It’s a Wrap

Camp Saint Joseph 2014 has come to a peaceful and joyful end.  This was not a forgone conclusion (anyone ever worked with children before?).  The jury was out at several very key moments.  Sacrificed at the altar of love was a counselor’s bike and wallet, the port-a-potty padlock, and a whole lotta time and energy.  But Saint Joseph pulled us through.  The Holy Spirit kicked in right in the nick of time.  The caffeine also came in very handy.  And when you launch a summer camp in your neighborhood for the first time with 35 children you don’t know, you set the bar low.  Just so if it be the Lord’s will, you soar over it.

And that is what we did.  Together.  Like  SO.

Five days of singing, sweating, eating, playing, praying, sweating some more, canoeing, getting real, dancing, getting real again, and then finally getting in that sparkling pool at Potawatomi…well done Monroe Park children and co.  You can be a tough crowd.  You can be an amazing crowd.  You are the reason fifteen plus adults put everything normal on hold to make hanging out with you the new normal.  Thank you for your smiles, your front handsprings, your exclamations of glee upon seeing river turtles for the first time, your repeated requests to see us do the Boogaloo just one more time, your love of our camp song, your careful removal of all the M&Ms from the snack packs (I saw you leave all the peanuts), your nervous excitement to put your head under water for the first time, and most of all, thank you for this new friendship.  We are so grateful for you and the new normal.  Let’s keep hanging out, Wednesdays at 5:00 PM, Unity Garden lot.  Be there.

 

 

Camp Saint Joseph LIVES

We are on DAY TWO of Camp Saint Joseph and I can assure you that all your prayers and generosity are working!!  We have a lively bunch of neighborhood children ranging in age from 4-14, and they are bringing their A-game.  They of course also bring their B and C game, but they mostly tuck those away once they hear the beat and start grooving.  Our main challenge has been the unexpected torrential rains and lighting.  Honestly, I’d take that over angry or mean spirited children, and so far, we have none of those attending camp!

In the battle against the elements, I’d say we’re up in goals, so we’re advancing to the next round.  Sunshine is predicted the rest of the week, so things are looking good for team St. Joseph.  Canoeing has been a major hit with the campers, since basically 100% of them have never been in a canoe.  Choreographed dancing has also been a serious success as well as story telling and book making.  And of course there’s just good old fashioned running around outside and rolling down the hill and hanging out with friends that makes camp just so fun.  You throw in some funky Jesus music and skits about God’s mercy and the Kingdom, and there you have it:  Camp Saint Joseph.  Come on by the Unity Garden field if you want to catch some of the action.  Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll see:

Future campers looking on at the dance group with longing.

CAMP SAINT JOSEPH 2014

 

 

 

Coming to Monroe Park Neighborhood at the end of June is the FIRST EVER Camp Saint Joseph…soon to become an annual staple in the Monroe Park hood if it be the Lord’s will.  Those of us who live on Saint Joseph Street, namely the Catholic Worker staff and friends of the CW are looking for ways to truly get to know our neighbors, particularly the sub-five foot crowd that spend their summer on bikes and bouncing basketballs.  The Worker does not traditionally target the youth, but a few of us really really love summer camp and kids and we think it makes sense to be neighbors to the small fry. Plus, we’re hoping to get to know the families of these kids and find out what they need and who they are as well.  You know, personalism.

The theme at camp this year:  There is no fear in love.  The method: one week packed with zany songs and skits, canoeing, pool time, and of course radical Gospel love.  Raquel Falk, Matthew Insley and Yours Truly are excitedly plotting and recruiting for this super awesome, slightly-shot-in-the-dark-but-sure-to-be-rocking kids summer camp.  We’ve got an amazing team of counselors and activity leaders, most of whom live in the neighborhood.  We’ve walked the streets and met some of the campers who would like to dive in.  They’re ready.

BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP.

THE CHILDREN NEED YOUR HELP.

Because without your help, we’ll be frying like eggs on the sidewalk in the blistering sun.

And without your help we’ll be running all over creation trying to prevent emergency bathroom situations.

WE NEED A TENT.  AND PORT-A-POTTIES.  LIKE WHOA.

