Coffee with Catholic Workers

Sara and Paul from Lake City CW Farm tell their Catholic Worker journey from college to Duluth to building their strawbale house and creating a thriving kombucha business while raising a family, providing hospitality and jobs, rebuilding the soil through regenerative agriculture, and tasting the variety of flavors provided by the Driftless region of SE Minnesota.

Chrissy and Lincoln, who work for the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, talk about how they learned about war tax resistance after joining the Catholic Worker, what it looks like for different folks, and why it is growing in popularity.

Bill and Diane who were involved with Catholic Worker houses in Texas decades ago become involved again when a multicultural hospitality house serving refugees opens blocks from them in Iowa City. They talk about their journey and what the works of mercy look like in Iowa City.

In this episode Brenna, Ben, and Sheila share their experiences about travelling to the West Bank recently as a Catholic Worker delegation to do accompaniment work with the International Solidariy Movement. If you're interested in learning about being a part of a future delegation reach out to Brenna at brennacussen@gmail .com .

Fumi Tosu joins us this episode to talk about the difference between starting a new house and continuing the work of an existing community, the name of the new Portland Catholic Worker community, and how his family history has influenced his peace activism.

In this episode Allyson and Lincoln from Little Platte CW talk about their new Catholic Worker Farm and how their previous experiences in community inform their intentionality in slowly building a strong foundation for a sustainable community.

On this episode Lydia and Theo are in conversation with Daniel Delapava, Dan Justman, and Quinn Smith from St Francis House in Chicago. They chat their preparations for St. Francis House’s 50th Birthday, the national gathering to celebrate that occasion, and what its been like to look back at the history of the house.

In this episode we chat by phone with Regina Bambrick-Rust to learn about what it's like living off grid, and largely without electricity. We explore the ethical framework behind some of these decisions and hear about the efforts happening to build a larger extended off grid community.

In this episode we talk with Mary and Diane from the Winona, MN Catholic Worker about the origin of the community, how it has evolved over the years, and why a decentralized community model is the key to its current success and sustainability.

In this episode we head back to Duluth, MN to hear from Maryn at Loaves and Fishes Catholic Worker. We explore queerness, foster children in community, and Maryn's journey from religious formation to the Catholic Worker.

In this episode we head back to the LA Worker to hear about some of their recent experiences with end of life care for two of their guests. We explore the ways in which community was able to care for the guests in this last life transition as well as the ways in which hospice care impacted workers themselves.

In this episode Martha Hennessy, one of Dorothy Day's granddaughters, joins us. She shares some of what it was like to be the granddaughter of Dorothy as well as some of her own journey in living out Catholic Worker values. 

On this episode of Coffee with Catholic Workers we speak to Jackie about the Hartford CW’s work with kids and what it was like to raise her own kids in the Catholic Worker.

This week we’re joined by Chrissy and Lindsey who are starting a new house of hospitality with Theo. They chat about their previous experiences in the CW movement and their vision for the new STL Catholic Worker Community. Reach out to StLouisCatholicWorker@gmail.com to sign up for the email list or find out how to support this new project.

We’re joined this time by Elizabeth, NJ founder (and Theo’s former Los Angeles CW community mate) Alex who talked about things not always going according to plan when you’re starting a Catholic Worker. Email her at njcw@riseup.net to find out how to support the Elizabeth CW.

In this episode we’re joined by Alice from The Mustard Seed Farm in the Ames, Iowa region and Mary Kay from St. Isidore Farm in Southwest Wisconsin. They explore if the word “cult” in Peter Maurin’s alliterative vision of “cult, culture, and cultivation” is scary or a turn off and how they’re trying to be producers and not just consumers. Email mustardseedbee@gmail.com (Mustard Seed) or catholicwo...

Today’s “guest” is Coffee with Catholic Workers’ very own Lydia! She tells Theo about Emmaus House’s work responding to the urgent needs of migrants sent north from the southern border and sleeping on Chicago police precinct floors without food and bedding.

Elisabeth and Josh Armfield speak with Theo about their lives at the Kommuniteten Senapskornet (Mustard Seed Community) Catholic Worker in Luleå, Sweden. 

During his visit to the Brot und Rosen (Bread and Roses) CW, Judith Samson told Theo about civil disobedience she's participated in to combat climate change.

While visiting the Brot und Rosen (Bread and Roses) CW, Theo spoke with Dietrich Gerstner about their work supporting refugees in Hamburg, Germany.

Today we have Brian Terrell joining us from Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker Farm in Tiny Maloy, Iowa. Brian discusses what they're growing at the farm, whether it's really worth growing your own beans and what it was like living with Dorothy Day compared to how she is thought of nowadays.

Today we speak with Joe Kruse, a long time Catholic Worker in Minneapolis about his involvement since childhood in the movement and his perspectives on labor, union organizing, and work in general.

In our second episode looking at labor within the Catholic Worker Movement, we speak with Lincoln Rice; a Catholic Worker with Casa Maria in Milwaukee. Lincoln recently published The Forgotten Radical Peter Maurin: Easy Essays from the Catholic Worker .

In this episode we talk with Rosalie Riegle, an oral historian who has both lived in Catholic Worker Houses as well as documented their history. Some of her books include Dorothy Day: Portraits by Those Who Knew Her, Doing Time for Peace: Resistance, Family, and Community, and Voices of the Catholic Worker. Today we focus on labor and the labor movement in the Catholic Worker Movement's histor...

Today we have Tensie Hernandez joining us from Beatitude House of Guadalupe, California. She shares with us the story of stumbling on to the Los Angeles Catholic Worker while still in high school, how rootedness in a community grows over time, and how running a Catholic Worker in a small town is different than doing so in a big, bustling city.