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Worcester Catholic Worker community celebrates 40 years on Mason Street

Moses said to the people:
“Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,
has directed all your journeying in the desert,
so as to test you by affliction
and find out whether or not it was your intention
to keep his commandments.
—Deuteronomy 8 (from Sunday’s readings)

The SS. Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker community celebrated its 40th anniversary this weekend with a backyard mass celebrated by Msgr. Frank Scollen. Claire and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, the pillars of this community, remain as uncompromising and joyful as ever. Here’s to another 40 years!

Blogging once seemed like the new, cool thing. Now it’s so old I can point you to my post from the 30th anniversary and all sorts of content from the 20th (Many photos, video of the recessional hymn from the 20th anniversary mass performed by Harry Duchesne and the Catholic Worker All-Stars feat. Mike Benedetti and Liz Fallon, Scott’s writeup on the first 20 years, my reflections on the 20th anniversary, a cable access news clip we made for the 20th).

Claire and Scott have posted a (partial) list of highlights from “Our Second Twenty Years”:

The Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker was founded by Carl Siciliano, Sarah Jeglosky, Dan Ethier, Claire & Scott Schaeffer-Duffy on June 5, 1986. Many volunteers, including Teresa Wheeler, Jo Massarelli, Dave Maher, Mike Benedetti, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi, Brenna Cussen, Cinnamon Sarver, Dave Maciewski, Robert Peters, and hundreds of others made it possible for the community to persist.

Brayton Shanley:

The only thing Dorothy Day ever said that was wrong was Catholic Workers weren’t for families. But you have shown it is not only for families, but you’ve raised, how many kids? (“Four.” “At least four!”) And they’re wonderful.

Catholic Free Press:

WORCESTER – The Sts. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker community on Mason Street celebrated its 40th anniversary this weekend with Mass in the back yard for the feast of Corpus Christi. “Thank you for your ministry,” Msgr. Francis J. Scollen, sacramental minister at St. Peter Parish, told these Catholics who have worked and sacrificed for justice and peace in multiple ways. “God has directed you. We need you.” He and house co-founders Scott and Claire Schaeffer-Duffy shared stories of the power of the Eucharist. Others shared memories of people involved over the years.

My oldest photo of Msgr. Scollen. Opening night at Worcester’s Mustard Seed Catholic Worker house, March 25, 1974. Left to right: Fr. Frank Scollen; Jeanette Noel; Geri DiNardo.

Bobby Guthro, RIP

My dear friend Bobby Guthro died in the hospital Thursday after some months of illness. He inspired everyone he met with his sunny disposition, goofy sense of humor, and fortitude. He faced a lot of challenges but also got a lot done—of the people I’ve known, one of those who fulfilled his potential most fully. He was a Mustard Seed volunteer for 40 years—I volunteered almost 3,000 hours with him, only a drop in the bucket of his own contribution to the Seed and the city.

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Scott Schaeffer-Duffy hit by a car while running; “full recovery may take several months”

Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, “Worcester’s most-traveled, most-jailed, and most notorious political radical since Abbie Hoffman” (Telegram & Gazette), was hit by a car while running Monday evening on Franklin Street.

He and his wife Claire fund their community and ministry to the homeless, the Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker, in part by baking bread. Their son Patrick has set up an online fundraiser to help with expenses while Scott heals up.

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How’s Donna Doing?

She’s indefatigable, that’s how Donna’s doing.

Long-time Mustard Seed soup kitchen director Donna Domiziano is back at her post-Mustard Seed apartment off Vernon Street in Worcester. She’s in a wheelchair, mostly healed up after a fall, now doing lots of physical therapy in hopes of being able to get into and out of the chair by herself. At that point, she’ll have an easier time riding in cars, and will get back to visiting soup kitchens and homeless shelters, helping out and cheering up the many down-and-out Worcesterites she befriended during her 30 years living and working at the Seed.

She’s drawing parallels between her current situation and other unexpected setbacks in her life, times when she refused to give up, instead praying for God’s grace and knowing that, sooner or later, she’d see a new way forward. Totally inspiring, this lady, you should pay her a visit.

Mustard Seed chapel dedicated to Father Bernie

Tonight the upstairs chapel at the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker was dedicated as The Revered Bernard E. Gilgun Memorial Chapel with a mass celebrated by Fr. Paul O’Connell.

The plaque memorializing Fr. Bernie will be hung on the wall above the chair where he so often sat and preached.

Worcester Catholic Worker community celebrates 30 years on Mason Street

Today we’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Saints Francis and Thérèse Catholic Worker community.

