week and on multiple corners of the streets--if the movement to stop the death penalty could be a constant presence. There is a lot of traffic as people mill about to and from lunch. Do they want to be reminded of the death penalty on their lunch break? I wouldn't blame them if they didn't--the two don't mix well for me, either.