Cherith Brook

s Mercy & Gospel Obe dienc icing God e Pract

C A T H O L I C

W O R K E R

Lent 2012

So E lijah did according to the word of the L ord; he went and lived by the C herith Brookand the ravens brought him bread I Kings 17

Glimpses of Unity
by Nick Pickrell The caf was buzzing with energy. Silverware clanked against plates, steam rose from coffee cups like miniature flues scattered around the room, and dozens of conversations joined together to create a low-level hum. This is a common picture at Cherith Brook in the mornings, but this morning brought something special with it. It was the day we were to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We planned a few things for the morning. Josh prepared some civil rights songs for us to sing, volunteers were busy serving a southernstyle breakfast, and I was facilitating a communal reading of Dr. Kings I Have A Dream speech. I was initially hesitant about reading this particular speech because its popularity has kept hidden some of Dr. Kings writings about economic justice and the dangers of militarism. However, this hesitation quickly subsided as the readings and singing began. and go with it. It was clear the Holy Spirit was at work as a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood descended and filled the caf. It was beautiful. In a world that labels people by status, power, race, class, nation, tribe and tongue, Paul reminds us of a more beautiful way of viewing the world a world where everyone is welcomed regardless of their standing; a world filled with redemption and reconciliation; a world where all the broken pieces have been picked up, dusted off and put together again in a new, more perfect way. This, my friends, is beauty on a large scale! And all who were present that morning in the shower house got a taste of that new world. Unfortunately, this is not always the reality we live into. A city ordinance was passed recently that prevents recycling centers from accepting anything that is transported by a shopping cart. The shopping cart ban was a small part of a much larger ordinance, aimed at hopefully curbing the increased property crimes that have been taking place. Our neighborhood paper even ran a story about this ordinance, which contained a couple of photos of our friends pushing shopping carts. The implied message was obvious: people who push shopping carts steal copper from homes. In the paper, our friends names were not cited and they were not interviewed. The truly sad thing is that we know the people featured, and they dont steal the things they recycle. Yet the local newspaper looked only at those who do steal what they recycle and then painted everyone who is wheeling a cart around in a negative light. The truth is that the two people featured in the article come by their scrap honestly; rummaging through dumpsters, recycle bins and empty lots. They would rather scrap to earn a wage than hustle or rob someone. Now these people who have been labeled thieves have to come up with some other means to transport what they find to make ends meet. I mention this story because it highlights the brokenness present in our relationships. Paul spoke to the church in Corinth about how we are charged with being reconciled with our neighbors. This shopping cart ban is an example of an otherwise useful ordinance being tarnished because of an unwillingness to understand the people behind the carts. Instead of bringing us together, this ban drives yet another wedge between us and them, which is not what this new world is about. Until we (continued on page 10)

Paul Newman reads Dr. Kings I Have A Dream speech

Josh Armfield & Luis Gallegos honoring Dr. King through song

We had arranged the morning in such a way that between songs, different guests would come up and read sections of Dr. Kings speech. Some folks read quietly, some read loudly and some seemed to take on the persona of Dr. King himselfsinging their way through the speech. All of this singing and reading began to transform the shower house. It seemed that the further we got into Dr. Kings speech, the more the spirit of the room changed. It was as if we were all becoming engulfed by a wave we knew we couldnt escapeso we chose to surrender

I am using the word beautiful in an expansive way. The mood in the shower house that day was joyous, celebratory, and freedom-filled. Our differences seemed to melt away as we all were swept up in the moment. This moment of reconciliation, of oneness, reminded me of something beautiful Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: Because of [the resurrected life] we dont evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly dont look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and God, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other, (2 Cor. 5, The Message).

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

Lent 2012

Beauty and the Least

by Garrett Brown The world will be saved by beauty. In one utterance, Dostoevsky spoke to the interconnection between truth, goodness and beauty. As a visual artist, I value aesthetic beauty in the traditional sense --- in the combination of certain colors, in the intersection of lines, in the vastness and splendor of Gods creation. However, Dostoevsky was hinting at another type of beauty. There is a beauty in strangers sharing a meal together, and leaving the table as kin. There is beauty when those with plenty share with those who have little. There is beauty in solidarity, when race, gender and socioeconomic class melt away and reveal that we are all Gods children, worthy of giving and receiving his best. The beauty that will save the world is the gospel in action. Although Ive been a volunteer at Cherith Brook for a over a year, the freshness of the work we do isnt lost on me. I remember distinctly the emotional reaction I had when I first visited a Thursday night meal. I saw a group of varied ages, cultures and colors serving a family-style meal. I saw this beautiful and strange family joining together to eat, laugh and celebrate.

