Cherith Brook
d’s Mercy & Gospel Resis
icing Go
Pract
C A T H O L I C
So E lijah did according to the word of the L ord; he went and lived by the C herith Brook…and the ravens brought him bread… I Kings 17
Room for Christ
by Dorothy Day
Originally appeared in The Catholic Worker, December 1945.
It is no use to say that we are born two
thousand years too late to give room to Christ.
Nor will those who live at the end of the world
have been born too late. Christ is always with us,
always asking for room in our hearts.
But now it is with the voice of our contem-
poraries that he speaks, with the eyes of store
clerks, factory workers and children that he
gazes; with the hands of office workers, slum
dwellers and suburban housewives that he gives.
It is with the feet of soldiers and tramps that he
walks, and with the heart of anyone in need that
he longs for shelter. And giving shelter or food to
anyone who asks for it, or needs it, is giving it to
Christ.
A woodcut entitled Christmas, 1954 by Fritz Eichenberg
We can do now what those who knew Him in
the days of His flesh did. I’m sure that the shep-
herds did not adore and then go away to leave
Mary and her Child in the stable, but somehow
found them room, even though what they had
to offer might have been primitive enough. All
tance
W O R K E R
that the friends of Christ did in His life-time for
Him we can do. Peter’s mother-in-law hastened
to cook a meal for Him, and if anything in the
Gospels can be inferred, it is surely that she
gave the very best she had, with no thought of
extravagance. Matthew made a feast for Him and
invited the whole town, so that the house was in
an uproar of enjoyment, and the straight-laced
Pharisees--the good people--were scandalized. So
did Zaccheus, only this time Christ invited Him-
self and sent Zaccheus home to get things ready.
The people of Samaria, despised and isolated,
were overjoyed to give Him hospitality, and for
days He walked and ate and slept among them.
And the loveliest of all relationships in Christ’s
life, after His relationship with his Mother, is
His friendship with Martha, Mary and Lazarus
and the continual hospitality He found with
them--for there was always a bed for Him there,
always a welcome, always a meal. It is a stag-
gering thought that there were once two sisters
and a brother whom Jesus looked on almost as
His family and where He found a second home,
where Martha got on with her work, bustling
round in her house-proud way, and Mary simply
sat in silence with Him.
If we hadn’t got Christ’s own words for it, it
would seem raving lunacy to believe that if I offer
a bed and food and hospitality for Christmas-
-or any other time, for that matter--to some
man, woman or child, I am replaying the part of
Lazarus or Martha or Mary and that my guest
is Christ. There is nothing to show it, perhaps.
There are no haloes already glowing round their
heads--at least none that human eyes can see. It
is not likely that I shall be vouchsafed the vision
of Elizabeth of Hungary, who put the leper in her
bed and later, going to tend him, saw no longer
the leper’s stricken face, but the face of Christ.
The part of a Peter Claver, who gave a stricken
Negro his bed and slept on the floor at his side, is
more likely to be ours. For Peter Claver never saw
anything with his bodily eyes except the exhaust-
ed black faces of the Negroes; He had only faith
in Christ’s own words that these people were
Christ. And when the Negroes he had induced to
help him once ran from the room, panicstricken
before the disgusting sight of some sickness, he
was astonished. “You mustn’t go,” he said, and
you can still hear his surprise that anyone could
forget such a truth; “You mustn’t leave him--it is
Advent 2010
Christ.”
Some time ago I saw the death notice of a
sergeant-pilot who had been killed on active ser-
vice. After the usual information, a message was
added which, I imagine, is likely to be initiated. It
said that anyone who had ever known the dead
boy would always be sure of a welcome at his par-
ents’ home. So, even now that the war is over, the
father and mother will go on taking in strangers
for the simple reason that they will be reminded
of their dead son by the friends he made.
That is rather like the custom that existed
among the first generations of Christians, when
faith was a bright fire that warmed more than
those who kept it burning. In every house then a
room was kept ready for any stranger who might
ask for shelter; it was even called “the strangers’
room”: and this not because these people, like
the parents of the dead airman, thought they
could trace something of someone they loved in
the stranger who used it, not because the man
or woman to whom they gave shelter reminded
them of Christ, but because--plain and simple
and stupendous fact--he was Christ.
It would be foolish to pretend that it is easy
always to remember this. If everyone were holy
and handsome, with “alter Christus” shining
in neon lighting from them, it would be easy to
see Christ in everyone. If Mary had appeared in
Bethlehem clothed, as St. John says, with the
sun, a crown of twelve stars on her head and the
moon under her feet, then people would have
fought to make room for her. But that was not
God’s way for her nor is it Christ’s way for Him-
self now when He is disguised under every type
of humanity that treads the earth.
To see how far one realizes this, it is a good
thing to ask honestly what you would do, or have
done, when a beggar asked at your house for
food. Would you--or did you--give it on an old
cracked plate, thinking that was good enough?
Do you think that Martha and Mary thought
that the old and chipped dish was good for their
guest?
In Christ’s human life there were always a
few who made up for the neglect of the crowd.
The shepherds did it, their hurrying to the crib
atoned for the people who would flee from
Christ. The wise men did it; their journey across
the world made up for those who refused to stir
(continued on page 8)
 2 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker Advent 2010
Solidarity
The Humiliated
by Micah Waters
A few months ago, I had the privilege of
taking a crib to some of our friends who had
just had their baby. Cyiarra, the mother, was
someone we had seen pretty consistently at
showers. She is one of those people who is full
of life, and when she is at showers, everyone
knows it. She was often loud, getting in every-
body’s business, and she always let everyone
know exactly what she was thinking. But all
of this was permeated with her kindness and
CMYK
goodness. Cyiarra never hesitated to help
when a hand was needed, or comfort someone
in pain, and of course she always had a great
smile. She also, like many of us, had some
pretty strong addictions.
Then Cyiarra disappeared from our lives,
which is a pretty typical occurrence. And after
time and the busyness of life, she drifted from
our minds. But then right when I was half-
expecting to never see Cyiarra again, she came
back into our lives, and there were hugs and
smiles at our reconnection. It was clear that she
was joyful beyond simply
seeing one another again,
she had a deeper joy
then we had seen before.
“[Jesus] emptied himself of the
Cyiarra was expecting and
had been clean and sober
status of deity, becoming a slave,
for the months she had
been pregnant. Like many
having been born like any other
of us, the joy of new life,
a hope for better life, gave
human, and when he had become
Cyiarra strength in her
pursuit of sobriety.
like one of us, he placed himself in
Thankfully Cyiarra was
not alone in her journey,
solidarity with the humiliated...”
having the support of her
boyfriend, Lincoln. His smile showed the joy of
his soon to be fatherhood. Together they were
preparing for their new life as a family, seeking
housing, as well as employment for Lincoln.
And as they were telling us about their life I had
to smile, because not a month before, some one
had donated an old fashioned crib. We offered
the treasure to them, and they were so excited
to get the first of many pieces for their baby
to be. So we put the crib aside, waiting for the
baby’s arrival, and parted ways at the end of the
morning full of joy and hope. Again, we didn’t
see Cyiarra and Lincoln for a while, which was
probably a good sign that they were doing well.
