On Wednesday, December 23 we hosted our annual Christmas Dinner. It was a lovely event
with everybody enjoying a bountiful feast. There was so much ham and a couple of turkeys for those who don’t eat pork; a variety of potato dishes; an array of special dishes (ambrosia, baked beans, candied yams); and so much cake and cookies. The meal was extra special this year as the ability to host it was in question considering the pandemic. Luckily we found a good model at our Thanksgiving Dinner of how to serve a festive meal while being mindful of COVID concerns and restrictions. We give thanks to the generosity of so many donors who not only provided a bountiful feast, but made it possible for us to provide gifts to all our guests. We could not have done the event without your generosity. 
Christmas Appeal
DECEMBER 2020
Dear Friends,
The world we live in can be a scary place. 2020 has been a year where it’s been easy to be afraid. The world is struggling with the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost; jobs and economic wellbeing have been lost; daily routines have been drastically altered; families have been separated; and isolation has become the norm. Our country has gone through an incredibly divisive election and sadly those divisions don’t seem to be healing. Global climate change continues at an alarming pace while many continue to deny its existence. Institutional racism continues to be a scourge upon our country. At the risk of stating the obvious, there is much to fear in our world today.
There is nothing new about a scary world; it is as old as time. It’s even a common theme in the nativity narratives, when the world was arguably an even scarier place: fear of an angel’s appearance, fear of what God wants a person to do, and fear of political leaders. All valid reactions, but in every instance the angel of the Lord comforts them with “do not be afraid.” To Zechariah, “Do not be afraid, your prayers have been answered.” (Luke 1:5-17) To Mary, “Be not afraid, you have found favor with God.” (Luke 1: 26-33) To the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, I proclaim good news of great joy.” (Luke 1:8-14)
We know, intellectually at least, that we are cared for by a loving God. Still it’s hard not to feel at least a little trepidation. This year especially, being told, “do not be afraid” feels like when the angel told St. Paul not to be afraid during the storm at sea because nothing bad will happen to him before he gets executed in Rome. What! That’s not exactly comforting.
But still, the message of the nativity and infancy narrative is clear and comforting: God has entered the world in a special way. If we make the effort, we can deepen our relationship with God and live in peace instead of fear. The choice is ours. The world and what we must do in it can be a scary place, but if we trust in God and try to live out mercy and justice, then all will be fine.
As always, we thank you for your generous support of our work with those in need during this very difficult year and hope that you will continue helping us help others in the year to come.
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
Peter Stiehler
Director
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 guests. But every year there is plenty. Every year I fear that something will go dreadfully wrong and the meal will be a disaster and every year it’s a beautiful event. This year, due to the coronavirus, my fears were doubled. I hate not being able to serve a sit-down meal. How are we going to make the day festive when the best we can do is hot meals To-Go? Well, once again my fears proved unfounded, as our Thanksgiving Dinner was a lovely event. We had plenty of food, enough volunteers, and over 130 guests enjoying the day. Even without indoor dining the day was festive, joyful and full of thanks. I was reminded 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…
CHRISTMAS DINNER NEEDS
We will be hosting a Christmas Dinner for our guests, but with changes to account for the COVID pandemic. As with our Thanksgiving Dinner we will only be providing hearty hot meals To-Go. Again, we hate making this change, as it seems hardly festive, but the safety of our guests and volunteers necessitate it. That said, can you help us host our annual Christmas dinner for our guests by cooking part of the meal? We need:
- Ham, cooked and carved, enough for 10 people
- Potato dishes
- Milk or juice
- Cookies, pie, or cake
Please bring food donations between 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 23. We will be serving the meal between 11:30 – 1:30 p.m. that day. Food can be brought to our dining room at St. Bruno’s Church, located at 555 W. San Bruno Ave. in San Bruno. Please call us at (650) 827-0706 if you can bring anything or if you have any questions. Thank You!
GIFT IDEAS
If you’re interested in providing a gift for one of our guests, may we suggest gift cards as the ideal gift for this COVID impacted Christmas? They would provide Christmas cheer for our guests and enable them to purchase the items they need and want. It would also limit your exposure to crowds this holiday season. We suggest gift cards to grocery stores, Target, and coffee houses. If you still want to purchase a tangible gift, may we suggest one of the following: sweatshirt, thermal underwear, hat and gloves, socks, or underwear.
