News Archive

April 2019

 

            Be Compassionate, as your Father is compassionate.  Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Pardon, and you shall be pardoned. Give, and it shall be given to you. Good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will they pour into the fold of your garment.  For the measure you measure will be measured back to you.     –- Luke 6: 37-38

 

Dear Friends,

I have a bad memory.  Now this can be both a blessing and a curse in our daily work at Catholic Worker Hospitality House.  The blessing is that it enables me to forget the misdeeds of certain guests at our dining room and shelter, instead of holding onto a grudge and refusing them hospitality.    But the curse is that I annoy my poor co-corkers, as I too often hear from them: “Did you let Mr. A back into the shelter?! Last time he was here he did x, y, and z and we had to kick him out” or “ I saw Mr. B was at the dining room today.  I thought you had banned him for doing q, r, and s repeatedly? My usual response is: “Oh, Jeez, I totally forgot.” I know that my actions drive my co-workers to distraction, but I would like to think that my forgetfulness is a form of passive forgiveness.  I believe strongly that we must forgive the misdeeds of others if we want God to forgive our own. And as I’m well aware of my myriad misdeeds, I try to give folks a second, third, or forth chance before I impose any sanctions on them.

Now passive forgiveness has its place, but there are times when we must practice active forgiveness.  I remember a time when a guest did something really bad and for years I couldn’t forgive and let it go.  I held on to it, let it fester, and, as forgiveness is at the core of our faith, I let it effect my prayer life.  How could I come before God to seek forgiveness and redemption when I was unwilling to give it to another? I don’t know if my lack off forgiveness affected the person I couldn’t forgive, but it sure had a negative effect on me. When I don’t forgive I separate myself not only from my fellow man, but from the love of God as well.  When I do forgive and let go, I’m able to move on and stay in communion with God and others.

I try to remember that we are all better than our worst action.  As Christians we believe that regardless of the transgression committed by the individual there is the possibility for reconciliation and a return to wholeness.  Our faith teaches that as long as the person acknowledges their wrongdoing, shows repentance, and does some sort of penance, we can welcome the person back into full communion with the community.  And ultimately, don’t we want the wrongdoer to be welcomed back into the full graces of the community? In our spite and anger we often say, “lock ‘em up and throw away the key,” but the world is a better place when our neighbor reforms, repents, and is welcomed back.

In my time at Catholic Worker Hospitality House I have seen numerous guests at our dining room and shelter who at one time were wild, out of control, or just plain bad.  But then something changed in their lives and they became a different person. Our challenge is: do we remember the out of control person or do we embrace and support the reforming person?  In the retelling it seems the transformation is instantaneous, one day they were bad and the next they were good. But in reality it’s a process, often a very long process with plenty of fits and starts: a decision is made to try to be better, baby steps are made, then a few more, until gradually over time the new way gains strength and the old bad habits fade.  Over the years we have seen the power of forgiveness work miracles in those we serve. I have seen numerous people who I personally thought were hopeless cases end up transforming their lives. It always starts with people forgiving themselves and starting to walk the road of personal transformation. Our challenge is to try to forgive past actions, believe in attempts at reform, and support and encourage where possible.  We always rejoice when we see such transformations.

In our daily work at Catholic Worker Hospitality House we do our best to embody the way of forgiveness; to assist with the healing of individuals, society, and, ultimately, ourselves.  We thank you for your support of our efforts at healing and reconciliation, even when it seems foolish and hopeless. Together we are “fools for Christ” who are doing our best to embody the Kingdom of God here and now.

 

In Christ’s Peace,

Peter Stiehler

For all of us at Catholic Worker Hospitality House

 

HOUSE NEEDS

Oatmeal

Canned fruit

Coffee and creamer

Canned fruit

Toilet paper and napkins

Large and tall trash bags

Razors

Money, for our ongoing expenses

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HOSPITALITY HOUSE

On April 1, 1996 Catholic Worker Hospitality House opened its doors for the first time, serving a ham and potato dinner to five thankful guests. Twenty-three years later we’re still going strong.  Five mornings a week we serve hot meals to 60-70 guests with over fifteen folks taking showers during the mealtime and every night we offer emergency shelter to eight individuals. We also operate two boarding houses where a total of fifteen individuals have permanent affordable housing.  We’ve been able to not only continue our work, but greatly expand it over the years because of your generous and faithful support. We thank you for all you have done for those in need in our community over the years and hope that you will continue helping us help others.