How a Small Group of Workers are Challenging the Way I Practice the Gospel
loving-kindness of a Savior, whose sacrifice countered the mission of Christ in scripture restored forever our sense of worth. When reflections and in the service we provided others receive gifts or blessings, human for our brothers and sisters. This was kinginstinct asks, What about me? The kingdom dom work; this was legacy work; this was of Christ is upside-down. When we give to love in action. We werent just reading the others, we offer our gifts to him. This sheds Word and moving on. We were reading it light on Scriptures about stewardship, like then acting it out, applying Scriptural ideals Luke 12:48: Much will be demanded from evto real world needs that we could see and eryone who has been given much, and from the touch and smell. This was miles away from one who has been entrusted with much, even the occasional dollar Id give to the homeless more will be asked. The impact of this truth man Id see at an intersection. This wasnt a in my life has been nothing short of seismic. half-hearted gesture to someone that I was too busy to get to know and love. This was God changing my heart for the homeless and impoverished. This was a renewing of my mind to be more like the mind of Christ. I can no longer see a brother in need as a bum. I know that I could easily be him and he could be me. This was God replacing my judgment with compassion. As the Sophia & Jos Gonzales at the shower house son of an addict and a felon, I espeThe real beauty of this lies in the refleccially needed God to reveal a way for me to tive quality of kingdom service. When I give excavate the issues in my life that remained sacrificially to meet the needs of others, my buried and intangible. I needed God to show needs are tended to in the process. Theres a me how to address the brokenness I saw and lyric from the band Mutemath that I think of felt with healing that I could see and feel --often: Im growing fond of broken people/ and participate in. as I see that I am one of them. We are arMany of us are familiar with the pasrogant when we think that we have nothing sage in the gospel of Matthew (chapter 25, to learn from the poor. Im learning to stare verses 35-40) where Jesus makes clear the down the brokenness that I encounter in the value that he places on the marginalized or world -- and in myself -- looking to Christ to the least. He also appreciates our response bring healing. towards them. He says that when we give Knowing the truth of the gospel should clothes, food or drink, or visit the unhealthy propel us into action to be a force for good in or imprisoned, we are actually serving Christ a shattered world. Then and only then, can himself. Truly I tell you, in so far as you did the beauty of Christs message save it. it for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it for me. Although Jesus was simultaneously divine and human, he identifies with his people. Their suffering is his suffering; their pain, his pain. To me, this stresses that serving my friends from the street (and those from elsewhere), is a direct act of allegiance to Christ. The winter coat that is provided to a stranger can become a gesture of gratitude to the One who provides for me. The kindness that I show someone through the simple, dignifying acts of a hot meal or shower can be a symbol of the

CMYK

Gary Farris & Garrett Brown at the shower house

I immediately thought, I want to be a part of this. I eventually rearranged my work schedule to include a Tuesday morning shift on showers. What started as another volunteer effort quickly became the highlight of my weeksocially, emotionally and spiritually. I laughed with volunteers and guests over coffee and pastries. I comforted new friends as they told me of the hardships of the streets. Suddenly, the random jobs and experiences I had prior to this (as a waiter, as a barista, as a substitute teacher, as a youth pastor) seemed not so random. I en-