Then, one Thursday evening while we were
cleaning up after our meal, Lincoln showed up
bringing the good news of a healthy baby girl.
So we loaded the van with the crib and went to
where Cyiarra and Lincoln were staying. While
they were looking for their own place, the
new family was staying in the spare bedroom
of Cyiarra’s aunt’s apartment. There wasn’t
much space, except for a mattress on the floor,
clothes and now, a crib. It was clear that the joy
and love they had for their daughter trumped
any possible agitation they could have at be-
ing in such cramped quarters. After spending
some time with them, I headed back to Cherith
Brook. On the short drive back, I found myself
full of joy, sadness and frustration. It was such
a privilege to see the love they had for their new
daughter, yet I had a deep sadness and frustra-
tion as well. I didn’t know if their love for their
baby, and desire to give her a good life, would
be enough to provide the life the baby deserved.
What if Lincoln couldn’t get the job he needed
to provide for his family? What if they couldn’t
find a good apartment that was clean and safe?
And then I thought, yes, their love is enough
to give their baby the life she deserves. What
is lacking is what I can offer, and better yet,
what the church has to offer. Really, I think it is
essential to our discipleship that we figure out
what our part is.
As Christians, our identity flows from Jesus.
How he lived shows us how to live. Who he
is lets us know who we are created to be. The
Apostle Paul grasped this reality to his core,
knowing that “it is Christ who lives in him”
(Gal. 2.20) and he called others to “imitate me”
(1 Cor. 4. 16) as he imitated Christ. The early
Christians made it a central part of their wor-
ship to keep Christ-likeness constantly before
them.
In the beginning of Philippians 2, Greek
scholars have found the rhythm and structure
of a song, often called the kenosis hymn or the
Christ hymn. I think we all have experienced
the power of song, especially one that gets
stuck in your head when you don’t want it to.
Some of the early Christians used song to help
keep their call to imitate Jesus constantly on
their minds. I can just imagine some one read-
ing Paul’s letter, then when chapter 2 comes,
everyone singing along quietly while it is read
aloud, repeating over and over again their call
to have to “the same mind as Christ.” (Phil. 2.5)
So as we look at Philippians 2. 1-11, I think
the question is: what does it mean to have the
same mind as Christ? Paul says, “who although
He (Jesus) existed in the form of God, did not use
his equality with God for his own advantage. But
emptied himself of the status of deity, becoming
a slave, having been born like any other human,
and when he had become like one of us, he placed
himself in solidarity with the humiliated, following
the way of obedience to the point of death- even
death on a cross. For this reason God gave Christ
the highest place and the name that is above every
name, so that at the name of Jesus everyone will
bow down, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and all will openly affirm that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the Glory of God.” (Translation by Stan
Saunders)
I think there are a few keys to understand-
ing this passage. First, what is this passage
saying about Jesus’ Divinity. When Jesus came
in the flesh, did he stop being divine? I think
we would say a resounding no. Jesus, in the
mystery of God, was both the human one and
divine. What he did give up was the advantage
of divinity. He did not use it for himself, but to
serve humanity. One of my college professors
liked to say that the way Jesus expressed the
power he had was by giving it away.
Another important part to look at is verse
8. The traditional translation says that “Jesus
humbled himself”, but I don’t think the usual
translation gets at the depth of who Jesus is.
Paul is saying that Jesus is doing more than be-
ing humble, but rather He became a humiliated
one. Look at who Jesus spent his life with, the
sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, and the sick;
he also died the most shameful way possible, by
crucifixion. Truly Jesus was more than humble,
he was the humiliated one.
Then the passage finishes with the proclama-
tion that the name of Jesus is the name of the
Holy One. The one, who is above all creation,
is Jesus; that we are all here because of Jesus.
This conclusion to the hymn shows that Jesus
expresses the divine character of God precisely
by becoming human, a slave, having died by
crucifixion, being a humiliated one.
Paul is exhorting us to be amongst the
marginalized, the humiliated, the rejected,
like Jesus was. I believe that the mystery of
God is found in those the world has cast aside,
and that we find our identity in valuing others
as more important than ourselves. So as the
church, I think it is essential to give our power
to those who have none. And I think I must
learn to give what I can to Cyiarra, Lincoln, and
their baby girl, giving us all a better glimpse of
what it means for there to be no more “Jew or
Greek, slave or free, black or white, rich or poor,
but all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3.28)

Hospitality
Women’s Day
by Jamie
The last Wednesday of every month
is special to me and I’m sure all the other
ladies who come would agree with me. It’s
like a day at the spa with all the pamper-
ing. There are massages and hair care,
from coloring and highlights to a trim or
styling. There are also manicures, pedi-
cures, eye brow shaping, make up, and the
aromatherapy is both relaxing and calm-
ing. Showering and hygiene products are
even available, if needed.
Sketch of Women’s Day, by Elisabeth Rutschman.
At some point during the afternoon
lunch is served--with the best homemade
desserts ever tasted. Also, if I ever felt
the need to talk about something there are
about ten sets of ears ready to hear me and
usually the conversations end with a solu-
tion to my need that I didn’t even see.
My love and appreciation go out to all
the women and volunteers of Cherith
Brook. This includes the young ladies, Di-
ana and Izabelle, who helped out this sum-
mer. Hats off for making me feel special.
Hospitality
The Day the Music Played
By Tim Brown
I am seldom concerned that I know
very little about most of the Cherith
Brook guests we serve. While I am always
pleased to I learn something of a guest’s
personal history, or when I am able to
share some of mine with one of them, I am
usually quite satisfied to let familiarity oc-
cur at its own pace. Today was different. I
wanted to know much more about two very
talented guests – guests who brought live
music to our breakfast.
An old, upright
piano sits at the
west side our
dining room. Its
wooden veneer is
cracked and its
keys are grey. Until
today, it was a
silent, aging shrine
of unfulfilled
musical promise.
Today, two of our
guests released its
full potential.
The first was a
bespectacled man
in his mid-thirties.
He had a street-
person’s appear-
ance – long hair,
unkempt beard, dirty ball cap and layered
clothing. He finished his breakfast, moved
to the piano stool, and began to play. I
thought that he would plink around a little
and retreat to his cup of coffee. It didn’t
take long to recognize that he was a pia-
nist. His medley of pop songs began with
When I’m 64 and ended 20 minutes later
with the theme from The Sting. He played
familiar, foot-tapping music that was
greeted with applause between songs.
Once he stopped, another guest timidly
took his place. She was a young, blond
lady who was well-dressed, by street-folk
standards. Her clean jeans, heavy sweater
and knit cap, held in place by a large comb
clasp at the back of her head, made her
seem more staff-like than street-like, but
she was quiet, uncertain and cautious.
Once seated on the piano stool, however,
there was nothing uncertain about her
relationship with the piano. She played
gospel and classical music for more than
an hour. Conversation continued. French
toast met syrup. Hot coffee flowed. And
the young pianist played on, with her eyes
fixed on the keys. She did not smile or
scan the room for audience response or ap-
proval. She simply played beautiful music.
Advent 2010 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker 3
As the morning wound down and the
dining room cleared, the old piano sat
silent. The serious, young pianist joined
us at the big table during our time of
reflection and Ashley, another Thursday-
morning volunteer, asked her a couple of
get-acquainted questions but her answers
were clipped and cryptic. The first player,
who left the dining room several minutes
earlier, was an equal mystery to me. I
was distracted by curiosity about the two
pianists during our closing prayer.
