Spring—2010

TIMBER!
During a house meeting one Monday in March, Steve Jacobs mentioned that one of the trees out back was getting
ready to fall over. A couple days prior, the house on the next lot had been demolished, but that may have been a
coincidence. The important thing was that this big tall tree was split in two and the top branches on the dead side were
nestled in the top branches of the tree that gives shade to our resident statue of the Virgin Mary (a/k/a Our Lady by the
Dumpster.) Mother Mary was in peril, not to mention how concerned we were by the close proximity of the trees to our new
construction. Yikes!
Steve graciously offered to get some guys and a rope and try to pull the tree down on a Saturday morning, but first
we sought a second opinion from our friend and forestry expert, MU Professor Rose Marie Muzika.

Rose Marie arranged for some of her students to look at our tree situation, and pronounced the awful—and
potentially expensive—verdict: we really needed a professional to take out the tree to make sure we didn’t mess up the new
addition. Luckily, she was able to give us the name of a reputable and accomplished local tree removal specialist, Mr.
Arthur Ratliff. We contacted Mr. Ratliff and he came by to take a look. After discussing the matter with him, he generously
offered to donate his services to remove the scary tree for us! This photo shows the Ratliff tree crew hard at work as they
prepare to remove the tree. You can see how the top of the tree is leaning over against the tree on the other side of the
driveway near the dumpster and Mother Mary. (cont. on p. 8.)
 In case you couldn’t tell, I’m new here. cake. Sylvia bought me a Subway gift card. William
--By Robby Jones gave me some instant coffee and a pack of Marlboro
lights. I fended off multiple attempts at birthday
Hi, I’m Robby. And in case you couldn’t tell, I’m spankings. All the while, I was overwhelmed by the
new here. goodness that fills my life.
Honestly, you could probably tell a mile away. Some people might say I’ve come full circle—
I’ve burnt the food. I’ve misplaced the keys. I’ve let from Christian, to doubter, to agnostic, to Christian again.
things slide that should have been addressed and The truth is, this metamorphosis of faith couldn’t have
addressed issues that should have just slid by. Most arrived any farther from where it began. I feel alive,
days I feel painfully incompetent, but also infinitely content, encouraged. And I know that the St. Francis
grateful—to the community members, guests, volunteers, community is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
everyone really whose chosen to be so patient with my
naivety. This support has allowed me to grow in my
understanding of God, love for the less fortunate, and
realization that these two, like William’s coffee and sugar,
are best when combined in generous helpings.
It’s been a long journey that brought me here. I
grew up in a conservative evangelical home, a pastor’s
kid. And for a while, that sustained me. But by college, I
was close to giving up on Christianity all together.
Personal convictions concerning war and a broader ‘us
vs. them’ mentality were major concerns, as well as
personal realities—things out of my control that made me
nervous around church folks. This overt Christian culture
wasn’t making me any better of a person. More often
than not, it felt burdensome, even detrimental. I was
building my house on sand instead of love and peace
and humility. In all that confusion, I saw truth in the
words of a non-violent Jesus but never felt so alone. Robby (back, center) celebrates his birthday at St.
A close friend of mine invited me to a “Jesus Francis House with the help of our friends and guests,
Radicals” conference my senior year of college—and (left to right) Red Dog, Anthony and Damon.
though I was cynical, I was equally desperate. He was
one of those peculiar kids who made his own shoes and Community Needs
rarely showered and danced for no reason at all. Give it Socks, men’s underwear (adult sizes S/M/L),
a shot, I convinced myself. There wasn’t much to lose. coffee, sugar, dry cereal, laundry detergent, fresh fruits
At that conference I found hope—hope where I and vegetables, your prayers and support, volunteers
didn’t much expect to find it. Among rabble-rousers, and visitors at the houses.
outcasts, chain smokers, smelly people with lots of We will also be looking for 6-8 gently used twin
tattoos. All were passionate about peace and goodness bed mattresses and metal frames for our new guest
and a God who loves the poor, who loves us all. This is rooms, starting in June.
where I first encountered the Catholic Worker movement.