Lent 2012

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

Plants Need Roots Exploring Stability

By Eric Garbison SPIRITUALITY OF PRECARITY Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin were a Precarity was part of my initial attraction small but persistant voice reconnecting the to the Catholic Worker. Its a spirituality gospel with the call to poverty as well as sercentered in Jesus vision of life where there vice to the poor. Go to the poor, Day wrote. is no need to worry about food, clothing or Not only to serve them, but to be of them, calculated futures. Its a vision that moves the despised, the forgotten, the neglected and beyond a life of fear, accumulation or greed needy, taking from others, beggars too, giving into a life that trusts Gods provision. This up job and hope and independence and becomfaith sees the abundance of Gods grace as ing as Christ told us, one of the little ones. Of an economic reality as well as a spiritual such is the kingdom of heaven. one. Disciples who invest in this economy of Day and Maurin imbued the Catholic grace strive to root themselves in Gods presWorker vision with a commitment to the unence and Gods justice, understanding that certainty that comes with poverty not only when they seek this first and foremost then as tool for solidarity, but equally as a call to all their needs will be supplied as well. This precarity caught my eye. In my own experience, the chasm between the church and Jesus was deep and wide. On the one hand there was Jesus with no place to lay his head. He instructed his disciples to go on mission without packing. He railed against the rich and the temptation to fill our closets, storage units and bank accounts. This plain and simple life was not for its own sake, but to help Rootedness by Elisabeth Rutschman us recognize the radical new forms of provision that are at work in Gods reign. On imitate Jesus spirituality of precarity. the other hand, there was the institutional Days life and teaching is a direct chalchurch banking on banking. The church of lenge to the assumptions of her time and my youth prided itself on its biblical literalours. She rejected the myth that modernity ism, but never applied it to Jesus teaching and late capitalism offer better security. on wealth or the rich. Nor was Jesus call The only way to live in any security, she to sacrificial living applied to the churchs wrote, is to live so close to the bottom that lifestyle. when you fall you do not have far to drop, The church of my ordination claims the you do not have much to lose. In her writprogressive mantel in theory, but is not ings, Day reclaimed this vocation not as a much different in practice. Some of her higher calling for religious orders or an act Pastors boast six-figure salaries. Some of naivet but as a tremendous use of the spend disproportionate amounts of money spiritual weapons, a letting loose of grace upon on programming and edifices. Many atthe world far more powerful than any atom or tempt to secure their future by establishing hydrogen bomb. endowments, which are ironically all that is She credits this clarity to Maurins witleft of many of her urban congregations. I ness. Peters faith was invincible. God would have visited enough of these monuments of supply our needs, provided we were generous shortsightedness to see how these structures with our work and sacrifice. God had never have become burdensome. failed any of the saints, and we were all called to be saints, as St. Paul said. Dorothy and Peters words and lives have deeply inspired us. After all, when it comes to evangelical poverty it is hard to find good Protestant examples. The dominant force of the Protestant legacy is spiritualizing Jesus teachings on poverty and rationalizing wealth. FROM PRECARITY TO STABILITY The invitation to precarity continues to beckon me, to be sure. It is, after all, not a one time choice but a daily choice. As I experience changes due to parenthood, aging, health, faith matters and the like, daily choices change and new challenges arise. Frankly, its hard not to count the cost. There are days when, like the disciples, I find myself thinking, This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? Now, after 7 years in the movement, I see the issue of precarity from a new angle. Today I am wrestling with questions of stability. And I fear that stability is as dirty a word to the Catholic Worker ideals as precarity is to the institutional church. Yet the questions persist: how do communities maintain their faithfulness to the precarity of gospel living and still nurture stability within the community? We tout sustainability but doesnt it apply to more than living off the land, riding our bikes and practicing a craft economy? Doesnt sustainability also refer to people, to the community and our changing needs as we sojourn through various life stages together? How do we move from being seen as a ministry to being seen as a way of life to which anyone might be called, no matter his or her life situation? Is the call to precarity no less in need of cultivation than any other life calling? How can we nurture precarity for the long haul? How do we grow its roots deep? The tension between precarity and stability is perhaps nothing new among us. (continued on page 5)

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

Lent 2012

Seeds of Beauty Underneath

by Chris Brennan Homaiak by Lori Oster Beauty is often hidden, particularly in the places abandoned by Empire. Its covered by crumbling bricks and swollen bruises, stained jeans and tall weeds, leaking roofs and rotting wood. Here, beauty has been marred by concrete and violence, graffiti and neglect. When people visit our neighborhood, the lack of beauty is one reason they feel less welcome or safe. When I tell people where I call home, they often respond, You live there? As an intentional neighbor of Cherith Brook, I have watched over the last five years as beauty In addition to seeing people transform, I have watched places become more beautiful and hospitable. Saturday workdays usually show the most dramatic changes, but Ive also noticed many little ways that everyday attentiveness and creativity have beautified spaces. Walking through the clothing closet or food pantry, the kitchen or shower room, hand-written labels and tailored modifications have created a warm kind of welcome that feels like home. The cafe space has been blessed with paintings, stained glass, and flowers. The front doorway to the main house, along with trim around the windows, has recently been renovated and repainted, unveiling an old beauty. The garden, though, is my favorite space to have watched take shape. Starting in the backyard and then stretching around to the front, raised beds and limestone-terraced hillsides now host all kinds of herbs, berries, squash, tomatoes, peppers and more. Not only has Cherith Brook claimed hundreds of square feet for food growing, but we have also made the entire space more beautiful. I recently stumbled across a Rumi quote: Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it. Somehow, tending a garden -- watering it, weeding it, and watching things bloom and grow -- awakens me to beauty and hope. The garden demands careful persistent attention both to help it grow and keep it growing in good ways. Participating in Cherith Brook, whether working in the showers or in the dirt, is often like tending a garden. Every time I go, my eyes are opened to beauty that was hidden before. sometimes your cloak is woven with drink or drug or you sport a ball cap of team resentment sometimes the coat is such a tight weave of shame I can barely see you other times you mingle in bread breaking and cup taking the giving and the receiving but under these disguises, I look for you and sometimes I sense you look back at me. then I remember your word to me abide And so I come to see you, to serve you. You ask me to come out from under my pride, my self-sufficiency, my performance, to be with you.

CMYK

Jeffrey New sands our new door trim that he designed and installed

has slowly been revealed. Every day at showers, our neighbors are given the opportunity to re-claim a bit of the beauty hidden within them. This seems especially true during Womens Day and Second Saturday haircuts, when the makeovers and shine are infused with deep trust and joy. Patient manicures and pedicures, trims and shaves uncover smiles and bright eyes.

