As New Project Begins, Catholic Worker Members Petition God for Volunteer Assistance. By Roy J. Horner, The Catholic Witness Managing Editor.
Before setting out each day to perform good works in Christ's footsteps, the residents of Harrisburg's Catholic Worker men's house gather for the Divine Office and a round of morning prayers.
"Prayer is a big part of our life," explained resident Bruce Houston. "Everything springs from prayer. If we're faithful to our prayer life, God will give us what we need. We are faithful to serving the poor. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ."
In recent weeks, morning prayers at the Catholic Worker men's house have encompassed an unselfish petition to God. The men are seeking volunteers and materials for a project they have embarked upon to transform a dilapidated piece of abandoned property into a cozy and comfortable house for poor families who cannot afford a home of their own.
Mr. Houston said that the philosophy of the Catholic Worker Movement - a national lay network devoted to Gospel action and social justice - "fits very well" with the group's Harrisburg project.
"We go into a neighborhood not just to provide affordable housing but to work with families and the kids," he said. "We try to help stabilize neighborhoods through relationships with the neighbors."
Mr. Houston said the latest project planned by the local Catholic Worker men's house involves a three-story house in Harrisburg's Allison Hill neighborhood. The structure, he said, has been abandoned for more than two years and has been foreclosed upon. The city declared the property blighted, he said.
All volunteers will be appreciated, and all will be put to work, Mr. Houston said.
"We need folks for the project who can drywall," he added. "We need licensed electricians and folks who can paint. We even need materials. And we need prayers. We're trusting in God's providence that we will get what we need to complete the project."
Volunteers have already stepped forward. A group of college students associated with Penn State's campus ministry have signed on for an April weekend.
When completed, the rehabilitated house will be another affordable housing outreach that falls under the Catholic Worker auspices in Harrisburg. St. Rose of Lima House is a four-unit apartment building for refugees being re-settled by Catholic Charities or people in need. Catholic Worker also has a house for needy men and two houses for women and children.
"And we've been able to do all this totally through the providence of God," Mr. Houston said.
The Harrisburg Catholic Worker men's house is associated with the Catholic Worker Movement, which began in 1933 and has its headquarters in New York. Catholic Worker communities throughout the United States operate soup kitchens and homeless shelters and have hospitality houses that provide a sanctuary of prayer and community for their members and tend to the needs of the poor.
Almost 70 years later, the men and women involved in Catholic Worker remain inspired by the philosophy of the movement's founders - Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin - to live simple lifestyles and to commit themselves to Gospel service.
Mr. Houston said that another focus of the prayers at the Catholic Worker men's house in Harrisburg has been a proposed project that attaches the challenge of affordable housing to the challenge of gainful employment. St. Joseph the Worker has been chosen as the patron saint for this initiative.
"We've just finished a novena to St. Joseph," Mr. Houston said. "We're praying about a bakery; we want to open up a bakery. The ideal is to teach people job skills so instead of becoming consumers of goods, they become producers. We're actually wanting to tie the need for affordable housing to the need for employment. Housing and employment go hand-in-hand."
If you are interested in providing any time, talent or materials to Catholic Worker's house project, call volunteer coordinator Rob Marco at 230-8328.