February 2019 Dear Friends, On December 15 John Linker, a long-time resident of our Second Ave House passed from this life to the next after a long battle with cancer. While John would occasionally eat at our dining room, we really didn’t get to know him until a neighbor of the shelter complained about John’s constant presence on his street—John would stand next to a gas station wall across the street from our shelter all day, every day, nursing a beer (or three) and smoking cigarettes. In an effort to be good neighbors, our response to the neighbor’s complaint was to invite John to spend his days in the backyard of our Second Ave house, where he could drink his beer and smoke his cigarettes without troubling anyone. I wasn’t sure how this would work, as I initially found John intimidating and did my best to steer clear of him, he wasn’t aggressive or troublesome, he just had a visage that said “leave me alone, don’t mess with me.” Surprisingly, John was a perfect guest and fit right in with the group of guys at the house. A few months later when a room became available, he moved into the house.   For the next four years John was an exemplary tenant and roommate. He could always be found on the back porch smoking a cigarette and nursing an Olde English beer. Six to seven years ago, before he lived with us, John developed bladder cancer and received treatment that sent the cancer into remission. Then a year and a half ago the cancer returned. He started receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but after a while it became clear that he wouldn’t survive this round of cancer. We started making plans for his decline: switching, then eliminating the chores he did around the house and planning a move to a downstairs room when he would be unable to manage the stairs, etc. His biggest fear was that we would evict him from the house as his disease progressed. We assured him that it was our goal to keep him in the house as long as possible, hopefully until he died. That put him at ease while he continued with his treatment. We didn’t quite achieve our goal though. After a long, slow decline, John had a precipitous drop-off in his condition the Monday before his death. On Wednesday we called his nurse from Mission Hospice, to tell of his condition and ask for assistance. She came to the house immediately, cleaned and sedated him and helped us move him to a downstairs room. His condition continued deteriorating, he was losing dexterity and all coordination, to the extent that he was unable to hold a cigarette and experienced repeated falls. On Thursday his nurse arranged for John to move to one of Mission Hospice’s care facilities and on Saturday he died peacefully hours after I visited him for the last time. While John’s passing at the early age of 60 years old is sand and untimely, I have been trying to see the good in his time with us.   John went from being homeless and isolated, basically friendless, to living in a nice home with caring roommates; he became a valued part of a community. While he had the dour personality of Eeyore, it was clear that John enjoyed the companionship found at the Second Ave house. As his disease progressed he was especially thankful to have a place to live during his medical treatment and eventual decline where he could be comfortable and continue doing what he loved most—smoking cigarettes and drinking his Olde English beer. We are thankful for the opportunity John gave us to live our faith by the practice of two of the Works of Mercy: Care for the Sick and Bury the Dead. As John had no family we claimed his body, had it cremated per his request, and found a final resting spot for his earthly remains. A few weeks after his passing we held a memorial service at our Second Ave house, John’s final home, in which friends and roommates gathered to remember John’s life: we told stories, laughed, and to honor John—drank some Olde English beer and smoked cigarettes on the back porch. Rest in Peace John, you are missed. In Christ’s Peace, Peter Stiehler for all of us at Catholic Worker Hospitality House ________________________________________________________________________ Over the years you, our supporters, have been so very supportive of our work at Catholic Worker Hospitality House and for this we are eternally grateful. We simply would not be able to do our daily work of feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and so much more without your kindness and generosity. In this letter I want to give something back to you.   I want to share a poem that has comforted and inspired me for decades.   I don’t know if it ranks up there with the great works of poetry, but it has meant a lot to me. I first came across this poem one Sunday during college while straightening missals and song books in the pews of my parish church. I saw a folded yellow sheet of paper in one of the missals. I intended to throw away this piece of paper, until I opened it, read it, and was instantly moved. Over the years I have repeatedly stumbled across this poem on a yellow sheet of paper and it has never failed to inspire. Recently I encountered it once more and again found it comforting and inspiring. I hope you find it as moving as I have. Enjoy.          –Peter

THE DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.  As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. 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 life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.  Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive God to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.           –Max Ehrmann

 

Thank you San Bruno Community Foundation!  We are once again recipients of a grant for the operation of our emergency homeless shelter at St. Bruno’s Church, this year the grant was for $20,000.  This generous grant from the San Bruno Community Foundation will help us continue providing safe and dignified shelter for homeless individuals in our community.  We are very fortunate to be in a community we our work is both accepted and supported. Again, thank you.