Our semi-private privacy fence made from mostly salvaged doors and windows

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Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

continued from page 3

Plants Need Roots

like to explore one aspect he raises: stability is deepening the roots of love for those whom God has placed here at this time and in this place. It is learning to commit to a particular group of people and having the creativity to face the challenges we experience together through our changing lives and evolving work. COMMITTING TO THESE PEOPLE For several years now we have adopted a covenanting process which includes an annual retreat. This year, as part of the preparation, we met in pairs with each member of our community. I entered the conversation already thinking about needing another house to provide more space as well as wanting to be more engaged in our peacemaking efforts. Instead, I heard from others that deepening commitment meant deepening friendships, healing broken relationships, and pursuing healthier and stronger connections with each other. And, as I listened closer, I began to hear that same longing within myself. I am learning to rethink the relationship between the two. I am also aware that we enter community with low expectations for each other. Our culture places a high value on itinerancy so we expect no one to stay. We are simply grateful if someone does. But isnt part of the hard work of communal life to speak into our companions aspirations? Like Anselm with his young novice, isnt part of growth urging people to root deeper? Is there wisdom in questioning if all the free form is not really anarchism but mainstream mobility in disguise? How might we stake claims in one anothers lives? How might we call one another to persevere through difficult or stale periods of life out of our love for each other? And then there is the possibility that there is something inside of me that is unstable, or unable to love. The more we settle in, the more we become aware that its not what we are running to but running from that is driving us. A necessary component of stability, Casey says, is a sustained confrontation with realities we might otherwise avoid, disguise or deny. He goes on to say, The barriers to love are within ourselves. Until we dismantle them, no community will meet our standards. Or, as we Workers are fond of saying, At times love has been a harsh and dreadful thing, and our very faith in love has been tried through fire. And Casey agrees: Stability protects this process of purgation. Casey is not romanticizing community life. He acknowledges that it is one of the greatest challenges to friendship and can have the opposite effect. It is easy to opt for a substitute association that is not relationship but merely politeness, lack of interest, institutionalized reserve, withdrawal and distance. Parker Palmer labels this pseudo-community. How often have we thrown the word community around hoping that voicing it will speak into being what does not exist in reality? We often joke that all it takes is a week at Cherith Brook to break someone of a utopian view of community. So setting (continued on page 11)

Dorothy Days most familiar epilogue to The Long Loneliness seems to affirm this tension. The most significant thing about The Catholic Worker is poverty, some say. The most significant thing is community, others say Peter Maurins vision itself necessitates this kind of discernment. While Peter himself was a wanderer, his green revolution begs for some kind of constancy: the more you root yourselves in the land the more you become its apprentice; the more you become its apprentice the more commitment it requires of you to live into it, to depend on it; working the land requires longevity. Catholic Worker houses struggle with communal constancy for a variety of reasons: the mobility of the wide-eyed young, the charisma of charismatic leaders, or the inability to work through conflict. Being a young community, Cherith Brook has not experienced a complete cycle of communal living, which could also be a challenge. There are notable communities in the Midwest who appear to be bridging the gap between precarity and stability. Their efforts inspire us and we ask for their advice and prayers. There are also other examples to consider though. The monastic profession includes a formal vow of stability. Some Mennonite communities have adopted versions of the novitiate. Though anarchist communities have other inspirations, their longevity is testimony to their witness and we ought to drink deeply from their springs. Here at Cherith Brook, we are at a much simpler place. Maimonides wrote, Plants bear witness to the reality of roots. Anselm used the same metaphor when writing to a young monk about his vow of stability to the monastery, just as any young tree, if frequently transplantedwill never be able to take rootand bring no fruitsimilarly an unhappy monk, if he often moves from place to place never achieves stability with roots of love What source is available to water such commitments? What soil will nurture its growth? What bramble is holding me back from giving myself over for the unforeseeable future? In a helpful, little article, monk and author Michael Casey wrote, stability is not a matter of immobility or resistance to change but of maintaining ones momentumsince loss of fervor generally manifests itself in an inability to respond creatively to the challenge of change. Stability is the ability to respond creatively to the challenge change brings to all of us. Caseys article is rich and offers a fuller response to the matter of stability. I would

Stability is the ability to respond creatively to the challenge change brings to all of us.
This awareness is a challenge for me personally, and difficult to own up to. Communal living has brought to light that in my life practice there is little difference between the virtue of Catholic Worker personalism and the vice of American individualism. Up to this point I believed the mission of Cherith Brook would anchor us. Perhaps Ive been more influenced by a program orientation than Id care to admit. Looking back I can see times I have focused on our work with poverty as an excuse not to work on a poor relationship. Yes, at times the physical work seemed easier than persevering in contentious situations; than rooting my love more deeply in the people around me. I still believe a common mission plays a role, but

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

Lent 2012

(left to right) Top row: David Matice, Brandon Pomeroy, George McCall, Bob Second row: Rob Hoch Third row: illust. by Lonnie Welch, Nick Pickrell, Josh Armfield, Alex Phillips, Amy Hansen-Malick, Betsy Thomas Fourth row: Luis & Javier Gallegos Fifth row: Michelle, Billy Ray, Tom Percell, Barbara & Dominick Ingolia

