HOUSE NEWS: Former guest found dead in Newnan’s Lake

Many of you may have seen the story in this morning’s Gainesville Sun about Ollen James Rogers, identified as the homeless man found dead in Newnan’s Lake on Wednesday. Ollen was a former guest of the house, and my interactions with Ollen were always kind and friendly. Ollen stayed with us during either our first [...]

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REFLECTION: Vegetables, yes–but sunflowers too

Whether you are into bio-regionalism, the locavore or local food movement, food security, sustainability or whatnot, gardening seems to be at the center. And the prime purpose of a garden, of course, is to be able to grow your own food.
But I have a little confession to make. Behind the utilitarian value of it [...]

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HOUSE NEWS: Tying up loose ends

Dear friends,
This will be the last email you get from us until we restart things in early August following our “summer sabbath.” But we did have a few loose ends to tie up:
ASKING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK: Part of what we do during our “summer sabbath” is reflect and evaluate the year just past, and start [...]

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FEEDBACK: Why are you part of the GCW community?

It is the end of another year for us (we operate on the school schedule, you understand) and part of what we do during our “summer sabbath” is reflect and evaluate the year just past, and start planning for the next year. We’ve never done this before, but as we do this reflecting, evaluating and [...]

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REFLECTION: No one lives locally, alone

Our life at the Gainesville Catholic Worker might be best summed up by the word hospitality. Our meals often consist of 8, 12, 15, or even 30 or more people. Our doorbell rings a dozen (sometimes two or three times that) times a day, with friends or visitors looking for a place to sit out [...]

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REFLECTION: On biking and “The Kickstand”

NOTE: Some of you regularly read Kelli’s blog, www.ourlocallife.com, which covers some of what happens here at the GCW but also more broadly treats the question: “How can we live more locally?” When Kelli or I post entries on that blog which touch on the work of the GCW, we’ll post the opening paragraphs and [...]

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HOUSE NEWS: Last week til August, and we’re full again!

Dear friends,
For a full list of this week’s activities, click here.
CLOSING TIME: This will be our last week of operation until August. We’ll be taking our annual summer sabbatical to rest, rejuvenate and repair the house (and ourselves) from June 20 until the beginning of August. We are so grateful for how so many of [...]

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HOUSE NEWS: Doing the little things well, for others

Dear friends,
For information about what is happening this week at the GCW, click here.
This past week, we had a young man staying with us who is considering joining us for the Metanoia semester (a semester-long immersion experience into life at the GCW) in the fall. I often wonder, when coming face-to-face with someone who wants [...]

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HOUSE NEWS: Running on empty

Hi folks,
For this week’s schedule, click here.
June is typically a time of “endings” for us at the GCW. When we moved into the Blue House five years ago, we decided that it would be important for us to take about a 6-week break each summer. Some of it is practical–like it is really hot during [...]

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