I was accepted to Mizzou med school by Thanksgiving, **************************************************************
graduated in December, and showed up on the porch of
St. Francis in January. WANTED
The past three months here have been filled Do you have a used passenger van in good working
with great excitement, eagerness, and general condition that you would like to get rid of? St. Francis will
bewilderment. I still look around the table at dinner and soon be in need of a new van. Call Steve at 875-4913 or
feel tremendously blessed. Blessed to be surrounded by Ruth at 443-1927 for details.
good people. Poor people. People I think Jesus would ***************************************************************
have really liked to eat with. In early March, the guests
sang happy birthday to me and brought out a glowing
The Compassionate Outstretched Arms of Jesus
--By Bob Heinz
At a scripture class at Newman we were
studying the Wisdom literature in the Palms. Carolyn
explained one symbolic view of the crucifix. The vertical
beam represents all sin—greed, lust, envy, anger,
drunkenness, violence etc. and the horizontal beam
represents the compassionate arms of Jesus embracing
the sinful with his suffering and bringing
redemption…while teaching us to do the same.
Anyway, these words brought me back to the
night before when I had St. Francis House and to an
incident that happened there. I was visiting with folks at
the supper table when one of the guys came rushing in
telling me there was going to be a fight outside. Since
this seldom happens, I raced to the door thinking “Oh no,
what am I going to do.” Unknown to me a drunken fellow
came into the house and started taunting one of our
black guests watching television. By the time I got to the
door they were taking off their coats on the front sidewalk
getting ready to rumble. I shouted a few words that were
totally ignored and deep down wished they had gone
down the block for their confrontation.
Almost immediately while I was still standing on
the front porch, big Ron came out and handed me his cell
phone and keys and headed toward the fight. Ron has
experienced homelessness in the past, but now had a
job and often came to St. Frances House for supper and
hospitality. He’s proud of his 50% Native American
ancestry and his 300 lbs. of brute strength that he uses
at his job. But, when he headed toward the fracas, I
feared the worst and could only think of 911.
By the time Ron reached the sidewalk the
fighters were rolling around on the ground, arms flailing.
Ron went down on the ground with all his mass on top of
the inebriated one, and told Anthony, the victim, to go
back into the house. He then started speaking softly to
his prey with words that I couldn’t hear, but which
seemed to calm the drunken fellow. Ron got up and
helped the other man up and while still speaking softly
with words of dignity he helped the man put on his coats.
The man gave Ron a big hug, which he heartily returned,
before he left.
Back in the kitchen a few minutes later, Ron,
with blood still on his face from a scratch, came in and
asked me for some bread. He was going to offer it to the
drunken one to help soak up the liquor and sober him up.
The comparison to the Compassionate One
became a living lesson for me.
ELECTRIFYING CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Things have really been coming together on the
St. Francis House Addition since our last newsletter. The
space is insulated, painted and most significantly,
electrified. We are so grateful to the IBEW Local 257
electrical workers for the generous donation of their
time and treasure to help us make this dream a reality.
The Catholic Worker shares a long a tradition of
solidarity with those who labor and who advocate for the
rights of workers, so to have skilled union members labor
on our behalf is a very precious gift, indeed. Thank you
for all you have done for us. (Look for more details and
thanks re: finished renovations in the next newsletter!)
Random thoughts on labor from Dorothy & Peter
Christ was a worker Himself, and He set an example to
us all. He was a worker and He loved the workers. The
last words He said to His disciples, the last
commandment He gave them, which comprised all the
rest, was that we were to
love one another. We
cannot, in other words, love
God unless we love our
neighbor. And if we love our
neighbor, we have to show
our love by trying to help
him. Of ourselves we can do
nothing. We must band
together, and with God's
help, fight for better conditions for the workers throughout
the country, not only in one town. If we are not working
together, we are denying Christ and His poor.