Which is where you, dear friends of South Saint Joseph, come in as teammates and companions in this Good Work.  We’ll do the singing and dancing.  We’ll do the hustling and bustling to get these kids nourished both physically and spiritually. And YOU will do the donating to help make this possible.  We can’t do it alone.  We need you.

So please think about contributing to our first ever annual Camp Saint Joseph (zero overhead) so we can preach it properly out of the sweltering heat.  And use the bathroom in true style.  You’re the best.   Seriously.  I’ve tried to create a fancy way to donate on this site, but since we’re Catholic Workers and aren’t so good with fancy, would you mind mailing us a check instead?  We want every penny to actually go to the camp and these children, not to a company.

My address is:  Claire Fyrqvist, 523 S. Saint Joseph Street, South Bend, IN 46601

Coming SOON to a Drop-In Center Near You…

A sneak preview of TOMORROW’S one night only production…the second of the Personalist Players’ attempts at meaningful musical theater.  Fiddler on the Roof!  Get your seat at Mass at 5:00 PM, show starts at 5:40, Our Lady of the Road drop in center, 744 Main Street.  L’Chaim!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Lady of Saint Joseph Street

My son has a Marian devotion.  I do not know from whence it came, although I suspect the many icons of her sprinkled throughout his room and our small apartment during his first year of life had a great deal to do with it.

He is inspiring my still-deeply-Evangelical heart to soften and warm to the Mother of God who so simply in her great YES, brought Christ into the world.   She is the model for all of us in this sense.   Joseph thinks everyone he sees in a picture or a statue is Mary.  Even Jesus on the cross he calls “Maeee.”  He sees her everywhere.

The other day, we were walking across Notre Dame’s campus, from the Grotto to the campus ministry building.  He stops dead in his tracks, gesticulating wildly.  “MAEEE!!  MAEEEEEEEE!!!!!”  He has spotted the dome.  Classic.  But he couldn’t let it go.  We walked five feet, he would run back, pointing with wide eyes.  Oh my heavens, there is Mary in gold.  Way up above the earth.  And there are birds circling her.  Will wonders never cease.

His wonder is my joy these days.  I thank God for this little soul who sees with Heaven’s eyes and reminds  me to look up.

Crossing the Street

Well, dear friends, we’ve done it, we’ve crossed the street and moved into 523 South Saint Joseph, our very own dream abandoned home.  It happened that day back in late January when the city panicked and shut down.  We took advantage of the widespread pandemonium and decided to move.  Why not?   Both Daddy Fyrqvist and Daddy Wilson had snow days, and we know the residents of South Saint Joseph are not phased by -12 degree weather when there are couches to be moved.

So down the street we tromped, bearing boxes, lamps, plates, desks, a queen size bed, a couple cribs, you know, the usual household items one generally sees crossing the street.  (I feel a “why did the crock pot cross the street?” joke coming on…)

And we’re in!  Unpacking was done in a flurry, so desperate were we to make this fine manor a home at long last.  It has been over a year since we set our hearts on 523, or “The Superhaus” as John’s Finnish grandfather calls it.  We haven’t settled on a name yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

Two families under one roof…it’s a mystery, as Ben so theologically put it the other day.  So far, so good.  Thank you for rooting for us and for popping in for a visit.  And now a photo montage:

Still winter ’round here…

We won’t take this wreath down till the snow melts, so hurry up spring!

Come feast at this table with us.

Or read a book in this sunny nook.

Like so.

The Cave of Wonders that solved all our plumbing problems.

So now we have water, praise GOD!

Remember when it looked like this?

No longer! Amen.

The Coming of the Light

Christ came to us this morning in the form of the electrical guy.  How appropriate that the day we set up our Advent wreath and lit the first candle, AEP turned our electricity on in 523.  It was a great moment.  To see the lights burning throughout the first floor and basement was truly joyous.

Not to overdue this Advent metaphor, but we’ve been waiting with eager expectation for the coming of the light in our new home.  Truly, everything was stalled out with renovations until we could get the lights on.  HUNGRILY we anticipated the arrival of the electrical guy, our hearts burning within us. (Um…yeah.)

