Peter Stiehler

Dear Friends,

For almost thirty years I’ve been writing these Christmas letters.  The usual letter talks about Advent as a time of hope as we await a new creation.  While we enter “a time of darkness,” we hope and prepare for a better world with the coming of Jesus, the
Messiah, at Christmas.

This year, with the current political and economic situation, people are especially feeling and fearing the darkness.  ICE raids, military deployments to cities viewed as hostile to the president, tax cuts for the very wealthy while health and food resources for the poor are cut, and the general dismantling of structures that care for people and protect the environment.

How long O Lord?  How long must we wait for the promised new creation?  With all that’s happening, just waiting and hoping for a better world in some vague future doesn’t seem enough.  So what if instead of just waiting and hoping for a better future, we start living a bit of that hoped for future now? I think this was at the heart of the life and ministry of Jesus.

“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” – Luke 17:20b-21

What if we lived our lives as if this was true? What if we lived our lives in the belief that God is already within us and within all those with whom we interact? What if we knew that we  have nothing to fear because God loves us, and has already redeemed us.  How would our lives be transformed?

I think back to my college days when I had returned to the church and started trying to take my faith seriously.  My thought was: “Someday I’ll truly devote myself to living the Way of God, but what’s the rush?  Why do it now?”  Then I realized “the end” could come for me at any time.  I was a young male who engaged in the risky behavior a lot of young people do; then I realized I could die any day.  “Maybe I should start living the kingdom now,” I thought.  So, I started on the path of trying to live a more devout life.  Now I haven’t always been successful in this pursuit, but it did get me to make some life changes that led me in the right direction.

This desire to live the kingdom of God now, not later, is what ultimately brought me to the Catholic Worker Movement and what led Kate and I to start Catholic Worker Hospitality House in San Bruno almost 30 years ago. It is why I’m still here after all
these years.  And I believe it is why so many of you devote your time and resources to making our work possible.

In simple ordinary ways, we all try to manifest the love of God through acts of kindness and the daily practice of the Works of Mercy.  I am writing this letter during our morning dining room service.  I am seeing, and participating with, people – guests, volunteers, and donors – living the kingdom here and now through the sharing of a meal and fellowship.  And while all this is going on others are delivering food and supplies for our Thanksgiving Feast which will happen the next day.  It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.  We all fall short at times doing this work, but we keep on trying.

As always, we thank you for joining us in this work. It is through your ongoing generous support of our work that we are able to continue serving those in need in our community.

In Christ’s Peace,

Peter Stiehler
For all of us at
Catholic Worker Hospitality House

 

THANKSGIVING MEAL

Every year, two weeks before Thanksgiving I get into a tizzy, fearful that we won’t have enough food for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner, but every year there is plenty. Every year I am fear that something will go dreadfully wrong and the meal will be a disaster and every year it’s a beautiful event. Well, once again my fears proved unfounded, as our Thanksgiving Dinner was a lovely event. We had plenty of food and volunteers, and over 200 guests enjoying the day. It was a reminder of why our Thanksgiving Dinner is my favorite event of the year. I definitely need to be more mindful of the angel’s admonition of “Do not be afraid, everything will be alright.” We thank all of you who provided food and supplies to make Thanksgiving a special day for all our guests. We couldn’t have done it without you. Now it’s time to prepare for Christmas…..

Is not one of our problems today that we have separated ourselves from the poor and the wounded and the suffering? We have too much time to discuss and theorize and have lost the yearning for God which comes when we are faced with the sufferings of people.
— Jean Vanier, Founder of L’Arche

I am not commanding you (to donate to those in need), but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. — 2 Cor 8:8

Dear Friends,

“You know, those people who ask for money in front of stores or at intersections?  It’s a scam.  They’re not really in need. I heard they get dropped off and picked up in nice cars and make thousands of dollars a day doing their begging.”