Labor is not a commodity
to be bought and sold —
Labor is a means of self-expression,
the worker's gift to the common good.
... when the workers
can no longer
sell their labor
to the capitalists
or accumulators of labor
they can no longer buy
the products of their labor...
 The Economy, War and the Poor
--By Ruth O’Neill
President Johnson declared war on poverty
while executing a real war in Vietnam. President Reagan
declared war on welfare queens to divert attention from
military missions in Latin America to combat
“communism” and uphold “the American way of life”.
President Bush II declared war on “terrorism” while he
invited the populace to go shopping. He enriched the
wealthiest among us at the expense of those struggling
to make ends meet. The gap between the richest 1% and
the poorest 20% in this country continues to grow in good
times and bad.
What’s up with that? In this country, we may
bemoan poverty, but we need the poor. We couldn’t
function without them.
Big business needs poor people. Simply stated,
the poor are good for their businesses. The poor don’t
have the luxury of boycotting cheap products produced
with unsafe materials or through unfair labor conditions.
The poor struggle to stay afloat. If they can find a job,
they work for low-paying employers: the Wal-Marts and
the produce farms and the sweat shops. They have little
choice other than to shop at that same Wal-Mart, feed
their kids cheaply produced foods, and buy stuff made by
even poorer people in sweatshops in other lands. Corp-
orate profit margins grow on the backs of the poor like
parasitic Chia pets.
The US military needs the poor, too; poor
neighborhoods provide their best recruiting grounds.
Poverty helps recruiters lure hope-challenged youth from
the inner cities and the rural countryside into shouldering
the burden of immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Recruiters convince young people with limited
employment and educational options that being “all you
can be” will help them escape from a dead end world and
make them “army strong.” Recruiters sell the snake oil
claim that the military is a job “with a future”. Recruiters
promise to train them in trades they can practice in
civilian life, or help them earn money for college. If you
become part of something important, like the US military,
then you can be important, too, right? After all, the navy
bills itself as “a global force for good”.
Recruiters sell the fantasy of the American
dream. The price? Agreeing to go wherever they tell you
to go and blow up whomever they tell you to blow up, in
the name of freedom of course. Potential recruits who
need more convincing can click on “Games and Extras”
at the air force recruiting site, where hitting your target is
a way to rack up points, not a way to end the life of
another poor person in another country.
Joining the “volunteer” military in war time can
mean pocket money via a signing bonus. The recruiters
don’t talk about the risks: the danger that these kids may
lose their lives, their limbs or their souls in battle. They
just write them a check and tell them to go shopping for
stuff they won’t be able to use for 12-18 months.
Of course, the recruits who were lured by the
promise of how important their new job would be quickly
find out about the bait and switch used to sign them up.
Some will die; some will be forced to kill others. Even if
they don’t wield weapons themselves, they risk having
their bodies and their spirits maimed by the horror of war.
Even more insidious is what these wars do to
the families troops leave behind while they rotate through
tour after tour. Children grow up not knowing one or
even both parents who “serve” US military interests
instead of tucking them in at night. Will they grow up
without bonding with their parents, and without knowing
anything about how families are supposed to interact with
one another? This is not only true of the single moms
lured into service, but married parents, too.
Marriages are torn apart when (mostly) young,
enlisted troops drag their partners far away from home,
only to leave them time and again. Partners must fend for
themselves far away from family and friends. A married
new recruit’s starting pay with an annual housing
allowance is about $30,000, according the military’s own
web site. This leaves civilian partners struggling to
sustain themselves (and their kids) without much support
from the men and women who drew them across the
country in the first place.
