Monthly Archives: April 2009
HOUSE NEWS: Winding down another semester already
For a complete update on this week’s schedule, click here.
This semester went by fast! We will continue to do the Wednesday cafe and breakfast brigade through June, but will be winding down the Roundtable this week and scripture study the following week.
The garden, however, is winding up! You can see details of its progress on Kelli’s local-living blog. Let us know if you would like to help with garden chores and we’ll be happy to put you on the schedule!
Blue House Pants are perking along too. We have over a dozen pairs of boxer shorts and baby pants and will be bringing them with us to a diocesan gathering in Jacksonville on May 2 to sell. We’re working on pants again this Thursday between 1 and 4:30. Join us if you can!
Thursday’s Roundtable will honor Kimberly Hunter, our Metanoia participant this Spring. She’ll be around a while longer, but we’re afraid many of you won’t! Please join us on Thursday night between 6:00 and 7:30 to give our appreciation to Kim and to wish her well. She’s off to Africa and the Peace Corps this summer.
Have a good week! Hope to see you!
HOUSE NEWS: Gardening, Pants-making, Prison Reform, and No Cafe this Sunday
Dear friends,
Happy Easter! We had a nice celebration with family and friends over brunch at the House on Easter morning followed by an egg hunt for the children in the house, garden watering, a little more planting – and some rest. During the week, in addition to the regular goings-on and the additional events of Holy Week, we had two guests from Miami – Catholic Volunteers doing a year of service who wanted to spend some time volunteering at the House during their spring break. It was a busy week.
Sunday’s Cafe suspended for now: During the course of the week we talked to several homeless folks about food distribution in Gainesville. It seems that a number of other groups are now serving food on Sundays downtown. Recent lower numbers at the cafe have reflected this. That, plus our continuing struggle with funds, has led us to suspend the Sunday cafe while we figure out how best to serve hungry folks on days when they particularly need it. We are going to begin immediately to make “to go” containers marked with “Blue House” for folks to take left-over soup in and return to us for washing or refills. We’ll see how this is received and if there are particular days we can plan on meeting the lunchtime overflow from St. Francis House with either soup or veggie pockets made from vegetables donated from local farmers after the market. We’ll keep you posted.
Check out our website for updates to this week’s schedule. Here are some highlights:
Gardening – Watering and Weeding. We’ve got a large garden planted with seedlings that need lots of care during this sunny, dry weather. If you want to help, let us know and we will put you on the schedule!
Blue House Pants – We’re still making them and would love your help, especially if you have some sewing experience. Non-sewers are practicing on cloth napkins (also needed!). Stop by on Thursday afternoon between 1 and 4:30 if you can help. And bring an iron, scissors, pins, and/or sewing machine if you have them.
Roundtable with Patrick Finn-Schultz from Jacksonville, Thursday, 6-7:30pm. Patrick will lead a discussion on Restoration, Rehabilitation, and Responsibility: The Prison Reform Movement. Bring a dish to share if you can. If not, come anyway.
Hope to see you this week!
HOUSE NEWS: Holy Week
Dear Friends,
For this week’s schedule please click here.
Johnny and Patrick were at a Pax Christi meeting in Pennsylvania most of the week, but the rest of us kept the home-fire burning, the garden watered and weeded, and the meals coming. A big thank you to the Servants of Christ for their delicious Pasta Fagioli and to the DEI fraternity for their help in the kitchen during Sunday’s cafe.
Many of you have read about the recent changes at St. Francis House, our city’s homeless shelter, in response to complaints about the growing number being served lunch. Some of our thoughts and experience are related in Kelli’s letter to the Sun which appeared last Sunday.
This week is Holy Week, and there will be a few changes to our regular schedule.
Highlights:
Blue House Pants: Thursday, 1 – 4:30; New pants out of old things – “locally sewn;” If you’ve got some sewing experience, come help us churn out a few more pairs in anticipation of selling them at an upcoming diocesan conference.
NO THURSDAY ROUNDTABLE – It’s Holy Thursday
Way of the Cross: Friday, 12 noon – 2pm: This is an ancient tradition of the church. Meet at the House, and then join us as we make our way through downtown Gainesville and reflect on how Christ continues to be crucified among us in the poor and marginalized in our community.
Happy Easter!
Gainesville Catholic Worker
218 NW 2nd Avenue
Gainesville, Florida 32601
352.371.4695
www.gainesvillecw.org