Twice recently I have heard such comments from friends of mine. I was shocked to hear them say such things as I regard these friends as kind and generous people. Obviously, I think their conspiratorial judgement on those seeking assistance is misguided at best.  From my experience, merely looking at the person asking for assistance shows they are clearly in need.  But it left me thinking: Where does their condemnation come from? Does seeing people in obvious distress make them uncomfortable? Are they scared of the feelings these people elicit in them? Are they fearful of people who are different from themselves?  Are they fearful that they may end up in the same situation themselves? Is it just plain mean-spiritness? Or do they make up stories to justify their inaction to help someone in need?

I feel their response to those asking for assistance is an outward projection; judging the person in need to calm their own fears.  Another response would be to turn the question inward: How am I going to respond to a person seeking my assistance?  How can I think of those requests for money as a test of my own commitment to the Kingdom of God?  “Am I going to say ‘yes’ to the Kingdom of God and this person’s request or am I going to say ‘no.’”  I think of myself and how daily, multiple times a day, I come before God asking for mercy: “O God, help me! Forgive me!”  Do I deserve God’s mercy? By human standards, definitely not. I have fallen short time and again, making the same mistakes over and over, but God has repeatedly shown me mercy. Should I not then show Mercy to others?

Are those asking for money worthy? Are they going to use whatever I give them in a manner I view as “proper?” I don’t know, and honestly, it’s not what I’m focused on.  I try to view these requests for assistance as an opportunity to show mercy, to share the love of God, to show my commitment to the Way of God. Is one dollar or five dollars or even twenty dollars going to drastically change their lives or negatively impact me financially? No, it won’t.  But I think it’s important to show another person a small act of kindness by looking them in the eye, addressing them respectfully, and performing a small act of kindness.  This, I believe, is at the heart of the question of whether to give or not to give.

When I initially wrote the above piece, I thought it would only be a small reflection on giving to those in need. But in light of current events, I think my friends’ condemnation of those seeking assistance is emblematic of how our country is currently responding to all who are in need or different.  At present, there is definitely a mean-spiritness pervading our society.  There is the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” recently passed by Congress which took away housing, food and health care assistance from the neediest of our society while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest.  Then there is the hundred billion dollars allocated to ICE in the same bill to arrest, imprison, and deport so called dangerous immigrants. (Although they just seem to be rounding up anyone with brown skin, immigrant or not.)  They’re also pouring money into building new prisons. And once those prisons are built and operating, they won’t be going away.  Furthermore, the military has been deployed to Washington, DC to clear out the homeless, even though there is an acknowledged lack of affordable housing.  And the president has threatened to do the same in other cities.  The recent Supreme Court ruling criminalizing homelessness and presidential Executive Order demanding cities remove the unhoused make clear that the war on the unhoused is ramping up again.  Clearly, the Christian Nationalists in control of our government don’t seem to follow the same Christ I do.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. Is what we’re seeing in our country a living out of the Kingdom of God or even an attempt to be a just and humane society?  I think not.  Those of us working at Catholic Worker Hospitality House stand in opposition to the direction our country is moving.  We believe that by sharing what we have, we all become richer. As people of faith, we believe that we honor and follow the Way of God by caring for those in need.  We will continue living out this faith through the daily practice of the Works of Mercy – feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, welcoming the stranger and immigrant, and visiting the sick and imprisoned. We thank you for your past support of this commitment and hope that you will continue helping us to be a light in the darkness by caring for those in need in our society.

In Christ’s Peace,

Peter Stiehler
Director
Catholic Worker Hospitality House

 

HOUSE NEEDS

• Cold cereal
• Canned soup
• Canned fruit
• Peanut butter and Jelly
• Pasta sauce
• Toilet paper
• Napkins
• Coffee,
• Creamer
• Sugar
• Money, for our ongoing expenses

WE NEED YOUR HELP! As you can tell from the above list, this is the time of year when our food stores and bank account are at their lowest. Could you help us with either in kind or monetary donations? Thank you

 

In every large city of the Western world, the poor are still stretching out their
hands for crumbs which fall from the rich man’s table. Only a few crumbs fall to them. There is little love from the rich to the poor. Doesn’t anyone see that in each of the poor it is Christ who begs? When shall we who call ourselves Christians begin to be Christ- like, and to love as he commanded us? “It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognize you as my disciples.” (John
13:35)
— Catherine Doherty, Living the Gospel without Compromise