Why was I so interested in these people?
Did I assume that homeless people have
no talent? Was latent condescension rear-
ing its ugly head with success-driven ques-
tions like, “How did these talented people
wind up in a place like this?” It is not
hard to imagine childhood piano teachers
thrilled by their potential or proud par-
ents marveling at their musical promise.
I can see both of them pole vaulting over
the usual swamp of teen-age angst simply
because they could play. Music was prob-
ably who they were then. It is who they
are today. Today, they are also homeless.
And, today, they made beautiful music for
dozens of other homeless people.
Tim (right) and Gary (left) in the kitchen.
Maybe I really don’t want to know more
about them at all. Maybe I just want a sec-
ond chance to rub up against the joy that
they brought to our café this morning.
One thing is certain – serving the poor
can make you wrestle with yourself. Of
course, so can following Jesus but I don’t
think He would mind if I just sat back,
listened to the music, and let understand-
ing occur at its own pace.
.
 4 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker Advent 2010
Community
Is My Life My Own?
by David Jansen
Micah Waters from Cherith Brook, a
Catholic Worker community in Kansas City asks a
question with profound implications for discern-
ing our calling in community. Here is his question,
somewhat simplified:
“We are all discerning our call for the next cov-
enanting year here at Cherith Brook. Last year we
tried to discuss how we were feeling about our upcom-
ing year, but we made the decision on our own and
presented it to the community. This year we’re hoping
CMYK
to truly discern call in the midst of community and
dialogue. Do you have any advice for us?”
Micah, your question about discerning a call
together in community is worthy of serious
reflection. Your question, indeed, contains many
questions: Am I called to this community or to
another? Is God’s call to me the same as my heart’s
desire? What about my life stage? Do I have
enough life experience and am I mature enough to
make a community commitment? What are my
gifts? I want to be of service to the people and the
mission of my community, so what does the com-
munity need of me? Do the others in community
know me well enough to give counsel about my
calling? How do I know a call is from God?
In a brief essay I cannot answer all those ques-
tions directly, but a little history from the Bible
and the life of the church might clarify the context
of vocational discernment.
Cherith Brook workers sharing a Seder meal together.
The words “vocation” and “calling” share the
same root as is clear in certain Biblical stories.
The idea that God calls people first stands out
with Abraham whose life is shaped by an amazing
journey of faith, guided by the promises of God.
The story of Samuel provides another example, a
prophetic calling to hear and to speak the words
that God gives. Samuel likewise was directed by
the Spirit to call Saul, and then David to kingship.
Mary is called by the angel Gabriel and hears the
promise that she will become the mother of the
Messiah.
Jesus went around Galilee calling persons out
of their social and familial contexts to “come,
follow me.” With his disciples, men and women,
Jesus constituted an itinerant community of
learning, healing, mutual service and witness to
the in-breaking kingdom of God. Jesus proclaimed
the paradox that by losing your life you will find
it. He heightens this paradox by saying “greater
love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for
ones friends.” For most of his disciples this meant
a martyrs death, but for us it will, more likely,
be a life laid down year by year in faithful and
imaginative service. Our calling is to be perfected
in the love of Jesus in committed “one-another”
relationships. When the Holy Spirit calls someone,
that person is given a vocation in the mission of
God, and the calling creates a people.
Our calling, according to the New Testament
is to be disciples of Jesus in community--as your
covenant makes clear. This is something other
than your job--which in the Apostle Paul’s case,
was tent making. So, our main discernment is
where, in which community of disciples, are we
supposed to live out our calling--a calling which is
basically the same for all Christians.
But our context and gifts are unique. In Paul’s
letter to the Corinthian church (chapter 12) he
points out that God has given gifts to individuals
for the building up of the Body of Christ. It is in
the context of the church community that our
gifts are expected to function first of all, and there
we will find the meaning of our lives.
By the third century of the Christian era we see
individuals like Anthony, who was troubled by the
lukewarm nature of Christianity, who felt called to
the desert, to a more intentional way of disciple-
ship apart from the distractions of city life. Soon
countless others heard the call and the desert
sprouted villages of hermits, spiritual athletes
eager to pursue and surpass the holiness of St. An-
thony. The movement developed certain excesses
until leaders like Benedict began to organize those
with a “vocation” into monastic communities.
A key element of the novice period was to test
whether persons were authentically called, and
whether they meant to stick with their calling.
Later, within the Catholic Church “vocation”
came to mean a calling to the “religious life.” A
two-tiered understanding arose for Christians
that does not appear in the New Testament. The
masses of Christians were not expected to keep
the teachings of Jesus, but hoped to be saved by
faithful participation in the sacraments and by
living godly lives in the world as they were able.
Those with “religious vocations” (like priests and
monastics) however, were expected to live the
teachings of Jesus with community support.
They made special vows to live by the Sermon on
the Mount, which sayings were often called “coun-
sels of perfection.”
At the time of the Protestant Reformation
a fundamental change in the idea of vocation
occurred when monasteries were abolished in
Northern Europe, ending the medieval para-
digm of “religious vocations.” Instead, Luther
and others developed the idea of “vocation” as
professions. Now every Christian has a vocation
in society--butcher, baker, candlestick maker, etc.
These vocations were not drawn from Jesus’ call to
discipleship, nor from the life of the church com-
munity, but from the orders of nature--whatever
it took to run society as it existed. By working at
your job you were fulfilling Jesus’ call to love one
another. Some of these vocations--like soldiers,
spies, executioners--which served the dictates of
the state, Luther characterized as a “strange love,”
whence the movie title, Dr. Strange Love.
Now in our day, this idea of “vocation,” in the
hands of guidance counselors and major profes-
sors in a post-industrial capitalistic society, has
grown to mean that there is a line of work in
which you (as an autonomous individual) will find
fulfillment--your identity in society and the mean-
ing of your life. So your secular vocation becomes
the answer to two cocktail party questions “Who
are you?” and “What do you do?” This loads way
more expectation on a profession than it can pos-
sibly fulfill. In fact, most people in our mammon-
driven society--do not have professions. They end
up bouncing from one job to another according
to what the economy needs and they can put up
with. Many people are asking, “Is this all?” “Is this
job worthy of the devotion of my life?” Not finding
fulfillment in their work, they seek it in consump-
tion.
In this broken world, most of us will have to
give some of our time to “tent making” like the
apostle Paul. We can work hard and be grateful
for jobs that use our skills well and provide for
the support of our families and communities. We
are especially blessed when these jobs are not too
socially compromised or alienating. But when we
need to accept such work, we can see ourselves in
solidarity with Jesus (who toiled as a carpenter)
and with the poor who often feel like wage slaves
in the world’s system. However, in community, we
do not need to agonize over these jobs as if they
define who we are and why we are here.
Early monastic communities found that four
hours of manual labor a day was enough to feed,
clothe and shelter the body, if we are content to
live within the scope of our needs. Children and
other dependent persons in community some-
times increase that load. But our calling is to find
ways to minimize our dependence on the money
economy, to serve one another directly without
compensation wherever we can. One mission of
(continued on page 8)

Peacemaking
Regaining Consciousness
by Josh Armfield
On August 31, 2010, after nearly eight years
of service, I was discharged from the United States
Army Reserve by reason of Conscientious Objection.