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Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

(left to right) Top row: Elisabeth Rutschman, David Lissauer, Terri Friend, Red Reynolds, Josh Armfield Second row: Jose Lugo, Travis Krogman, Frank Kollman Third row: Eric Garbison, Elisabeth Rutschman, Josh Armfield, Rebecca Lindley, Barbara Ingolia, Kelly Hanerhoff, Dominick Ingolia, illust. by David Matice Fourth row: Lori Oster, Robert, Lonnie Welch Fifth row: Carl, Treva, Jodi Garbison, Harvey Phillips, Alyson Phillips, Teresa Phillips, Ashton Phillips

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

Lent 2012

We Who Believe in Freedom

by John T. In their a cappella performance, Ellas Song, Bernice Johnson Reagon and the incredible women of Sweet Honey in the Rock proclaim so powerfully, We who believe in freedom cannot rest, we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes. Until the killing of a black man, a black mothers child, is just as important as the killing of a white man, a white mothers child. It is easy for those who care deeply about racial and economic justice to listen to this song with a sense of reminiscence and a deep thankfulness for those who worked tirelessly throughout the Civil Rights movement. Those of us with privilege, based on race and/or class, can particularly be fooled into believing that great progress has been made during and since that time so we can put up our feet and drift off to sleep. But if we have any ability to listen or desire to hear, a chorus of new voices are sounding the alarm that equality and justice are losing ground. campaign, started in the early 1980s, has increased Americas prison population from 300,000 to over 2 million over the last thirty years, and the overwhelming majority of those prisoners are people of color. She adds, The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. Throughout the book, Alexander presents with striking clarity the ways in which the U.S. criminal legal system has been recreating a racial caste system, undermining the progress made during the Civil Rights Movement. In my experience of living life in two different worlds, her message is painfully validating. I am a white male who grew up in a working class family and lived in a predominately white, working class community. From an early age I was taught that the police were friendly public servants who were always available to serve and protect. This, for the most part, was reinforced because of my positive experiences with the police. Many of my friends and I would do dangerous things sometimes and make less than legal choices that led to a few instances of police contact. Yet each time it seemed as if the authorities were mostly concerned with giving us a little scare and getting us back on track. The general belief was that we were good kids who made some foolish choices, but we were not criminals. From the time I left my parents house, I have always chosen to live in urban neighborhoods where the majority of residents are people of color and the community is defined as socioeconomically depressed. As a neighbor in urban core communities in Atlanta and Kansas City, I have seen another side to law enforcement that at first was foreign and shocking to me. It started in the beginning by noticing the animosity and distrust many of my new neighbors and friends carried toward law enforcement. Soon I would see the evidence that legitimized those feelings. There was a group of teenagers, who happened to be African American and lower income, standing together on a street corner on a main neighborhood road. I saw police officers approach them, put them on the ground and frisk them for no apparent reason and with no arrest made. I once let a homeless woman borrow my phone to call police after being sexually assaulted, only to see her left on the street by a public servant who not only didnt believe her but also called her a whore as he drove away. I have personally been pulled over, thrown against a cop car, had my pockets emptied out and told I looked suspicious only because I was a young white man driving around with African American teenagers in a particular neighborhood. The list could go on. Michelle Alexander describes this phenomenon precisely. It starts with federal policy connected to the War on Drugs that created billions of tax dollars in funding streams every year to ramp up drug arrests and convictions. These policies are informed by laws that label some illegal drugs more dangerous than others, which results in creating grossly disproportionate prison sentences. So, when local law enforcement agencies compete for increased funding, they focus their attention on arresting dealers and users where they can get the most acclaim for their efforts. This happens to put the bulls-eye on low income communities of color. Police are given broad discretion in how they stop, question and search, which leads to hundreds of thousands of frisks and searches of poor men--particularly men of color. Alexander points out that the funding and heightened level of policing in the War on Drugs continues to be focused more on low income communities of color in urban centers, even though studies overwhelmingly conclude that drug sales and use is no higher in these neighborhoods than in the predominately white and wealthy suburban neighborhoods. Also, drugs such as crack cocaine--perceived as a drug used mostly in poor urban communities--continue to bring hefty prison sentences even though studies have continued to find that injuries and deaths related to alcohol and drunk driving far exceed injuries and death related to crack. Because of the disparity found in my own experiences and the plethora of research and statistics present in Michelle Alexanders book, I am more convinced than ever that our criminal legal system is deeply flawed and is, as Alexander asserts, recreating a racial caste system in the likeness of Jim Crow. This calls those of us who are well-meaning and care deeply about racial and economic justice to awaken from our slumber to join the voices of those boldly challenging the false security and comforts of our current system. We must seek to transform the reality of mass incarceration by creating a new path that heals, rehabilitates and restores people in a way that creates the equality and justice we say we believe in. We must follow the declaration of Sweet Honey and the Rock: We who believe in freedom cannot rest; we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.