 

WHAT TO DO IN A TIME OF DARKNESS

You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven. — Matt. 5:14,16
When the powers-that-be dismiss the bearers of bad news, we will speak the truth whether it’s popular or not.
When leaders, or anybody else, misrepresent the truth we will kindly correct them and inform them of the truth.
When the authorities disparage and arrest immigrants and the unhoused or whoever else they may target, we will open our hearts and doors to welcome and care for them, remembering that we are all children of God and equally loved by God.
When we see politicians giving tax breaks to the wealthiest while cutting basic services for those most in need, we will share our wealth with those in need.
We will refuse to live in or be part of the darkness; instead, the witness of our lives – our love, compassion, and generosity – will be a light to others bringing hope into the world.

Dear Friends,

Thirty years ago this week, if you’re reading this letter the first week of June, Kate and I met with Larry Purcell and Jan Johanson of the Redwood City Catholic Worker to discuss the possibility of their assisting us with starting a new Catholic Worker house in San Mateo County.

A month or so beforehand, Kate had been in the office of the Los Angeles Catholic Worker, where we were both living, looking through a basket filled with newsletters from various Catholic Worker houses. In perusing the letters, she read a recent letter from the Redwood City Catholic Worker in which they spoke of having raised money to help a young couple start their own Catholic Worker house. They said they had the money, but we’re just looking for the right people to start the work.

This caught Kate’s attention. While we were both members of the Los Angeles Catholic Worker community and wanted to stay as Catholic Workers, we were interested in starting our own house. Kate and I were about to get married and were eager to have children. In her wisdom, Kate realized that it is much easier to raise children in a Catholic Worker House when it’s your house and you can set the parameters of work in a way that enables a sane and healthy family life.

So, a few weeks later, while on our honeymoon in the Bay Area, we met with Larry and Jan to discuss what they had in mind and to see if that would mesh with what we wanted to do. We were not ten minutes into the conversation when Jan said to Larry, “Here are the people we’ve been waiting for.” Kate and I, understandably, we’re a bit startled.

What they offered us was extravagant in its generosity and trust. They would loan us money to purchase a house from which to operate a Catholic Worker (said loan would be forgiven if we stayed at the work for five years), would introduce us to people who could be helpful to us in starting our work, would allow us use of their mailing list for our first mailing, and they would be a loving supporting presence to us. All they asked is that we do the work in San Mateo County as that was where they had raised the money. How could we say no to that? We didn’t. We quickly said yes and started to work on the details of when we would move up.

In late November 1995 we left the Los Angeles Catholic Worker, moved into a garage apartment the Redwood City Catholic Worker provided for us, searched for and found a house in San Bruno, and in February of 1996 moved into the house on 2nd Ave. Twenty-nine years later, the work of Catholic Worker Hospitality House is still going strong, although be it with ups and downs and changes over the years.

Larry and Jan took a huge leap of faith in us and we took a leap of faith that the community would support this work. Kate went on to other work, working in the law and policy, helping those in need, but still remaining supportive and involved, and I have continued to put in a lot of work over the years in keeping it going, but it has been through the faithful generosity of hundreds of people in our community and throughout the country who provided emotional, financial, and material support to our work of feeding, sheltering, and housing those in need, to keep it going.

We realize the importance of our commitment which has provided stability and continuity to the work, but without your partnership we would not have been able to continue our basic work, much less expand into the various housing projects we operate today. As always, we give a heartfelt thanks to your past generosity and hope that you will continue helping us serve those in need.

In Christ’s Peace,

Peter Stiehler
For all of us at
Catholic Worker
Hospitality House

Dear Friends,

A couple of months ago at Sunday mass the priest recommended reading the papal bull of indiction, Spes Non Confundit (Hope Doesn’t Disappoint), which announces the start of the Jubilee year. Now, while I’m a fairly active Catholic, I’m not one who generally reads papal letters, but I thought I would give this one a shot. While my expectation was low, I was intrigued because it was about the Year of Jubilee, which in ancient Israel was about the forgiveness of debt and the return of sold land to the original clan owners. In the church today, it’s about forgiveness, reconciliation, and spiritual renewal.