Many have asked me why? If you are a Conscientious
Objector why did you join the Army in the first place?
What’s wrong with war anyway? Isn’t it necessary?
And why would you even apply for discharge as a
CO if your term of service is almost up anyway? The
answer for all of these questions is Conscience.
I was eighteen years old when I enlisted in the
Army Reserves on September 28, 2002 and I had
every reason to join the Army. I grew up in a family
with a military background; I needed money for
college; I didn’t know what I was doing with my life
and I wanted adventure. I also had every reason to
think joining the Army would be an honorable and
courageous thing to do that others would think highly
of me for. I was encouraged to join from every side:
family, friends, church and school. Looking back on
it now, it amazes me that I can’t remember receiving
any discouragement from anyone about joining the
Army, not even Christians. I was told that it would be
a great opportunity to share my faith (while I’m learn-
ing to shoot and kill people).
The recruiters said that if I was in school the chanc-
es of me being deployed were slim. So I was caught
off guard when I was mobilized to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma
for deployment in the summer of 2005. But I obeyed
orders (I was a good soldier) and spent three and a
half months in Ft. Sill with my unit before deploying
to Iraq. This was when my conscience finally started
to kick in. We were actually training for War. We were
training to Kill. And all of us were going along with it
without much questioning, except for one. I became
friends with a soldier in my unit named Jake who told
our Commanding Officer and First Sergeant that he
would not carry a weapon or participate in training
to kill. Jake filed for Conscientious Objection and in
the mean time received hell for it: demotion, loss of
pay, loss of weekend passes, and loss of friendship and
respect. I will never believe that Conscientious Objec-
tors are cowards. In fact, the few CO’s that I have met
have been the most courageous people that I have
known in the Army. Many Conscientious Objectors
are sentenced to jail time under Uniform Code of
Military Justice. Most Conscientious Objectors are
at least threatened with jail time and are demoted.
I asked Jake the same questions that people have
asked me. Isn’t military service courageous? Isn’t war
necessary? Why did you join the Army anyway? And
he asked me: What do you think Jesus meant when
he said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you (Matt. 5:44)?”
I spent a year in Iraq questioning my participation
in war, terrified that it was very likely that I would
have to do violence toward someone. It was the first
time in my life that I found little to no Christian com-
munity. We had chapel but that was not what I was
looking for and not what I needed. And Jesus’ words
“Love your enemies” played in my mind like a broken
record. The friends that I had in Iraq were mostly my
age and had joined the Army for economic reasons.
We spent a very depressing year together. Many of
my friends experienced serious family issues such as
divorce while simultaneously dealing with living in
a combat zone on the other side of the world. Some
soldiers became suicidal. Most soldiers I was with
believed that the war in Iraq was wrong but we had no
choice but to obey orders. After all, there is no room
for conscience in the Military (I find it ironic that the
Army is such a totalitarian organization, but it redaily
defends a government that claims to be a democracy).
In Iraq and since I have been home I have contin-
ued to ask myself, “Where is my allegiance? Is it to
the church or to the Army? And if a follower of Christ
owes his/her allegiance to Christ and his church,
then where is the church these days? Why are so
many churches encouraging young men and women
to go and give allegiance to the Military? Why is the
church so complicit in sending men and women to do
violence to the enemy, as well as to themselves and
innocent people?” Out of this searching and question-
ing period I have found a new church called Cherith
Brook, a small church that is devoted to fostering
community, practicing hospitality, and resisting war
and violence. After a few years of participating and
living with this church, I decided that it was very
important to apply for Conscience Objection in the
Army. I could no longer be silent and wait till my
contract was up. I needed the Army to know that I will
not participate in war. Fortunately as an IRR (Inactive
Ready Reserve) soldier, having been removed from
training for some time, the process for CO was much
less threatening as compared to what my friend Jake
experienced. I cannot claim to be as courageous as
most other Conscientious Objectors that endured
much persecution, but I feel like a weight has been
lifted from my shoulders. In both real and symbolic
ways I have been freed from the bondage of the
idolatry of allegiance to the Military. And it is cause
for celebration!
Fear controls many of us. Fear runs rampant in
the Army, convincing many soldiers that they have
no other choice but to choose violence. Jesus told his
disciples that the Truth will set you free (John 8:32).
We are all enslaved to lies that the world has told
us to believe, and we must choose the side of truth.
When we begin to come to our senses and see the
destruction that a war culture has created, the world
threatens us with lies to keep us from freedom. But
we must take action on the side of Truth. Camilo
Mejia, an Iraq veteran and Conscientious Objector,
reflects on his experience in his book Road from ar
Ramadi. He says in the end, “I now know exactly what
it was that so empowered me as I left my trial. Though
I was handcuffed as I walked down the steps of the
courthouse to the police vehicle, that was the moment
that I gained my freedom. I understood then that
freedom is not something physical, but a condition
of the mind and of the heart. On that day I learned
Advent 2010 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker 5
that there is no greater freedom than the freedom to
follow one’s conscience. That day I was free, in a way
that I had never been before.”
Camilo Mejia during his deployment in Iraq. Courtesy of Camilo Mejia.
I always tell people that the Army made me a
Pacifist, and that’s something that I struggle with
everyday, to love my enemies. But Jesus has called
us to this way of life, a life of loving our enemies. I
have learned that the first step to loving enemies is
to stop killing them, so I have become a Conscien-
tious Objector. But you don’t have to join the army to
become a Conscientious Objector. Christ has called
all Christians to be peacemakers, and if we want to
see an end to war, we must become Conscientious
Objectors. We must not compromise our allegiance
to Christ and his church with Patriotism or National-
ism. As we resist war, we must be willing to risk a loss
of physical freedom for a deeper moral and spiritual
freedom. As Christians we have found freedom in
Christ, not in America. As Paul tells us in Galatians
5:13-15, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called
to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge
the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
The entire law is summed up in a single command:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting
and devouring each other, watch out or you will
be destroyed by each other.” I especially encourage
all soldiers to stop obeying orders to kill. The more
we begin to resist the powers, the less control they
will have over us. Let us begin to teach our children
the ways of peace and nonviolent resistance. Let us
recruit peacemakers and not soldiers. Let us celebrate
Conscientious Objection together and as we do this I
think it may become easier for us to answer Christ’s
call to “Love your enemies.”
Find information on Conscientious Objection here:
http://www.girightshotline.org/
http://www.ivaw.org/
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/
6 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker Advent 2010
Community
House Notes
by Jodi Garbison
Growth is a word I use to describe our
community. We experienced a big garden with
lots of produce and a house full of community
members, guests and interns. With the help
of many people and lots of donated time and
resources we were able to accomplish many proj-
ects that were once only ideas – we replaced the
rotting porch on the house and the roof above
it, we created a storage “hallway” off the alley for
things like extra wood and compost piles, Henri
built a tree house, we beautified the shower wait-
ing room with trim, fresh paint and drywalled an
interior wall and we insulated the two apart-
ments. But growth isn’t always something you
can see.
Manicures at Women’s Day.