Many enlisted troops—the ones who do the
majority of the fighting and dying— have few non-military
job skills. They may have little training beyond a high
school diploma. Their partners tend to come from similar
circumstances. Since an enlisted person’s pay is so low,
partners need jobs. These partners flood the job market
in towns near military bases with workers willing to work
for less, anything to bring in needed income. Employers
know these desperate workers are likely to relocate
within a couple years, so raises and promotions are rare.
This perennial supply of temporary workers
depresses the wage base for the rest of the residents,
and helps nationwide chains keep all their workers
underpaid. The rich prosper; the poor still can’t afford to
complain. This may be good for business, but is it good
for anyone else? The poor may always be with us, but
that is no reason to treat them poorly.
 Christ in Action: Tag, We are It
--by Rocket Kirchner
The last verse in the Gospel of John says that
there would not be enough books in the world to contain
the things that Jesus did. For years I always thought that
John was referring to the period when Christ was in the
flesh walking around as Jesus of Nazareth. But, lately I
have been thinking that John was referring to Christ body
on earth after his resurrection. All the things he did
through his body, the Church.
John was writing at the end of the first century
and a lot happened in the Apostolic period. In fact, Luke
tells us in the book of Acts that ''these were the men who
turned the world upside down ''. The natural man made
order of things was literally subverted through a non
violent revolution such as the world had never known.
They held all things in common, preached with boldness,
took care of the most needy, and died for their faith. They
could not have done this on their own. It was done
through the power of the gospel. In other words it was
Jesus in the risen form through them that did it. No
program. No agenda. And, as John says, there was so
much that Jesus did that the books in the world probably
could never contain how much really happened. That is
another way of saying that so much happened that was
incomprehensible to man's finite mind, but
nevertheless happened anyway. Even if it happened in
the most remote parts of the Roman Empire and its
impact was still unknown.
There is no doubt that this explosion started
when Jesus announced he was the Messiah in the
temple. But, as he said ''greater works shall you do than
me, because I go to the Father''. He is with the Father,
and Christ is still in action. And guess what? Tag we are
it. He will use us beyond what we can even imagine. If
we only abandon our self to God's will.
Columbia Area Volunteers Feed the Hungry
Nightly at Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen
(& at St. Francis House, too)
When people tell us how we are doing
wonderful work in the community, they are generally
talking about the fact that we provide food and shelter to
homeless folks. We do, and we appreciate the thanks
they give us for this work, but the truth is, there are a lot
more people involved in these particular works of mercy
than the members of the St. Francis Catholic Worker
Community. It is high time that we acknowledged all of
these generous souls, in front of God and everybody.
Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen (at 616 Park)
serves dinner from 5 to 6:15 pm every night, thanks to
our wonderful volunteers. (The only nights the soup
kitchen is closed are Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter,
Memorial Day and Labor Day. On those holidays, the
evening meal is served at St. Francis House.)
Our current volunteer groups come from Olivet
Christian, Newman Center, Rockbridge Christian,
Columbia United Church of Christ, Temple Beth Shalom,
First Christian, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Alive in
Christ Lutheran, Karis Church, Trinity Presbyterian,
Forum Blvd Christian, Centerpointe, Midway and New
Horizon, Christian Fellowship, St. Luke Methodist,
Missouri United Methodist, Columbia United Methodist,
Urban Empowerment Ministries, Calvary Episcopal, 1st
Assembly of God, St. Andrew’s Lutheran, and community
groups headed by longtime volunteers Joy Cole and
Rocket Kirchner. Thanks to all of you who have
personalized the call to welcome the stranger and feed
the hungry in our midst.
The back yard at Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen
We would also like to thank the groups who
provide noon and evening meals on Sunday at St.
Francis House, including Broadway Christian Church, the
Hindu community, Community United Methodist Church,
the Islamic Center and our friends George Mummert and
Bob the professor.