Illustration by Mark Bartholomew

Michelle Alexandercivil rights attorney, activist, and educatoris one of those voices who seeks to pierce our peaceful slumber with a critical lament. In her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness, Alexander reports that there are more African American men under the control of the U.S. Department of Corrections today than were enslaved in 1850. She goes on to state that the War on Drugs

Lent 2012

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

Beauty is in the Eyes of Community

by Josh Armfield therefore miss the power and beauty of brokenA few months ago a shower house friend ness. In community, if we choose to love and if of ours, Michelle, brought a piece of artwork we allow ourselves to be loved by others we make to share with us. On an old windowpane with ourselves vulnerable and risk the chance of being a broken corner she had painted a picture of hurt. But in our vulnerability we open ourselves a dragon spewing flames. She explained that to the power of Gods healing grace. it was a depiction of one of the many spiritual On Thursday evenings at Cherith Brook the battles she has suffered. We were overjoyed to beauty of brokenness is shared around the dinreceive the gift but puzzled as to where to display ner table. All are welcome and all are broken: it. So we were left with the question, What homeless, middle class, addicted, educated, menshould we do with this? tally ill, illegal, Christian, atheist, and so on. We The situation has given me more to think bring our brokenness and our gifts of beauty and about than just finding a place for our friends together we serve one another. Nathan walks painting. In the chaos of hospitality at Cherith two miles and arrives early to set the tables each Brook, how do we recognize beauty? What week. Jeff rests with a cup of coffee after spendbeauty could ever exist in the midst of such ing the afternoon creating beauty with his hands poverty, homelessness, and addiction? On any as he installs a new front door. Billy shares a rap given morning in the shower house, you will he wrote in prison about the freedom he received find a woman caught in an abusive relationship, from Jesus love and grace. Penny shares her gift being forced to sell her body. You will find a man of laughter as she jokes with Nick about his hair. that was nearly beaten to death on the street the Linda shares the pain she experiences as her night before. You will find an alcoholic that has daughter has lost her two-week old baby. Rolnot stopped drinking for days. If you stay long land asks for prayer and for help as he laments enough you might hear bits and pieces of the the pain of homelessness. We remember the painful stories that left them on the streets. On life of our friend Sheri Lyn who was murdered any given day at the shower house, you might recently. Together around the table we find find sixty people that the world would say are belonging, we find community, and we celebrate totally hopeless, but sixty-one when you count the beauty of brokenness. yourself. And if you stay longer, you will learn to share your own painful stories and learn that you are as hopeless as anyone. What a depressing article, right? So what does this have to do with beauty? There is a painting in the shower house of Desmond Tutu and on it is written, There is no such thing as a totally hopeless case. Our God is an expert at dealing with chaos, with brokenness. Indeed, God is transforming the world now through us because God loves us. There is (left to right) Loretta & Penny at the shower house no place closer to God I assure you that if you dont turn your lives around than in the midst of poverty. When we recognize and become like this little child, you will definitely our brokenness, God will make beautiful things not enter the kingdom of heaven. happen in our lives. Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Hopelessness, or brokenness, will lead us to community; the beloved community; the kingdom of heaven. Unfortunately, many of us nowadays never experience true community and In community we must put aside our nature of competition and domination which our culture has told us we must have in order to succeed. In community we must become last. Jean Vaniet, founder of the LArche Community, says it well. Yes, the broken and the oppressed have taught me a great deal and have changed me quite radically. They have helped me discover that healing takes place at the bottom of the ladder, not at the top. Their cry for communion has taught me something about my own humanity, my own brokennessthat we are all wounded, we are all poor. We create beauty together through empathy and understanding. We create beauty together when we share in one anothers pain.

Painting by Elisabeth Rutschman

At a Thursday evening community meal you might feel unsure about how to interpret John Papa Roachs art of impersonations as he shares them with you. Let me encourage you to think of beauty in a new way. Beauty is not in the eyes of the beholder; beauty is in the eyes of community. John has found community at Cherith Brook because he has shared himself with others. We all have something to offer our community, but we must make ourselves vulnerable and trust that we are loved no matter what weakness or pain we bear. What a beautiful community we have, not because of the talents we possess, but because of the grace we have received! In a Terry Tempest Williams book I read recently, she writes, Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world we find. That sounds similar to Catholic Worker co-founder, Peter Maurin, who said, We are trying to create a new society in the shell of the old. What a wonderful and tragic world we live in! We have a lot of work to do to create beauty out of this broken world. What healing must take place just in our own neighborhood alone where violence and oppression are so commonplace! But let us celebrate the work that has been done like Michelles glass dragon painting. Out of brokenness she has created something beautiful. In sharing her pain with ours, we have found community and grace. May we begin to see that beauty is in the eyes of community.