We have had a fruitful year in many regards
and are thankful for another year together. We
are growing in our knowledge and commitment
to stand in the way of the new nuclear parts
plant being built with Kansas City’s tax dollars.
We have been spending time and energy (even
singing and dancing) in order to raise awareness
to the fact that not only is J.E. Dunn doing the
construction for a new nuclear parts complex at
Botts Rd. and Hwy 150, but no one is bothering
to clean up the contaminated old site on Ban-
nister Rd. No one is noticing that many people
are sick and/or dying from the many years of
working at the Bannister location. Three people
from Cherith Brook were arrested this summer
and charged with trespassing on “city owned”,
public property. Instead of more nuclear parts
production we desire growth to reflect a hopeful
future.
We are growing in our numbers at showers ev-
ery morning. This is certainly not our goal. We
have always wanted to be/stay small. Although
this isn’t something we control, we are trying
to keep the focus on relationships. Opening
the door in the morning to 60-70 people has
felt overwhelming. The increase in numbers is
due to many factors like the economy, the time
of the month, word on the street about the
“shower house”, etc. But we realize that a lot of
the reason we are seeing more people at showers
is due to the growth of the city. Ever since the
new Power and Light District was established it
has continued to push people to the fringes and
closer to the Northeast Kansas City area. The
city and people who frequent the Power and
Light district don’t want to see or smell someone
who is homeless so all of the resources for such
people have been re-centralized to a “new” loca-
tion and further away from sight. Instead of
growth in numbers at showers we desire growth
to be reflected in the deepening of friendships
here and people experiencing a sense of belong-
ing in this city and especially in churches.
We are growing and deepening our commit-
ment to God’s call on our life – that could be here
at Cherith Brook or elsewhere. We try hard each
year to understand together what this means.
We have begun this process individually and as a
group. We are hopeful as we enter this next cov-
enant year of sharing all in common and working
toward God’s shalom through peacemaking and
works of mercy. Our desire for growth is not to
have a big community but rather a community
rooted and responding to our understanding of
God’s call on our life – individually and commu-
nally.
Growth may look different than you envision
but we pray that as you prepare for Advent you
would experience growth in hope and expecta-
tion of encountering Christ – God’s fulfilled
promise.
Raqueline and Henry visiting the “shower house.”
Poetry & Prayer
God’s Autumn
by Steve Sheridan
My brothers and sisters in Christ live
here in KC in a society and culture that is
ever restless. We—you and I always seek
and are very eager for more mountains to
climb. Yet we—you and I don’t want to
know ourselves as Christ knows us. Our
culture is seeking daily happiness through
more and more consumption of posses-
sions. Can we—you and I live on less that
$1.25 a day that the poor in Haiti, Africa
and other parts of the earth are forced
to survive on? Teach all of us, O Lord,
to appreciate each cup of water that we
drink, share more and consume less. Lord
help us, you and I, that our competition
can cease and the abundance of God’s
grace can fill our hearts, minds, feet and
hands. Pray we—you and I, know content-
ment and be loving and respectful of all
creatures, realizing this is all God’s holy
creation. May we—you and I find the au-
tumn of contentment. Take joy and delight
in the abundance of the simple joys of life.
And deeply appreciate every new color and
wonderment of this day—God’s Autumn.
Poetry & Prayer
All Creations
by Alta Newlun
To see the beauty in nature,
is to know the beauty of life.
With all his creations.
Big and small from big sunflowers to tiny
ants,
learn to notice them.
Then you’ll learn to see the World.
And the amazing things in it.
 Advent 2010 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker 7
Photos of Friends & Family
8 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker Advent 2010
Feature Article Continued
Room for Christ
(continued from page 1) one hand’s breadth from
the routine of their lives to go to Christ. Even the
gifts that the wise men brought have in them-
selves an obscure recompense and atonement for
what would follow later in this Child’s life. For
they brought gold, the king’s emblem, to make
up for the crown of thorns that He would wear;
they offered incense, the symbol of praise, to
make up for the mockery and the spitting; they
gave Him myrrh, to heal and soothe, and He was
wounded from head to foot and no one bathed
his wounds. The women at the foot of the cross
did it too, making up for the crowd who stood by
and sneered.
We can do it too, exactly as they did. We are
not born too late. We do it by seeing Christ
and serving Christ in friends and strangers, in
everyone we come in contact with. While almost
no one is unable to give some hospitality or help
to others, those for whom it is really impossible
are not debarred from giving room to Christ,
because, to take the simplest of examples, in
those they live with or work with is Christ dis-
guised. All our life is bound up with other people;
Community Continued
Is My Life My Own?
(continued from page 4) Christian community is
to explore common work, expanding the zone of
mammon-free giving and receiving motivated by
love.
At Reba we understand our primary calling “to
be a community of love and discipleship, and to
nurture other such communities,” so the world can
see what the kingdom of God looks like in tangible
social relationships. Peter Maurin coined many
pithy expressions of our vocation: “To help create a
new society in the shell of the old.” To build “a path
from where we are to where we ought to be.” He
grasped that our calling is a revolutionary one.
Gerhard Lohfink (from the Integrierte
Gemeinde in Germany) has expressed a deeply
mature understanding of vocation that raised my
eyebrows when I first read it. “Unless some people
give their whole lives, community is impossible.”
I think this explains, in part, why Reba has been
around for more than fifty years. Monastic com-
munities, who have thrived for centuries, focused
this gift in the vow of stability. With stability,
relationships can be reconciled, all the other gifts
flourish, and the world can begin to see what the
kingdom of God looks like in a mammon-free,
for almost all of us happiness and unhappiness
are conditioned by our relationship with other
people. What a simplification of life it would be
if we forced ourselves to see that everywhere we
go is Christ, wearing out socks we have to darn,
eating the food we have to cook, laughing with
us, silent with us, sleeping with us.
All this can be proved, if proof is needed, by
the doctrines of the Church. We can talk about
Christ’s Mystical Body, about the vine and the
branches, about the Communion of Saints. But
Christ Himself has proved it for us, and no one
has to go further than that. For He said that a
glass of water given to a beggar was given to
Him. He made heaven hinge on the way we act
towards Him in his disguise of commonplace,
frail and ordinary human beings.
Did you give me food when I was hungry?
Did you give me something to drink when I was
thirsty? Did you take me in when I was homeless
and a stranger? Did you give me clothes when my
own were all rags? Did you come to see me when
I was sick or in prison or in trouble?
And to those who say, aghast, that they never
condemnation-free zone of adventuresome hos-
pitality and witness. The call to follow Jesus is a
call to die to self. Our life and our gifts are not our
possessions at all. They are gifts from God to bless
others, and in so doing we can trust that we will be
blessed as well.
At the same time, the community has a com-
mitment to the individual, to see that s/he flour-
ishes in every way. The community is supposed to
ask, “What are your developmental needs? What
are your gifts and how can we support them for
the service of the kingdom and for your own joy?”
Sometimes this will mean letting someone go to
another community or to a setting where they are
a better fit. Just as we renounce possessions in
material things, we can not possess people either-
-even though this is a real temptation in commu-
nity. At Reba we make a commitment “to stay or
to be sent as God leads us” with the discernment
of the community.
