HOUSE NEWS: Ever think about living at the GCW?

Dear friends,

To see what is happening this week at the GCW, click here.

Since we live, breathe and have our being in a college town, our schedule at the GCW tends to revolve around and mirror the semester schedule of the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. So like a lot of you, this week is a transitional one for us–we end several of our activities that started back in January with the beginning of the Spring 09 semester and we finalize our planning for May and June, before taking our summer sabbatical from mid-June to August 1st. Tuesday marks our last scripture study of the semester; our morning prayer schedule ends this week; and last week was our last Roundtable. Several projects will continue on their regular schedule–Breakfast Brigade on Friday mornings and Dorothy’s Cafe on Wednesday. Keep an eye out too in the coming weeks for community garden and Blue House Pants opportunities.

THE METANOIA SEMESTER: If you’ve ever thought about what it would be like to live at the GCW, look into our Metanoia semester project, a semester-long immersion experience for folks interested in living and working at the GCW while learning more about what we do and why we do it. You can click here to check out more information. We may have a spot or two open for the Fall 09 semester, so if you are interested, talk with us sometime soon as we try and square away the house community by the time we close down in mid-June. Contact John at this email address or speak with him when you are at the house in the coming weeks.

MAKE A REGULAR VOLUNTEER COMMITMENT FOR MAY AND JUNE: Dorothy’s Cafe on Wednesdays, Breakfast Brigade on Fridays and the Blue House Garden throughout the week–we would love to have you make a regular commitment to help out with any of these projects of the house for the months of May and into mid-June. It is such a big help to us to know that we can count on a handful of people to be here at designated times to help with any of these projects (especially Dorothy’s Cafe). Since several of our regular volunteers will be leaving this week, we’ll need to fill their spots and know who we can count on in May and June. If you know there is a regular time you can join us to help out in May and June, please email us and let us know!

To everyone who helped out this semester, a very appreciative thank you from all of us at the GCW. Your presence and willingness to share your life with us enriches and blesses our community. And a very special thanks to any of our regular volunteers and extended community members who will be leaving us. If you have a moment to stop by or drop us a line and let us know your plans, we would be so grateful to know what your immediate future holds and how we can stay in touch!

In peace,

John

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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!

Gainesville Catholic Worker

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