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Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

Lent 2012

by Nick Pickrell

House Notes: Beauty MLK

continued from page 1
The frequency of the word Beauty in this paper is no accident. Beauty comes in many forms at Cherith Brook--the inner and outer beauty of people; the beauty of nature; the beauty of craft. There is also beauty in the little way--the simple tasks of washing dishes, cleaning showers or cooking food. The beauty that is present here is enjoyed by all as well as participated in by all. The following are little snapshots of how beauty has been present at Cherith Brook these past months. Shortly before Christmas we sent out an appeal for people to donate money. This was so we could buy our friends new hoodies to help them battle the cold nights spent on the streets. The response we received was overwhelming. We were able to purchase around sixty hoodies, all of which were made fairly. These went into Christmas bags which we gave away during our morning hospitality time. By the way, the gift bags were much loved! Being good stewards of the land is something we take seriously. We catch our rain water for the gardens, use a wood stove to heat the shower house, and solar panels will soon be installed on our roof! To make way for the solar panels, we ended up replacing our roof with a more green option. With this new cool roof, we will now enjoy cooler summer days and a drastically reduced electricity bill. Another occasion that always brings celebration is when our friends find housing. Recently our friend Mike Turner moved into a house with some other friends. To celebrate this step in Mikes life, a group of us went over to his place and blessed his home. We prayed through each room of the house, sang together and passed the peace. We were overjoyed to see Mike in his new place and continue to pray for him.

wipe the film of division and assumption from our glasses we will not be able to see clearly the harm we are doing to one another, which will prevent the beauty that comes from reconciliation. There are many hardships our friends in the shower house endure daily. This new ordinance is just another tool to criminalize those already down on their luck. It is a heavy yoke to bear, which is why the hope, inspiration, and laughter present that morning while we listened to Dr. Kings words was so beautiful. Despite the marginalization, oppression and isolation there was a shared sense of freedom among us. We were being made new. We were being given a fresh start. We saw a glimpse of the reconciled community and didnt want it to end. Steve, a friend of ours who frequents the shower house, requested to read the final paragraphs of Dr. Kings speech. When the time came for him to read, the room fell silent. Then he boldly sang out the most powerful words of the morning. It was like we were hearing Dr. King himself. A sense of freedom gripped us as Steve sang these words: And when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of Gods childrenblack men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestantswill be able to join hands and to sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, we are free at last. Beautiful.

Barbara Ingolia models her new look after raiding our clothing closet during the volunteer appreciation dinner

(left to right) Jodi, Eric, Mike, Josh, Allison, and Nick at Mike Turners house blessing

It is difficult to express just how much we appreciate the many ways everyone contributes to Cherith Brook. This year we tried to put words to our feelings by having a volunteer appreciation dinner for all those who volunteer regularly at the shower house, and what a dinner it was! We had a costume contest, scavenger hunt, and a round of Cherith Brook jeapardy hosted by Alex Trebek and Vanna White (who looked an awful lot like Jodi and Josh, respectively). It was a beautiful time of celebration and thanksgiving for all the ways our volunteers have given of themselves to help make Cherith Brook feel like home for so many.

The last two updates involve resurrection. First, we are considering resurrecting our clarification meetings. These are times where both worker and scholar come to learn how to see the world in new ways, and then live it out. Stay tuned for more information. Second, we have resurrected the petitions opposing the new nuclear weapons plant currently being built in Kansas City. There are two petitions the city council will vote on soon and we pray that these new petitions will have the chance to be voted on by regular Kansas Citians. There is much to be thankful for, and there is much work to be done. Please join us in our work to uncover the beauty that lies all around us. Join us as we pray for beauty over darkness, sickles over nuclear bombs, and freedom over slavery. Let us remember Dorothy Day as she reminds us that the world will be saved by beauty.