We also benefit from the helping hands of our
friends, Walle, Lisa, Gary, and the rest of the Tuesday
night Lutherans, along with Kim, Bob, Linc, Tim and
Jake, who have all become a part of the fabric of our
house. Thanks to all the volunteers who help out,
whether for an hour, a week or just dropping by when
they can. We are blessed by your presence, and are glad
to know you are our friends.
 TRUTH & DENIAL
--By Steve Jacobs
Recent news sources have shown video
of U.S. helicopter pilots killing Iraqi civilians and
journalists in Baghdad and then killing those
attempting to evacuate them to hospitals. The
video was released by Wikileaks and you can
watch it yourself at www.wikileaks.org/ .The
video was released to Wikileaks by someone in
the US government after the government claimed
they had no evidence of the killings.
The response from the CIA was to issue
a report calling Wikileaks a national security
threat because videos like this undermine public
support for the war. They recommended
measures to find, prosecute and fire and
imprison the leakers in order to intimidate further
truth tellers. The truth is always a threat to
government violence perpetrated in the name of
national security. These killings and lies are only
the latest used to justify continued spending of
your taxes into a debt we can never repay. It
shows how easily we can kill people while
hovering in the sky above. Voices of the soldiers
killing civilians shows how hard their hearts have
become to the suffering of others and the self
justification necessary to allow these killings to
continue.
And now we are killing people in
Afghanistan and Pakistan with drone aircraft that
are operated from cubicles in Nevada and
California like a video game. But it's not a video.
More than 700 civilians have been killed by these
drones. Plus, we lost more soldiers to suicide in
Iraq than we did to combat. So, who is winning
the war in the hearts of our soldiers?
So, truth tellers must be found and
punished and that usually means jail; or at the
very least public revulsion and condemnation if
you attempt to show these crimes at their
recruiting stations, or air shows and arms
bazaars. Most folks would rather hide the blood
and gore of war their taxes pay for behind flags
or ceremonial backslapping of the troops. Denial
and fear of naming the sins of war have such a
hold on us that those who profess to be moral
leaders; our priests, preachers, rabbis and elders
shrink from mentioning them in our churches,
temples and religious events for fear of offending
someone who wears or once wore a uniform. It is
a moral cowardice which muffles those who
would speak truth to power by citing the
prophetic teachings about violence and war and
justice and the words of Jesus to love one's
enemies and turn the other cheek. And the
successful repression of the truth feeds the
denial and speeds the collapse of our American
empire which is now propped up by PR
spokespersons to put a positive spin on
the political, military and economic corruption
that will eventually bring it all crashing down.
So, St. Francis Catholic Workers will go
to the Memorial Day Air Show at Columbia's
airport try and speak prophetically again
while accepting the scorn of those apologists of
empire and national security. Pray for us and for
one another and for eyes to be opened and
justice to prevail. Better yet, come with us as we
vigil on the tarmac with our signs that ask, "Who
Would Jesus Bomb?" and "Christians cannot
love their enemies and kill them, too". The truth
shall set you free from denial and
accommodation to evil.
Quote Corner
"The other name of faith, its worldly name, its
baptismal name, is trouble."--- Daniel Berrigan
"We are called to speak for the weak, for the
voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for
those it calls 'enemy' for no document from human
hand can make these humans any less our
brothers." --- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"It no longer makes sense to maintain that war is a
fit instrument with which to repair the violation of
justice." ---Pope John XXIII
"You can safely assume you've created a god in
your own image when it turns out that God hates
all the same people you do." -- Anne Lamott
"The church is the cross on which Christ is
crucified." ---Dorothy Day
If we have no peace, it is because we have
forgotten that we belong to each other. -- Mother
Theresa
 (cont. from p. 1) Later, with the dangerous tree situation resolved, the Virgin Mary, the dumpster and the
new addition are all safe at last. We are very thankful to Mr. Ratliff for his generosity and to Rose
Marie Muzika for the help and recommendations she and her students provided.

St. Francis Catholic Worker

1001 Rangeline Street
Columbia, MO 65201