So there is a dialectic here of mutual submis-
sion, of individuals giving themselves completely
to Jesus and to the community in service--perhaps
for a whole life-time; and at the same time, the
community seeks the good of the individual for
had a chance to do such a thing, that they lived
two thousand years too late, he will say again
what they had the chance of knowing all their
lives, that if these things were done for the very
least of his brethren they were done for Him.
For a total Christian the goad of duty is not
needed--always prodding him to perform this or
that good deed. It is not a duty to help Christ, it
is a privilege. Is it likely that Martha and Mary
sat back and considered that they had done all
that was expected of them--is it likely that Peter’s
mother-in-law grudgingly served the chicken
she had meant to keep till Sunday because she
thought it was “her duty”? She did it gladly: she
would have served ten chickens if she had them.
If that is the way they gave hospitality to
Christ it is certain that is the way it should still
be given. Not for the sake of humanity. Not be-
cause it might be Christ who stays with us, comes
to see us, takes up our time. Not because these
people remind us of Christ, as those soldiers
and airmen remind the parents of their son, but
because they are Christ, asking us to find room
for Him exactly as He did at the first Christmas.
the sake of a joyful community in witness to the
world.
This kind of submission is not passive. We each
have spiritual homework that the community can-
not do for us. You might consider, “In what ways
am I losing myself, and finding myself?” Times of
retreat and spiritual guidance can be important to
recognize the gifts God has given you and the con-
texts in which they have come alive. What hinders
you from giving yourself fully in this context?
At the same time, you (and the whole com-
munity) might look on your sisters and brothers
with new eyes, seeing and affirming the gifts that
God has given them for the task of “building a new
society within the shell of the old.” Sometimes the
call of an individual becomes a new ministry for
the whole community. I spent a decade adminis-
tering a dream of Julius Belser at Reba, to provide
asylum for hundreds of Central American refugees
fleeing persecution in the 1980’s.
From four decades of experience in Christian
community, I can testify that where two or three
are gathered in Jesus’ name, he is there and will
give guidance for the next step as we make an
experiment of our lives together.

Peacemaking
New Nuclear Weapon Plant in KC
by Jay Coglan
Contrary to President Obama’s rhetoric
about working toward a future nuclear weap-
ons-free world, the U.S. is spending billions re-
building the complex of facilities it would need
to make new nuclear weapons. Under the rubric
of “Modernizing” aging and contaminated
buildings used to build up the nuclear stockpile
during the Cold War, the National Nuclear Secu-
rity Administration is planning to build vastly
expensive new facilities in order to have capa-
bilities for which it has yet to fully justify the
need. These WMD boondoggles include a new
facility for enabling ramped-up production of
the nuclear weapons’ plutonium pit “primaries”
at Los Alamos, NM; a new facility at Oak Ridge,
TN to manufacture highly enriched uranium
“secondaries”; and a new Kansas City Plant in
Missouri that will manufacture and/or procure
the thousands of nonnuclear components that
transform nuclear explosives into deliverable
weapons of mass destruction.
What is KCP doing? The Kansas City Plant
(KCP) is the most productive of the eight sites
in the research and production complex of the
Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous Na-
tional Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
KCP produces and/or procures 85% of all nuclear
weapons components both by type and quan-
tity. It specializes in nonnuclear components,
such as radars, guidance systems, arming, firing
and fusing sets and reservoirs for tritium (a
radioactive gas used to boost the destructive
power of nuclear weapons). KCP boasts that the
Plant’s workload is the heaviest it has been in 20
years, which is expected to last until 2015. This
is astonishing given that the height of the Cold
War nuclear build-up was over 20 years ago.
What does it cost to rebuild the nuclear weap-
ons complex? The two new weapons facilities for
handling plutonium and uranium mentioned
above are now estimated to cost U.S. taxpayers
up to $5 billion each. However, the new KCP will
be different. It is being built and operated by a
private developer, CenterPoint Zimmer (CPZ)
LLC. This limited liability corporation is com-
posed of the Kansas City magnate Zimmer Real
Estate Services and Chicago-based CenterPoint
Property Trust.
Zimmer “happened” to own the 165 acres of
farmland that the federal government chose
as the site for new Plant. Although the City’s
Planned Industrial Expansion Authority (PIEA)
declared that the site was “blighted,” CPZ sold
the land to the City for an estimated $26,000 an
acre, when regional farmland typically sells for
$2,000 to $4,000 an acre, one very tidy profit for
“blighted” land!
Who is paying for the new KCP? The PIEA
declared the site “blighted” so that construction
of this new federal nuclear weapons production
plant could be subsidized by KCMO municipal
bonds. The Missouri state government cre-
ated Planned Industrial Expansion Authorities
to counter urban/industrial blight and spur
economic development. The PIEAs’ charter is to
recommend to city councils whether or not tax
abatements and/or bonds should be imple-
mented to fight blight. The enabling legislation
that created the PIEAs declares that Missouri
municipal governments can act positively on a
PIEA recommendation only when “the develop-
ment of such area or areas is necessary in the
interest of the public health, safety, morals or
welfare of the residents of such city.”
American cities are hurting financially. Some
are leasing parking meters and tollways to
investors in order to get cash. KCMO is closing
hospitals and schools and laying off city work-
ers, but nevertheless managed to issue nearly
$700 million in municipal bonds to subsidize a
new federal nuclear weapons production plant.
The KCMO Council approved municipal bonds
in the name of saving 2,100 jobs in the local
nuclear weapons industry (with one admirable
dissenting vote-of-conscience by Councilman Ed
Ford). The nuclear weapons industry is arguably
immoral, with the Vatican declaring, “Nuclear
weapons are incompatible with the peace we
seek for the 21st century. They cannot be justi-
fied. They deserve condemnation.” Further,
the nuclear weapons industry has adversely
affected the health of hundreds of workers at
the old Plant. According to recent findings by
the inspector general for the General Services
Administration, the federal employees respon-
sible for environmental monitoring at the old
contaminated KCP site were lax in their duties
and misleading to the public about conditions
there.
Another dead end? Local Kansas City citizens
should ask why the KCMO municipal govern-
ment is not prioritizing sustainable green jobs
for these KCP and other skilled workers, instead
of subsidizing a shrinking, politically vulnerable
industry whose purpose is to produce weapons
of mass destruction! With respect to the public
health of Kansas City citizens, according to
U.S. Dept. of Labor statistics, 1,993 former KCP
workers or their survivors have filed health
claims seeking compensation (sadly, only 211
have been paid to date).
The KCMO municipal government will own
the new KCP after construction. As far as we
know this is globally unprecedented: to have a
city own a federal nuclear weapons production
plant. The PIEA will then lease it to CenterPoint
Zimmer Holding LLC, who as sub-landlord,
will lease it to the private developers Center-
Point Zimmer LLC. CPZ will then sub-sublease
the new Plant to the federal General Services
Advent 2010 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker 9
Administration (GSA), who acts as landlord for
numerous federal properties (including the old
KCP in the Banister Federal Complex). GSA will
then sub-sub-sublease (really!) this new federal
nuclear weapons production plant to the NNSA.
Got that? It’s way convoluted.
Because the new KCP is being built and
operated by “private developers,” who stand
to profit many times over, this new federal
nuclear weapons components production plant
is not included in the NNSA’s annual budget.