Steve belts out the final words of Dr. Kings speech

Lent 2012

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

11

Cherith Brook CW Covenant

by Cherith Brook Catholic Workers 1. We commit to a life of discipleship, following Jesus, cross bearing, acting on our reflections and reflecting on our actions. If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Mark 8:34 2. We commit our daily lives to practicing hospitality: Listening for the knock and looking for the face of Jesus in stranger and friend, while receiving from them Gods welcome of us. When you did it to the least of these my sisters and brothers, you did it to me. Mat. 25:34-46 3. We commit our daily lives to pursing the nonviolence of Gods Shalom embodied in Jesus life, teachings, death and resurrection. We will pursue the peace struggle in all relationships (with ourselves, each other, and our enemies) and all places (on the streets, in our city, our country and our world). Love your enemies and Overcome evil with good. Luke 6:27-36 & Rom. 12:21 4. We commit to the journey of forgiveness in all relationships, striving toward reconciliation in ways that recognize the differences in each person. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Eph. 4:32 5. We commit to common living. We will play and celebrate together. We will share in the work of the house and garden. We will eat together. We will worship together. We will practice a weekly prayer rhythm and encourage personal prayer, reflection and solitude. We will live locally, present to our neighborhood and community. We will share in the process of decision making, striving for full agreement. We will practice Sabbath rhythmscreating space for rest. We will hold our finances & resources in common. We will work less than 20 hours a week outside the community. We will nurture intimacy and friendship among us. There are many other ways of resisting the idolatries of Empire. We celebrate those as well. All who believed were together and had all things in common Acts 2:44, 4:32 6. We commit to prayerful discernment: listening to God and to each other, listening to scripture and trusting in the presence of the Spirit in our lives. ...be transformed by the renweing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom. 12:2 7. We commit to being servants of creation, caring for the earth and her resources, favoring tools over technology, hand craft over mass assembly, renewable power over fossil fuels, simplicity over busyness, participating in that new world God is creating in the shell of the old. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Cor. 5:17 8. We commit to living at a personal economic sacrifice: trusting daily for Gods provision, sharing freely and living off the excess of our culture. Give us this day our daily bread. Mat. 6:11 9. We commit to shaping our lifestyles around Jesus and his manifesto in the Sermon on the Mount, living in expectation of his return. ...let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and give glory to your Parent in heaven. Mat. 5:16

Roots
continued from page 5 down roots in love is essential because, to love and serve those close at hand often changes our perception of what they are. If stability is the ability to respond creatively to the challenge change brings to all of us, then it is, in part, the creative response of love. Not love in those broad statements that claim universal humanity but do not point to any person in my life. Rather, stability comes in a commitment to learn to love Steve, Allison, Diana and Henri, Jodi, Elisabeth, Nick, Newman, Josh and Rolland in the daily particulars. I must pray for the opportunity and courage to love these people God has put in my life. Stability comes when I risk giving myself over to them for the unforeseeable future. Some days it may seem harsh and dreadful to me. Others days it may feel like a trial by fire to them. But most days it is a joy and a gift. We must love as if it were the solution to the stability for which we hunger. I began this meditation as an invitation to explore how our life of material precarity can be joined by a deepening communal stability. I personally struggle with the relationships between the two. I have said some things about why I think this connection is important, but very little about how to grow healthy roots except that we should vow to love those God has put in our lives and be committed for the unforeseeable future. Talking about love and friendship seems like stating the obvious. But talking about it is so much easier than practicing it in the context of our needs, fears and hopes given our life changes. Our community has dedicated the coming year to this conversation, and we invite your creative responses to this challenge.

House Needs
Coffee, Sugar, Creamer Vinegar (gallon size for cleaning) Baking Soda Dish Soap Toilet Paper Milk, Eggs, Butter Black Beans Folding Tables (standard size) Energy Saving Light Bulbs Stamps Old candles Bicycles Washer & Dryer Canning lids

Shower Needs
Tennis Shoes (esp. mens 10-13) Jeans & Belts (mens 30-34, womens 4-6) Mens Boxers (esp. S & M) Womens Panties (esp. 4-7) Shampoo & Conditioner Deodorant & Razors Tube Socks Foot Powder Toothbrushes Tampons Ibuprofen & Tylenol Laundry Soap (high efficiency) Shorts (esp. mens 30-34) Shaving cream Bus passes (one-rides) Lotion Body Wash

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker

3308 East 12th Street Kansas City, MO 64127 (816) 241-8047 cherithbrookkcmo@gmail.com http://cherithbrookcw.blogspot.com

Our Who Are We? Schedule

CommunityCherith Brook is a residential Christian community committed to sharing table fellowship with strangers, and all our resources with one another. We have found our inspiration from the early church, the Church of the Savior, and the Catholic Worker. MercyOur daily lives are structured around practicing the works of mercy as found in Jesus teachings. We are committed to regularly feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, visiting the prisoner and the sick in the name of Jesus. PeacemakingAs followers of Jesus, we understand our lives to be centered in Gods Shalom. Cherith Brook strives to be a school for peacemaking in all its dimensions: political, communal, and personal; working constantly to undo poverty, racism and militarism. These three orbs can be summed up as the struggle to connect with the God of life. We pray that Cherith Brook is a space where all of usthe broken can come to learn and relearn the ways of Jesus; a place to struggle together for Gods call of love, mercy, peace and justice. Showers Prayers Community Meal Womens Day Haircuts Garden Workday Group Workday M, T, Th, F M, W, F Th Monthly, Last Wed Monthly, 2nd Sat M Monthly, 2nd Sat 8 amnoon 6:307 am 57 pm 11:30 am2 pm 911 am 2-5 pm 9 am1 pm

Upcoming Events
April 6, 2pm Good Friday Way of the Cross (meet at 11th St. and Oak in KCMO) May 11-14 Midwest CW Faith & Resistance Retreat in Chicago June 1 Open mic night @ Cherith Brook July 22 - August 5 Cherith Brook closed