What initially caught my attention was the name of the papal letter, “Hope Doesn’t Disappoint.” “Hope,” or the lack of it, is a very timely topic. In this country there is such a sense of hopelessness. For some it’s related to the latest election with the economic and political chaos that’s being promulgated by the new administration. For others it’s related to the environmental crisis brought on by climate change which is leading to increased natural disasters around the world. A related effect of this environmental crisis is the steep rise in insurance policies. Last month I received a car insurance bill which had doubled and a home insurance bill which had tripled from the previous year. For still others it’s the sense of hopelessness around finding affordable housing or work that would enable them to support themselves and their families. We all know there are many other sources of despair facing us, but I am writing a newsletter and not a tome. But I believe we can all see that clearly hope is a very timely topic.

As I read the papal letter, I came upon a section titled “Signs of Hope.” All of the signs were works of mercy: visiting the imprisoned, caring for the sick and elderly, welcoming the immigrant, caring for the poor, etc. It got me thinking, why are the Works of Mercy so intertwined with hope? When we assist someone, it fills them with hope; assisting others fills us with hope; and when someone else sees us assist another it fills them with hope. I think of a commercial from a few years back in which one act of kindness inspires another person to do an act of kindness which inspires another person to do an act of kindness and so on and so on.

When we perform, receive or observe a work of mercy it fills us with hope for a better world both now and in the future. Or to put it in theological language, works of mercy enflesh the Kingdom of God here and now. I can only imagine that you readers must get tired of hearing in these letters about the Works of Mercy; it seems like I focus on them in every other letter. I realize I sound like a stuck record, but I just feel they are so central to enfleshing our faith and to making communities of love. That is why at Catholic Worker Hospitality House, and at all Catholic Worker Houses, we build our work around the daily practice of the Works of Mercy. By feeding the hungry we are able to live out our faith; by sheltering the homeless we make our communities a better place; and by visiting the sick or imprisoned we bring hope to those who are hopeless…and to ourselves.

We live in a time of great hopelessness. It’s hard to look at the news and not feel that we are living through an apocalypse, the end of times. Governmental collapse, genocide, environmental disasters and the spread of diseases that feel like Biblical Plagues. It is more and more difficult not to let hopelessness enter our hearts and to resign ourselves to the end. But to give over our hearts to hopelessness and despair would be awfully convenient for the people in the halls of power. The leaders and businesses who wish to profit from war, profit by pillaging the environment, and profit by price gouging the ordinary person do not want us to feel hope and they do not want us to strengthen our communities with love.

So, if you are dissatisfied with the state of the world, we encourage you in your daily life to practice the Works of Mercy whenever you have the opportunity. By doing so you will start the process of making your community stronger and you will bring hope and love not only to those you assist, but also into your own heart.

As always, we thank all of you who make our work at Catholic Worker Hospitality House possible either by your donations of money or food, or by volunteering with us, or by keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We thank you for all your past support and hope that you will continue your generous support which keeps us going.
In Christ’s Peace,

Peter Stiehler
Director
Catholic Worker Hospitality House

 

FIRST THEY CAME
They came first for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Catholic.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Written in 1946 by Martin Niemoeller, a Lutheran Pastor, shortly after he was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp where he had been imprisoned for eight years for opposing Nazi control of Protestant churches.

Dear Friends,

As I sit writing this letter, it is mid-January and at Catholic Worker Hospitality House (CWHH) we are settling back into our usual work routine after a lovely, if hectic, holiday season. I’m thinking about all the generous support we received from before Thanksgiving through New Year’s from you, our faithful donors, that enable us to continue our work with those in need in our community. I think especially of our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners when so many of you brought prepared food – mashed potatoes, stuffing, ham or turkey, pies and cookies – that enabled us to host bountiful feasts for over 150 people each time.