Seriously though, to live in a cold, wintry city without heat and light (don’t worry, we’re still in our warm, cozy apartment till after Christmas) is impossible.  It would literally mean death to be without any utilities during the midwestern winter, which is why it is so heartbreaking to see men, women and children living on the streets this time of year.

I did weather amnesty the other night (spending the night with a couple other volunteers and ten guys at Our Lady of the Road), which felt more raw and poignant than it had before.  Maybe especially since having a baby, I see each of these guys as someone’s child, someone’s pride and joy who has lost their way in is now out in the cold on a December night, seeking shelter.  This is Christ in distressing disguise.

The next morning, a young mother came into Our Lady of the Road with her three month old baby, hidden under a pile of blankets, and I wanted to cry.

This sweet, darling babe, like the baby Jesus, is wandering the streets, looking for shelter and food.  Like Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem that cold night, this little family desperately needs care and a warm place to lay their heads.  I didn’t know what to do except hold little Erin and delight in her sweet baby smell, happy that the Worker does offer food and warm shelter for so many, sad that it’s only a fraction of the wandering Christs on our streets.

It’s easy around Saint Joseph Street to accept all these things as normal, everyday realities of the hundreds of homeless in our city.  But because it’s Advent, and because my heart is particularly soft these days, Jesus has been showing me how to open my eyes and SEE with His light.  He is the true and radiant light that shows us things as they truly are.

Please pray for the Worker this Advent season, and know that I will be praying for YOU, dear reader, that the wandering Christ may visit you with His light.

Collaboration not Competition

I have been thinking a lot about this distinction recently, that is the fundamental shift in thinking that others are not simply competitors to be beaten but are teammates to be celebrated and joined.

I do not think this is a natural position to take in our world right now.  I mean, if I, a very idealistic, well-intentioned, pseudo anarchist Catholic Worker type, have a hard time fighting the urge to compete with others, what is the likelihood that your average Joe in the world of business or medicine or law or whatever, isn’t having this urge like times a thousand?  Because frankly, it is a very human position to feel that in a world of scarce resources, we have to look out for #1.

The saints provide a beautiful counterpoint to this position.  There are very few, okay probably zero, saints who pushed their way to the top of sanctity, who “climbed the ladder” of virtue at the expense of others.  We celebrated Dorothy Day’s feast day yesterday and Saint Andrew’s feast day today.  These were two people who joined, who entered INto community and did not try to compete once they were in.  Andrew was the fisherman who invited Peter to come and see, and then spent the rest of his life inviting others in.  Dorothy was the friend of the poor worker who made room for the stranger, even in her own bed.

Because that’s how the spiritual life works.  Maybe in the world of food and money and power and authority there are limited spots, limited resources.  But in the reality of the Spirit, there is a different economy that is genuinely the opposite of the physical realm in this sense.  The more love you give away, the more love you receive.  The  more joy you experience, the more joy another can experience too.  The more sadness we bear with one another, the less sadness there will be.  The more we team up with those on the fringe, the outcasts, the fewer “teams” there will be and the more we will see everyone as on the same team.

I often write about Sheila McCarthy because she is a really good example of a lot of things in the Good Life around Saint Joseph Street.  And her journey to finishing her dissertation is no exception.

I hear from many graduate students about the crazy competition for so few job openings exist in the Academy.  I hear about the lack of collaboration and the tendency to go rogue in order to set yourself apart in your field.   This is basically the opposite to Sheila’s approach to her PhD.

Sheila sees her life as an academic as secondary to her life as a Catholic Worker and friend to the downtrodden (as well as the whole and the happy).  She is a great friend to many people of all stripes, and so when she is in need, she confidently turns to her friends for help.  The time has come for her to FINISH her PhD, a milestone I never thought would occur (why am I such a naysayer?  She’s done everything else she’s ever set out to do), and so she’s turned to others to help her do this.

I do not have my PhD, and I have never written a dissertation, therefore I have absolutely no grounds to make the following statement (besides watching my friends in their grueling journey).  Writing a dissertation is like swimming across a really big lake wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.  And it’s foggy so you can’t see the other side.    And there might be sharks.