It is therefore outside of typical Congressional
review and authorization, and perhaps would
have been rejected. It is a very sweet deal for
Centerpoint Zimmer, who first sold the land
to the PIEA; then is subsidized by the sale of
municipal bonds to build the Plant; then is
granted a 20-year lease-to-purchase by the PIEA
in which it pays the bonds back with guaranteed
income from the NNSA; and after that owns
the Plant outright. During this 20-year term the
NNSA will pay $1.2 billion in lease costs, not a
good deal for the American taxpayer!
Blockade at the site of the new KC nuclear weapons manufacturing facility.
Leaving aside the question whether the new
Plant is needed to begin with, the NNSA has
repeatedly justified it by claiming it will save
$100 million/year in operational costs compared
to the old Plant. However, $37 million of that re-
sults from lowering the security requirements at
the Kansas City Plant to reflect the simple fact
that it does not have large inventories of nuclear
materials. A new Plant is not needed for that.
Even the developers were wary. After the first
round of bidding for the project went bust, the
solicitation was restructured with “specific cost-
cutting advice from CenterPoint.” This perhaps
means that the contract was hollowed-out in
order to make a second round of bidding
(continued on page 10)
10 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker Advent 2010
Festival of Shelters Reflection
Go to the Poor
by Eric Sundquist
Proclaim good news to the poor. Proclaim
liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the
blind. Liberate the oppressed. Proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favor. When our Teacher started spread-
ing his message, these are the words he used. He
didn’t say, “Go get the powerful, the well-educated,
the rich, the strong.” He instead focused his ener-
gies on his message for the poor, the slaves, the
blind, the oppressed. When I visit Cherith Brook I
see the same focus to serve those who might not
have much clout in today’s society. A good portion
of those who visit Cherith Brook throughout the
week spend the nights in homeless shelters or on
the streets of Kansas City. During my three years
working in homeless services I have heard a lot of
people talking about the homeless, but relatively
few actually talking with the homeless. That is what
motivated me and others around the Cherith Brook
community to do the unrespectable action of giving
up our comfortable homes and beds for one night
and staying on the streets. We wanted to listen to
the voices that often don’t have an audience.
At Cherith Brook before spending the night on the streets of the Historic Northeast.
Now, even though I interact with homeless
individuals regularly at my “day job,” I have to
admit that there were times that night when I felt
less than comfortable. I remember walking up to
the intersection of Prospect and Independence
Avenue and two men at the bus stop started to
get up. I glanced down the street looking for a bus,
hoping they were just getting up to catch their ride.
Instead, as we approached they asked us for money.
We gave them the little food we had acquired and
sat down to have communion. For some reason, it
hadn’t occurred to me that these were real people
with whom a conversation could be shared. But
as soon as we sat down and started listening, they
went from slightly intimidating hustlers to hungry
people that are just trying to get their lives together.
I had the same experience time after time
throughout the night. We visited “Jurassic Park,” a
popular hangout among drug users. Something felt
not normal about intentionally approaching people
hanging out under the shadow of a tree in a drug
park, but I went along with it and learned, again,
that the world is full of real people. My simple
stereotypes of drug users, panhandlers, prostitutes,
alcoholics, and hustlers are not accurate. We shared
potato chips and stayed to listen to their real-people
stories for about an hour. My skeptical attitude
returned time after time throughout the night, and
each time God gently reminded me of his image
present in everyone we spoke with.
One time we approached a group of gentlemen
camped out in the crook of a church downtown.
They had been drinking heavily and were happy
for some company. We sat down and accepted the
prayers of one of the companions. After some time,
one in our group pulled out his Bible and read:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the king-
dom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for
they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall
be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. In their book “The Word
on the Street: Performing the Scriptures in the
Urban Context,” Stanley P. Saunders and Charles L.
Campbell teach that the context of the streets can
inform the message of Scripture, and the context of
Scripture can inform the message of the streets.
“The physical context of the streets helps us see things
in the text in fresh ways, raising different issues and
questions...The biblical text [likewise] helps us read our
context in different ways. The Scriptures unmask the
truth about the world around us, especially when the
world and the text are clearly juxtaposed. In contexts of
oppression, suffering and death, reading Scripture not
only unmasks reality but is an act of resistance.”
Hearing these familiar words in such an unfa-
miliar setting had a mystical effect on me which is
hard to reduce to words. God opened my eyes so I
could see the light of those beautiful souls in front
of me. Simultaneously my heart was broken to see
the darkness which was surrounding and trying to
make a claim on our brothers on the street. It was
an experience which will not soon be forgotten.
When I got back to Cherith Brook the next morning
I was tired, hungry, cold, sore, thirsty, cranky and
really needed to pee! But I was grateful because it
is when we come out of our comfort zones that we
really have ears to hear. I may be as slow to learn
as the disciples were, but that is not a deterrent to
our Teacher, who gave us his Spirit to guide us to
the truth--not immediately, not over one night, but
gently one step at a time.
Peacemaking Continued
KC Plant
successful. In any event, (surprise!) CPZ was
awarded the contract. Paradoxically, NNSA
also started asking Congress for around $100
million in “transition costs” for moving to the
new Plant in each fiscal year 2009-2015, despite
earlier claims that the new KCP would not cost
the federal government any up front money.
Was this a good plan? Leasing is more costly
over the long term than constructing and own-
ing a facility outright. The federal Government
Accountability Office found that the break-even
point of construction costs vs. lease costs for the
new KCP is 22 years. However, since Life Exten-
sion Programs for existing nuclear weapons (for
which the Kansas City Plant is the main supplier
of components) are scheduled to last until at
least 2042, the new Plant could be operational
for 40-60 years. Therefore the federal govern-
ment could pay another $1.2 to $2.4 billion in
lease costs to the private developers.
The NNSA wrote in its recent Stockpile Stew-
ardship and Management Plan that “because
the new facility will be leased, there will be
no capital investment and NNSA will not be
burdened by costs for legacy disposition should
the mission ever be discontinued.” The “legacy”
of the old Plant is one of serious contamination
with cancer-causing volatile organic compounds
(mostly industrial solvents) and PCBs, for
which NNSA has formulated no comprehensive
cleanup plan. NNSA plans to be fully operating
in the new Plant in a couple of years while in ef-
fect abandoning the old Plant. The Kansas City
municipal government is counting on reusing
the existing Plant for local economic develop-
ment, which probably cannot take place without
comprehensive cleanup costing more than $250
million.
Kansas City subsidies for a new nuclear weap-
ons production plant reward the federal govern-
ment even as the federal government ignores its
moral responsibility to protect its citizens and
their future economic prosperity through full
environmental restoration of the old Plant. The
federal government should be cleaning up its
nuclear weapons complex, not building it up!
For more information, visit:
http://kcnukeswatch.wordpress.com/
http://www.nukewatch.org/KCNukePlant/index.html
See Nuclear Watch’s interactive map:
http://www.nukewatch.org/activemap/index.html
Please support these local organizations working on
Kansas City Plant (KCP) issues: Physicians for Social
Responsibility-Kansas City, PeaceWorks Kansas City
and the Cherith Brook Catholic Worker House.
