Saint Francis & Therese Catholic Worker House is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is a Catholic Community committed to demonstrating for peace and justice and offering a home to the homeless. All possessions are held in common, and members strive to live simply.
The following responses are of current members of the Saint Francis & Therese Catholic Worker House:
1. What is community?
"Community is a voluntary association of individuals around a common ideal and practice."
2. What makes this community intentional and what it the value of intentionality?
"Freedom of association, taken up deliberately and not out of pressing need, gives moral and emotional strength to community."
The five founding members of the Saint Francis and Therese Catholic Worker House in 1986.
3. What should be the purpose of community in general, and what is the purpose of this community specifically?
"People come together in communities because virtually all human beings are social beings who are happier and more productive when working and living with others. The Saints Francis & Therese Catholic Worker community draws its inspiration from Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the experience of the peace movement. We live simply, holding our goods in common, making decisions by consensus without hierarchy, praying together, sheltering the homeless, and promoting peace. Ideally, our witness, not only provides needed service, but also testifies to the active presence of God in human history."
4. What have been your experiences with community before becoming a member of this one?
"I was a live-in staff member at a group home for mentally challenged adults. I also was a novice with the Capuchin-Franciscans. And I grew up with six brothers and sister. Did they contribute to your desire to join this community? Of course. What attracted you to living in this community? I am both buoyed and challenged by living with others. There's support and needed criticism that I wouldn't get on my own."
5. How does one maintain their sense of individuality while living in a community?
"In every community I have been part of, individuals have specific talents and interests. I am a runner, for example. I run about 32 miles a week and do two or three races a week. My wife is a runner too, but our co-workers are not. Is this necessary? Yes, individual talents and interests should never be ignored."
Community members using their talents and individuality for the greater good.
6. Is it difficult to be a close-knit community while not excluding those who are not members?
"No. We offer hospitality to the needy and to many people who just want to spend some time here volunteering or just to ask about our work. We try to make each person who comes here feel valued and welcome. Once in a great while, we are confronted with an individual who wants to join the intentional community, but we either have no space or have reservations about them. That's always hard. How does your community handle this tension? We try to encourage those who are excluded by directing them to communities which might better suit them."
"No. We offer hospitality to the needy and to many people who just want to spend some time here volunteering or just to ask about our work. We try to make each person who comes here feel valued and welcome. Once in a great while, we are confronted with an individual who wants to join the intentional community, but we either have no space or have reservations about them. That's always hard. How does your community handle this tension? We try to encourage those who are excluded by directing them to communities which might better suit them."
Community member, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi at a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC speaking to a Holocaust survivor.
7. What does your community do to strengthen each other as a group and individually?
"We celebrate birthdays. We have a weekly house meeting during which we always check in with each individual about how they are feeling. We also try to encourage everyone to take a turn writing our house column or doing public speaking about our work. These public outings are usually a kind of boost for those doing them. We also encourage those who get tired or discouraged to take personal time to rest, to go to the movies or the beach or mountain climbing, etc."
8. Can authentic communities exist without being “intentional communities”?
"Yes. Neighborhoods in cities are a good example. People come together coincidentally and yet, they can draw close to each other and share common interest in the quality of life in their surroundings."
"Yes. Neighborhoods in cities are a good example. People come together coincidentally and yet, they can draw close to each other and share common interest in the quality of life in their surroundings."
9. How has your definition of community changed since becoming a member of this community?
"I've learned that it's not only about self-affirmation, but also about being open to criticism. It's not easy to be told that something you do is hurtful or unethical or harmful to the environment or in some other way deficient. Loving criticism from those close to you, though, have a better chance of inspiring positive change than the criticism we get from strangers."