But Sheila’s approach, that is asking her friends to coach her each week, to take on her goals with her and to help keep her disciplined, fed, exercised and prayed, is like asking for help and having someone(s) break through the fog and pull you into a row boat and hand you the oars.  And some hot chocolate and a blanket.  Now you don’t have to swim, sodden and exhausted, by yourself across an unknown distance.  You have someone in the boat with you, and it’s actually kind of fun.

John and I were Sheila’s coaches this week.  Between the three of us we went to daily Mass, ate delicious paninis and dark chocolate in the library, did push ups, went on runs, and generally had a great time.  And I think Sheila got a lot of writing done.  It was a very refreshing approach that made me think a lot about collaboration.  We helped each other be better people.  We pushed each other to be more disciplined, more faithful and more healthy than we would have been otherwise.   That’s pretty amazing.  And there was, like, zero sense of competition.  Just encouragement, affirmation, and hope.

I’ve decided I need some life coaching.  And I want to return the favor.  I would like my friendships to look more like our coaching week with Sheila and less like the comparing and competing I sometimes feel from myself and my truly wonderful friends.  It is always tempting to compare, to feel less because someone else is more, but Sheila taught me this week that we are ALL MORE when one of us is more, we just have to invite the others in.   Are you in?

Happy Birthday Dorothy Day!

Our very dear foundress (oh wait, this isn’t an order, but maybe it could be?  Someday?), Dorothy Day, turns 116 today.  She lives on in the very dedicated Catholic Worker crew around Saint Joseph Street and around so many houses of hospitality across the country where the stranger is welcomed, the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, and the lonely are surrounded by love.  Wikipedia actually does a surprisingly great piece on her, so check it out.   Please join me in praying for her canonization here.  We love her, we remember her, and we celebrate her.

In her honor and for the sake of His sorrowful passion, the Ciraulos had their monthly Taize service amidst candles and icons and sweet, holy voices raised in prayer this evening.  Then we had chocolate cake and cider.  I think Dorothy would have loved the Ciraulo’s Taize services and the Ciraulos for that matter.

It is also the birthday of our dear Jen Betz.  Sorry Matthew, she will always be Jen Betz in my mind.  In her honor, Kathy and Sheila gifted her with a 20 second shopping spree at the Monroe Park Grocery Coop.  It was glorious to see her tear around, whooping and scooping up everything from milk to mustard greens, wishing she had more arms.  What a lovely gift.

So it’s been a great day around South Saint Joseph.  What did YOU do today?

A House, a Day, a Dream

IT. IS. HAPPENING.   That’s how I feel these days.  A dream from oh-so-long-ago is actually coming to life on South Saint Joseph Street.  And it all started with an abandoned house.  Well, actually, it started with falling in love.  No, actually it started with God.  But, anyway.   It’s happening.  We, the Family Fyrqvist and the Family Wilson, are preparing to move into our very own ramshackle home where we will live in community and open our doors eventually to welcome the stranger and maybe have more babies and make lots of bread and grow into ripe old home owners.

But FIRST, the house.  The house!   It’s in quite a state, since we entered and started breaking it down.  And by breaking it down, I mean tearing down wall paper and then discovering that down had tumbled the plaster too, so off that came as well; and SO much carpet to be pulled up.   Ben Wilson heroically set forth into the dark recesses of the attic and came out with A DEAD CAT.   Among other indecencies.   I believe this earns him the purple medal of house renovations, but we shall see what remains in store for the valiant workers still to penetrate the bowels of the basement.

We decided that since we’d like to move into the house sometime this year (only two months left!), we should bring all hands on deck for a collective push.  This proved a very good idea.  It is truly amazing how fun it is and, actually, how effective, to do work together.  In 1 day, with 23 pairs of hands, we managed to strip the first floor of wallpaper, pull up, oh about 1,000 staples, pull down two walls of dusty, horse hair plaster, tear out and re-install three windows, paint three more, along with four columns and dozens of ornamental slats, consume 8 pizzas, 1 large salad, 1 jelly roll and 1 molasses cake.  It was glorious.

We live among good people who make it possible to live this way.  Thanksgiving abounds.