Month: July 2015

Five years ago I moved into sheltered housing here in Oxford but continued spending time and working at St Francis House until the closure on 30 June. Over the past week or so, in the peace and quiet of this lovely little flat, I’ve been reading Dorothy Day’s diaries (1934-1980) and find them an unexpected companion in this time of change. I’ve had a print copy of the book for a few years but it was only when I found I could get a Kindle copy on my iPad mini that Dorothy’s words and thoughts were unlocked for me; I can no longer read normal print.

I’ve written earlier in this journal of my time as a Catholic Worker, the movement started by Dorothy and Peter Maurin in 1933, and although there is sadness around the closure of SFH, I am really grateful for my time spent in CW communities in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York and Oxford. Reading the diaries has brought back memories of my two stints in the U.S., one of three months and one of eighteen months. CW life for me began with reading ‘Loaves and Fishes’ by Dorothy in 1999 and reading ‘The Duty of Delight’ seems a fitting accompaniment to this period of transition.

Instead of reading the book chronologically, I began by reading the entries from 1970 to the end of Dorothy’s life in 1980. At the time of writing I’ve just completed 1934 to 1940. It’s interesting and moving to see how she was aware of the same difficulties, challenges and joys she experienced throughout her life. The entries are really personal and honest and reveal a genuine vulnerability in the life of a woman seen publicly as strong, determined and, at times, uncompromising.

Anyway, this is not a review but merely musings

Dorothy converted to Catholicism in her thirties and Peter Maurin was a great influence on her thinking. I think that from the earliest days of the CW she met, through Peter, many Catholic thinkers and writers who formed her thought, theology, spirituality and reading. She was avid to make up for lost time and she was always a voracious reader. I was amazed to find in her diaries mention of many of the classics of Catholic spirituality which I read during my noviciate. Some of these books really influenced me and I was delighted to find out how much Dorothy appreciated them. It occurs to me that, because Dorothy became a Catholic thirty years before the Second Vatican Council, most of her reading was written by priests and religious. Vatican II stressed the importance of the spirituality of the laity and since the sixties innumerable books of Catholic spirituality and theology have been written by lay people. In a beautiful irony, one of the most influential lay Catholics of the twentieth century IS Dorothy Day and her writings have inspired generations.

Dorothy also read fiction and loved listening to music on the radio. It’s wonderful to read in her diaries about how much she was affected by the classics of European and American literature. She always loved Russian writers and I was interested to learn that while Tolstoy and Dostoevsky were favourites from her youth, she found Chekhov spoke more to her in later life. This has inspired me to read more of his short stories.

It saddens me when peace activists tell me they don’t read fiction. For Dorothy, fiction, classic and modern, deepened her insight into the joys and sufferings of humanity. Me too!

It was the House of Hospitality, St. Francis House, which brought me to Oxford almost eleven years ago. The Oxford Catholic Worker community ran St. Francis House for twenty two years and it has been a joy to share in the work. Now things are changing and Clive and Mena, who own the house and started the work, are taking a different direction and hope that the house will continue to be a resource for the local community. They are wonderful people and all my love and prayers go with them as they embark on this new venture.

We told our guests, five asylum seekers, almost a year ago that the house would be closing. The long closure has been painful but also blessed. We have been reflecting on all the people who have lived at St. Francis House, guests and workers, and there have been so many inspiring people.

It seems a good time for me to put down some thoughts about what this closure has been like for me personally.

For some time now I’ve been aware that the work has been getting too much for me physically. I’m no longer young and my sight is failing. The closure of St Francis House has made me reflect on my life from now on. There are many positives in this, the main one being membership in the Society of Friends and being part of Oxford Quakers. Being a Quaker in Oxford opens up all sorts of opportunities for continuing the kind of work I’ve been doing as a Catholic Worker; resistance to war and warmaking, active work on behalf of marginalised people in Oxford and sharing in a worshipping community.

The last few months leading up to the closure of SFH were painful for me, mainly because of my concern about the guests and their future. I realise that I went through a genuine grieving and mourning period but certain things have contributed to my being able to turn this grief into positive and active joy.

First of all I am able to continue our weekly sandwich distribution to homeless people in the centre of Oxford. This has been part of SFH life for nine years and for five of those years we have been accompanied by a small but enthusiastic group of students. Food and drink preparation now happens at my flat and I feel a real sense of connection with SFH while carrying this out, especially as I’ve brought from SFH my favourite set of scales, my favourite tin for making shortbread and the big yellow teapot!

Secondly, I have been able to offer hospitality to one of our former guests during Ramadan. I was originally prepared to take two guests as I have a guest bed and the bedroom is big enough for two people to share for a short period, but this wasn’t necessary in the end.

There is a project in Oxford now which attempts to find accommodation for asylum seekers in spare rooms. I thought that I might be able to join this scheme by offering emergency accommodation for a couple of weeks. I don’t have a spare room but am happy to give up my bedroom for a short while and sleep in the sitting room. I thought it might be a good plan to ease myself into this and see if it worked, by offering accommodation to our young former guest, N., who had nowhere else to go and was planning to sleep on the streets. It has worked so far. It has been easy because N. and I know each other; it is summer and he is happy to spend time out of doors and seeing friends; observing Ramadan means he is often with his worship community and shares food with them after nightfall; he is on the list to take up accommodation in a spare room when one becomes available. I know it would be very different offering accommodation to a complete stranger but I think I might give it a go!