 

Christmas 2018

Dear Friends,

On December 25, Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, yet the true date of Jesus’ birth is unknown. It could be the late December date, then again, it could have been in March or August or October. Clearly, a date just after the winter solstice was chosen for it’s symbolic importance. Throughout history cultures have marked the winter solstice as a time of renewal in a time of darkness. Will the sun return? Will life return to a world in dormancy? In a world filled with darkness where is hope to be found? While Christianity doesn’t celebrate the rebirth of the world, it does play off the primal fear of darkness and a “dying world.” But really, the actual day of Jesus’ birth is unimportant. What is important is what the birth of Jesus the Savior means to humanity.

Instead of celebrating the rebirth of creation, we Christians celebrate the “new heaven and a new earth” that comes into being with the birth of Jesus. We now have Emmanuel—God with us—to share in our humanity, to show us a better way to live, to comfort us in our daily struggles, to forge a new and deeper intimacy between God and creation. In a time of darkness when God’s people face utter destruction and all hope seems lost, God sends a comforting message: I will be with you. I will share in your daily joys and sorrows: family, work, worship, pain and suffering.

In our daily work at Catholic Worker Hospitality House we too try to walk with God’s people during their time of trial to comfort and encourage–to be a source of hope in a time of darkness. We serve and share in hot meals, provide both emergency and permanent housing; visit the sick, including taking folks to doctor appointments and to pick up medication; and visit the imprisoned, including letter writing and this year creating re-entry housing for folks coming out of prison. We do all this and more to enter into a deeper intimacy with our brothers and sisters.

This intimacy is what attracted me (as well as our staff, volunteers, and sup-

porters) to the Catholic Worker Movement. We have found that working and bonding with those in need has not only created close relationships, but has given us a better understanding of the plight of the poor and marginalized in the world. It has also made us less judgmental and more compassionate. By serving and nurturing we become better people, we enter into that new creation offered by the birth of Jesus. As someone who has not always been good, I love how the Catholic Worker Movement creates a place where it’s easier for all of us to be good and to do good, a place where we can all grow closer to God and one another.

For twenty-three years Catholic Worker Hospitality House has been a beacon of hope and love to the marginalized of our society, doing what we can in our daily work to comfort and care for God’s people. This Christmas we ask for your continued support of our work with those in need. With your help we can continue walking with God, serving God’s people, and enfleshing the new heaven and new earth offered by the birth of Jesus.

Merry Christmas,

Peter Stiehler

For all of us at Catholic Worker Hospitality House

 

WE GIVE THANKS

Once again Catholic Worker Hospitality House hosted a traditional Thanksgiving Feast for all our guests in the parish hall at St. Bruno’s Catholic Church. It was a lovely event with over two hundred folks joining us for a day filled with good food and friendship—and there was plenty of both. I love how not only our current dinning room and shelter guests attend, but guests from five years ago, ten years ago, and even twenty years ago return “home” to share in the holiday.

We are thankful for all of you who prepared and brought the food for the feast. By many people sharing some of their gifts, all have enough. Quite simply our Thanksgiving Feast would not be possible without your love and generosity.

We give thanks.

 

CHRISTMAS DINNER NEEDS

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. – 12:00 p.m. Friday, December 21. We will be serving the meal between 12:00 – 2:00 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 the following: sweatshirt, thermal underwear, gloves, socks, or underwear. Whether homeless or housed, our guests spend a lot of time in the cold and would appreciate any of these items. Gift cards are also very much appreciated, especially for places where folks can pass the time: coffee houses, restaurants, movie theaters (Century Theaters are close to us). We thank you for your generosity in helping to make this holiday season special for our guests.

 

HOUSE NEEDS

Coffee, creamer, and sugar

Dish soap, disinfectant, cleanser

Trash bags (all sizes)

Cold medicine

Shampoo and Conditioner

Money, for ongoing expenses

 

 

 

Thank you to the San Bruno Community Foundation who granted us $15,000 for the operation of our emergency homeless shelter at St. Bruno’s Church.

A special thanks  to Patricia Bohm from the SBCF who came and presented the check today and spoke with our volunteers and guests about the work of the Foundation and also gave our guests information about additional resources in the community.