These dinners are such enjoyable events partially because I get to see so many friends who have supported us faithfully for years. It’s a joy to see them and experience the goodwill they project. The same can be said for the guests coming to partake in the meal. Some are the folks we see every day, while others are former regulars who now only come “home” on our holiday events. Either way, they too bring a sense of joy that makes the day special. These meals epitomize a hidden benefit of our work at Catholic Worker Hospitality House: that we are surrounded by so much joy in our work.

But people often don’t realize this aspect of our work. Over the years when I tell folks what I do, I often hear, “It must be so hard doing your work, I could never be around so much brokenness and sadness. The people you serve, aren’t they scary and difficult to be around?” True, it can be difficult to see someone distraught over being without a place to stay for the first time or in the depths of addiction and not willing to make needed changes. And, yes, some people can be difficult, but all work has its difficulties and difficult people.

But the sadness and the difficulties are a minor part of our work. At night when I do an examination of the events of my day, I am regularly amazed by how much goodness, kindness, and generosity I have encountered. Whether being warmly greeted by guests and staff when I arrive at the dining room early in the morning or seeing a volunteer interacting lovingly with a guest at the dining room or a donor chatting with me for twenty minutes after delivering a tray of pasta or the laughter I hear from the backyard of our Second Ave boarding house; there is just so much joy. I know none of us are always good or full of joy and goodness, but when we’re around Catholic Worker Hospitality House we all are trying to be the best versions of ourselves. I have to admit it’s quite nice being surrounded by love in the guise of kindness and generosity.

Ideally this spirit of love begins with the staff of CWHH. If we’re doing our job properly, we’re setting the tone of kindness, acceptance, and joy. Then, it is amplified by our volunteers and donors. Finally, our guests hopefully respond by being kind and joyful as well, which inspires us to respond in kind which perpetuates a self-reinforcing loop of goodness. Goodness is infectious.

Now I’m not as naïve and pollyannaish as I sound in the above paragraphs. I know there is a lot of meanness in the world. There are people who are selfish, greedy, dishonest, and full of bad intentions. All one needs to do is read the paper or watch the news on a daily basis and you’ll be inundated with such activity. I also know there are people living with untreated trauma and/or addiction that makes their lives and the people around them miserable. I often think of the line from the poem Desiderata: “Exercise caution in your business affairs for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere the world is full of heroism.” I also think of a common refrain from Alcoholics Anonymous meetings when considering a person’s story of addiction and recovery: “look for the similarities, not the differences.” I read that as “look for the good, not the bad.” At CWHH we have chosen to focus on the good, not the bad. We try to make the good the focus of our life. And you know what? By trying to be good and loving we find ourselves being surrounded by love on a daily basis; it’s really nice being around folks who are trying to be the best versions of themselves.

 

In Christ’s Peace,

Peter Stiehler
For all of us at
Catholic Worker Hospitality House

 

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In the above letter I wrote about how I’m surrounded by people trying to be their best by serving those in need in our community. Sadly, this attitude of self-sacrificing love isn’t as prevalent as we would hope. Our country seems to be entering a period in which supposedly devout Christians, both Catholic and evangelical, are pushing for extreme actions against immigrants, those with different worldviews, and the weak and vulnerable. It is really sad seeing folks who espouse a faith based on selfless love acting in such unloving ways. Then there are the super- wealthy who are using the power of their great wealth to benefit themselves at the expense of the rest of society by working to lower their own taxes and rolling back environmental, work place, and healthcare regulatory safeguards. The selfishness is astounding.

I recently came across the following quote by Aldous Huxley: “It’s a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one’s life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than “try to be a little kinder.” I love it. I may be reading too much into this quote, but I think “kind” includes being loving, compassionate, self-sacrificing, and being concerned with the needs of the other. May we all strive to be a little kinder in the coming days, months, and years when, I fear, kindness will lacking in the highest halls of power.

Finally, as these folks claim to be doing the will of God, I thought I would offer a few passages from scripture which offer a counter perspective.

 

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The
foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as
yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34

God defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner
residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who
are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10:18-19

Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Proverbs 30:8b

In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…There is neither Jew nor
Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3: 26-28

If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. Truly I tell you, it is hard for
someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:21, 23

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you
will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
money.
Matthew 6:24