Folks from far and wide packed the backyard at 52 Mason Street tonight for a mass marking the 30th anniversary of the Saints Francis and Thérèse Catholic Worker community. Mass was celebrated by Father Madden from St. John’s.

It was fantastic to see so many Central Massachusetts lay Catholic communities represented, as well as so many people from other communities of faith and action.

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Crazy weekend in Worcester

Two items from the weekend.

The body of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been at the Graham Putnam & Mahoney funeral home for the past few days. There have been small protests outside from time to time, and a visible police presence. I was shocked when I first heard about this, much less so when I heard that the saintly/cranky Peter Stefan was behind it. The Catholic Worker community is organizing a vigil Tuesday in support of burial of the dead (one of the Christian works of mercy.) More at the end of this post.

T&G:

For some 25 years, Mr. Stefan said, the Main South funeral home has dealt with burying the poor, the unwanted and even murderers. Because of that, Mr. Stefan said he’s even been involved in burials that took place well into the night.

Charles Pierce, Esquire: “Stop making jackasses of yourself in front of the entire nation.”

Dianne Williamson: Innocence, terror lay side-by-side at Worcester funeral home

Also, it’s being reported today that Worcester Bishop McManus “was arrested Saturday night in Narragansett, R.I., charged with drunken driving and refusing a chemical test”.

Bishop McManus released a statement this morning: â€œOn Saturday evening, May 4, I made a terrible error in judgment by driving after having consumed alcohol with dinner. There is no excuse for the mistake I made, only a commitment to make amends and accept the consequences of my action. More importantly, I ask forgiveness from the good people whom I serve, as well as my family and friends, in the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Providence.â€

Initial reaction in the diocese appeared supportive.

â€œLike any brother in our family that this could happen to, I would support him,â€ said the Rev. John Madden, pastor of St. John’s Church in downtown Worcester. â€œAll of us have made mistakes in judgment. Like he’s said, we can only apologize and make amends.â€

Update: In RI court, Bishop McManus pleads not guilty to DUI

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508 #213: Guns and Walmart

508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Scott Schaeffer-Duffy and Brendan Melican discuss and debate an upcoming anti-gun protest at the local Walmart.

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You can watch 508 Fridays at 7pm on WCCA TV13.

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No arrests in Worcester panhandling civil disobedience

In an act of civil disobedience against Worcester’s new anti-panhandling ordinances, three Worcester residents today begged for money on the median in Lincoln Square, directly across from police headquarters. The event was held on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, which Christians mark with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Gordon Davis, a blind anti-discrimination advocate, held a bucket reading BLIND and represented the disabled. Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, a Catholic Worker who has housed the homeless in Worcester for decades, was dressed as St. Francis, himself a beggar. Robert Peters, a long-time Buddhist meditator, dressed in the robes he wears as a lay Buddhist.

At least four people called the police to complain. According to the supporters demonstrating legally on the nearby sidewalk, the only police response was one officer giving the thumbs-up when he drove by.

In a statement, Chief Gemme said that “Today, between 1 and 2 p.m. there were 21 calls for service throughout the city. None of these calls were regarding panhandling.” (I’m not sure what the difference is between a call for service and these calls. Maybe there were 21 911 issues?)

None of the beggars was arrested, cited, or warned. “This is a victory for Worcester,” said Schaeffer-Duffy.

Womag has more pix. The T&G reports “$14.68 collected,” all of which will go directly to those in need.

Ash Wednesday protest: Repeal Worcester’s anti-panhandling ordinance

On Ash Wednesday, February 13, from 1-2 pm, the Saints Francis & ThÃ©rÃ¨se Catholic Worker community will sponsor a protest at Lincoln Square in Worcester calling for the repeal of anti-panhandling regulations passed last week. Signs will be held and the attached leaflet will be distributed.

Robert Peters, a long-time practitioner of Buddhist mediation, will wear a monk’s attire and hold a beggar’s bowl.

Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, a one-time novice with the Capuchin-Franciscans, will wear a Franciscan habit and also carry a beggar’s bowl.

Robert will be on the sidewalk, while Scott will defy the anti-panhandling ordinance by begging on the median strip. Both of them hope to highlight the sacred place begging and giving to beggars has in all the world’s major religions.

The members of the Catholic Worker community have sent the attached letter to Worcester’s police chief, mayor, and all the city councilors describing their reasons for holding this protest. Any funds collected will be given directly to those who who continue to feel the need to appeal for help on the streets of Worcester. For more information, call Claire Schaeffer-Duffy 508 753-3588.
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