We thank you for your generosity in helping to make this holiday season special for our guests.
Judy Pena Tribute
It is with much sadness that we bid farewell to another long time fixture of the Catholic Worker Hospitality House, Judy Pena. Judy hasn’t died, but her health has deteriorated to the degree that she is no longer able to live on her own and now resides at a care facility in Gilroy. Therefore, we will no longer be seeing her at the dining room. Sadly because of COVID I will not be able to visit her, although I will be able to stay in touch by phone.
Judy has been a regular at the dining room and shelter for 24 years. Shortly after we opened our dining room we met her at a conference at Saint Bruno’s Church. When she learned about our dining room she said she just had to be part of it. Soon she was a daily volunteer serving food, chatting up our guests, and cleaning up after serving time. A couple of years later when we had a job opening at the shelter she was briefly an overnight staff person. While working at the shelter some of the guests thought Judy would be a pushover, they soon learned otherwise. Judy holds the record for kicking out the most guests in a single night when one Saturday night she told four rowdy guests to leave after repeated warnings to curb their behavior. Even after she stopped working at the shelter she was a regular volunteer at the dining room for another decade until her health prevented her from working. The place was so important to her that even when she could no longer work she would still come every morning just to socialize with the other guests. As her health declined I started giving her a ride home from the dining room every morning, which gave us some nice one-on-one time. She was always pleasant on the drive home, even if we had arguments that morning at the dining room (which was not uncommon).
Like the rest of us, Judy is no saint, and can be quite difficult at times (as many of her fellow volunteers can attest to). But throughout her life she was a person who volunteered her time to serve those in need, whether it was working with the United Farmworkers Movement to improve the lot of laborers in the fields, with the Franciscans at the Poverello center serving the urban poor in San Francisco, or at our little dining room. Judy was always of service and was open and welcoming to all. A humble and giving life covers a multitude of sins.
Judy, thank you for your years of service and loving presence. You are and will be missed. The place won’t be the same without you.
Thanksgiving Dinner
Dear Friends,
Thanksgiving will soon be upon us and Catholic Worker Hospitality House will once again host a Thanksgiving Dinner for all our guests, but with major changes to account for the COVID pandemic. We normally host a festive sit-down meal for over 200 guests, but, sadly, this year we will only be providing hearty hot meals To-Go. We hate making this change, as it seems hardly festive, but the safety of our guests and volunteers makes it necessary.
In normal years we welcome any and all volunteers, realizing the great desire folks have to be of service for and with others on Thanksgiving. But this year we need to limit the number of people volunteering to serve food.
Where we do need volunteers is in food preparation. Over the years our Thanksgiving Feast has been made possible by all of you who bring prepared food to share with our guests. Can you help us again this year? We are looking for people to bring one or more of the following:
- Turkey, cooked and carved to serve ten
- Mashed potatoes or stuffing for ten
- Vegetable dish for ten
- Pie, cake, or cookies
- Individual Sized juice, milk, or soda
- To-Go containers, napkins, plastic ware
If you can provide any of these items please call us at (650) 827-0706.
Food is to be brought to our dining room at St. Bruno’s Church, located at 555 W. San Bruno Ave., between 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26). The meal will be served between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.. PLEASE call to tell us what you can bring so we can plan accordingly.
Thank you so much for your continued generosity.
Peace,
Peter Stiehler
For all of us at Catholic Worker Hospitality House
Fall Vacation Notice
At Catholic Worker Hospitality House we close our dining room and shelter for a week vacation several times a year. These times off provide a necessary respite which enables us to remain kind and compassionate (most of the time) to those we serve. It also gives us time to do some deep cleaning and light maintenance on the dining room and shelter.
We will be closing for our Fall Vacation after the dining room service on Friday, October 23. The dining room and shelter will be closed for ten days until we reopen on Monday, November 2.
Peter Stiehler, for all of us at Catholic Worker Hospitality House