 Advent 2010 Cherith Brook Catholic Worker 11
Festival of Shelters Reflection Festival of Shelters Reflection How To Help

Night on House
What Do You See? the Streets Needs
by Taryn Summers by Elisabeth Rutschman Coffee, Sugar, Creamer
Vinegar (gallon size for cleaning)
“What do you see in me?” Johnny asked me as we were standing in front It was past midnight when we finally found
of the bakery where he often panhandles on Independence Avenue. Johnny our cardboard boxes and were walking up Baking Soda
became an impromptu tour guide for our group of six spending the night on the the street to find a place to rest our heads.
Dish Soap
streets during the Festival of Shelters. Again he insisted, “What do you see in me? The streets were pretty quiet by now, but
They (Josh and Elizabeth) see something in my eyes that I don’t see.” I hadn’t we passed a few people waiting for the bus, Toilet Paper
been a part of their conversation up to this point so I didn’t know exactly what working in a taco stand or just strolling
Milk, Eggs, Butter
he was expecting to hear, but I told him that I saw “goodness, joy and humor”. He down the street. Outside one of the buildings
shook his head and said, “No. I don’t see that.” When we asked him what he saw we passed, a woman was sitting on the porch. Black Beans
in himself, he replied, “I see hate, anger…”, then he stopped and stared ahead as if She asked us where we were heading. We
Salt & Pepper Shakers
he was remembering something from his past. He shared several stories about his told her we were looking for a place to sleep.
life on the streets, most of which were characterized by violence. He told us how he She nodded and said she knew what it was Folding Tables (standard size)
constantly had to look out for his friends and family. We insisted that these stories like; she was often in this situation. Then
Energy Saving Light Bulbs
confirmed his nature as a care-taker, but he playfully dismissed the idea. Several she said something that really stayed with
times throughout the night Johnny would say things like “that’s how it works on me. “At least you have each other.” When we Trailer (flat bed)
the streets” or “I’m from the streets…this is who I am”, specifically referring to the asked her if she had family, she said yes and
Industrial Refrigerator
violence. But just as many times he asked us to repeat what we saw in him. As I fell into tears. She told us they were living
thought about it later, I realized that our friend was getting two very different pic- here in Kansas City but weren’t on speaking Greenhouse/Hoophouse
tures of reality; one which was dominated by violence and in which he was of little terms. The meeting with this woman really
value and one which valued him greatly and saw him as a care-taker and friend. touched me. It made me think about how
At the time, I didn’t think much about the significance of his repetitive question- much more vulnerable one is when alone.
ing, but it was as if he had seen himself through the lens of the streets for so long
that he needed to hear who he really was over and
over if he was going to believe it.
Although I don’t claim to know the effect of our
words on our friend, I have become convinced of the
power of seeing glimpses of the resurrection of Jesus
in our every day lives. In other words, if we believe
the good news Jesus proclaimed, that God is making
all things new and that he was the beginning of that
restoration, then we must be able to see signs of the
Shower
new creation here and now. Thomas Merton spoke
of “a hidden wholeness” in all visible things. I believe
that this phrase points to the restoration promised
Needs
in Jesus. As the words suggest, it may not be easily Tennis Shoes (men’s & women’s)
seen, but wholeness is there if we are willing to look
Jeans & Belts
for it. Our friend Johnny certainly had trouble seeing
the good things that we saw in him and I imagine (men’s 30-34, women’s 4-6, 16-18)
he is similar to many of our friends on the streets
Men’s Underwear (size 32-38)
who have been told, either directly with words or
indirectly with condescending glances, dehuman- Stocking caps & gloves
izing ordinances or altogether disregard, that they The shelter for the exploited woman was one of four shelters erected for the Festival of
Women’s Panties (esp. 4-7) & Bras
are worth very little as human beings. But that is the view Shelters this year.
of the world without the hope of Jesus. If we claim to be Shampoo & Conditioner
followers of Jesus Christ, then we must change the way we see. We must begin to by Travis Krogman
Coats (size large +)
see the kingdom of God breaking in around us and call it forth in our communities,
our brothers and sisters and ourselves. The experience I had during that 12 hour Deodorant & Razors
If I would have driven down Independence Avenue two years ago there is no stay on the streets was definitely worth
Tube Socks
question as to what my eyes would have seen; a homeless man, a prostitute, a drug ever y second. I couldn’t believe how many
dealer, an overall hopeless place. On that same street today I would be reminded people I met that night who had faith and Foot Powder
of the generous hospitality shown to us by our friend Johnny who longed to see a belief in God that I have never really
Toothpaste & Brushes
the goodness that we perceived in him. I would think of the communion meal we experienced before. An almost universal
shared together on the street corner and the men who offered us pizza rolls and a comment was made that night about how Tampons
free Coca-Cola. I would remember a kind woman named Mary who sat on a porch grateful people were for the ability to wake
Ibuprofen & Tylenol
step in fifty degree weather wearing only a t-shirt waiting for a friend so she could up each morning and how getting up each
have a place to stay for the night. My vision of this place and the people who call morning was all anyone could really ask for. Laundry Soap (high efficiency)
it home is no longer characterized by fear and hopelessness. It is now filled with I know a lot of people say stuff like that on
Stamps
memories of friends and hosts who showed great kindness and hospitality to the a day to day basis but you could tell that
strangers in their midst. I can now see the “hidden wholeness” right in front of me the people we visited who were in difficult Long underwear (same as jeans sizes)
and can only hope to respond with words that ring true of the kingdom of God the situations like homelessness really meant
next time I am asked, “What do you see?” it.
Cherith Brook Catholic Worker
3308 East 12th Street
Kansas City, MO 64127
(816) 241-8047

cherithbrookkcmo@yahoo.com
http://cherithbrookkc.blogspot.com

Our Upcoming
Who Are We? Schedule Events
Community—Cherith Brook is a residential Showers M, T, Th, F 8 am–noon December 20 - January 5
Christian community committed to sharing Cherith Brook Closed for the holidays
table fellowship with strangers, and all our
Prayers M, W, F 6:30–7 am
resources with one another. We have found our
inspiration from the early church, the Church of February 18, 7 - 8:30pm
the Savior, and the Catholic Worker. Community Meal Th 5–7 pm Clarification of thought

Mercy—Our daily lives are structured around

Sacraments Monthly, 2nd Sun 6:30 pm
practicing the works of mercy as found in Jesus’ April 22
teachings. We are committed to regularly feed- Urban Stations of the Cross
ing the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink Women’s Day Monthly, Last Wed 11:30 am–2 pm
to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, visiting
the prisoner and the sick in the name of Jesus. April 29 - May 2
Haircuts Monthly, 2nd Sat 9–11 am
CW Faith & Resistance Retreat in KC
Peacemaking—As followers of Jesus, we
understand our lives to be centered in God’s Group Workday Monthly, 2nd Sat 9 am–1 pm
Shalom. Cherith Brook strives to be a “school”
for peacemaking in all its dimensions: political,
communal, and personal, working constantly to
undo poverty, racism and militarism.

These three orbs can be summed up as the struggle

to connect with the God of life. We pray that Cher-
ith Brook is a space where all of us—the broken—
can come to learn and relearn the ways of Jesus;
a place to struggle together for God’s call of love,
mercy, peace and justice.