Room for mystery
- Rob McCann, Executive Director
Recently someone was telling me that they’d heard some physicists talking on a television show, discussing the components of the universe. One of the scientists said, “That thing we don’t understand, that x-factor—let’s call that love.”
That x-factor is the mystery that fuels our work. We can call it love, or God, or Jesus, or charity. The name is not so important. It requires only that we make ourselves available to us and let it flow through our beings. We at Catholic Charities have the great good fortune of being mandated to respond to its call.
The exciting part about that is that you can never predict exactly how things will turn out. You can make a guess, but sometimes it turns out you’re not even in the ballpark. What we do know is that it will shift things, and if that shift doesn’t seem to be what it should at first, well, we know enough to wait… No story here at Catholic Charities has a definitive ending, but it sure is awe-inspiring to watch the mystery unfolding along the way.
Whatever our roles, whether we be maintenance people or counselors or administrative assistants or front-desk workers at the House of Charity, our job is to let that x-factor live and move and have its being within our behavior. Talk about job satisfaction!
Self-discipline
- Rob McCann, Executive Director
Some people have told me they aren’t as supportive of Catholic Charities as they might be because they think some of our clients lack self-discipline. “Why don’t those guys at the House of Charity just stop drinking?” they ask, or “Why doesn’t that single mother of 3 get out there and get a decent job?”
One of the definitions of the word discipline is “the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity.” That’s certainly a definition our clients know. They behave the way they do because that is what their experiences of adversity have trained them to do. Right now, any given client may not have any other tools in her tool belt than the ones modeled by her own parents. Those may not be the best tools, but they’re the ones she’s got, and they’re allowing her to survive, whether emotionally or physically.
We see our job as providing our clients with the basics. It’s like Maslow’s hierarchy. Once people have shelter and food and safety, well, that’s when they can start thinking about ways to improve themselves and better their lives. Until those bases are covered, those needs are going to require all a person’s attention and energy.
The words discipline and disciple come from the same root, the Latin for “student.” Our clients are disciples of life. Our job is to make the lessons they’re getting a little more tolerable.
New event, new excitement
Scott Cooper, Director, Parish Social Ministry
Collaborating
Rob McCann, Executive Director
One of our four core values is collaboration. I’ve really seen that in action in recent weeks as we’ve moved into our newly remodeled offices. Change can be difficult and transitions always hold unexpected surprises, but one of the surprises this time is how smoothly things have gone. Of course many staff members have worked very hard to ensure that all the staff were ready for the change, knew what to expect, knew whom to ask if they had questions, and I was aware that that was the case. Nonetheless I can’t help but be delighted by the spirit of forward-lookingness I’ve witnessed among all these people settling into their new offices. People are helping each other out in all kinds of ways, and many are getting a chance to meet Catholic Charities staff members whom they rarely encountered when we were scattered all over the city.
I’m curious and eager to see what the next months will bring in terms of increased networking, shared resources, and general synergy and goodwill. I feel as if I’m watching the definition of collaboration unfolding before my eyes.
Keeping it real
Rob McCann, Executive Director
Here’s something I love about the staff here at Catholic Charities: they know what it means to keep it real.
What I mean by that is, they know that any line that is drawn between us and our clients is illusory. They’ve heard enough of the stories, seen enough powerful people brought low, sometimes experienced enough reversals of fortune themselves, to know that it can happen to anyone.
So, while there can be a temptation to draw a line between us and our clients, we can’t do that. We know that we are loved by the same God, equally qualified for the same grace, and susceptible to the same upsets of reality as the clients who depend on us, some of whom used to be on the other side of that line, as were some of us. Thus, there is no line. There’s only a circle. Our places on it can and do shift with startling rapidity.
It’s easier to treat people as your neighbor if you’re aware that you could literally be neighbors at any time, whether that be in nice houses on the South Hill or at the House of Charity.
Building from the inside out
Kay Murano, Support Services Specialist
- Catholic Charities Family Services Center
I’m in the middle of a race. That’s not something that you often hear from a woman who is pregnant – but this is an unusual race. My competition is Catholic Charities. At the same time that my body is working to grow a brand new baby inside of me, Catholic Charities is working to build a new facility: the Catholic Charities Family Services Center.
Both “projects” have been underway for quite some time. I will admit that the agency got a head start, but that project requires more people and materials. And while it’s easy to see the progress being made on the building whenever you drive by, it’s not as easy for me to determine just how much bigger baby is getting, even as my waistline expands.
Both projects are rapidly approaching our completion dates. When I think of my upcoming due date I am filled with excitement and some anxiety. Childbirth is a somewhat daunting task that I can read about and see on video. But until experiencing it first-hand, it is still a foreign concept. Becoming a parent will be a transition for me. No longer are my needs and desires my top priority. I have to consider the needs of a little person who will be depending on me. My newly expanded family will experience growing pains as we learn to adjust to sleep patterns and feeding times. At the same time, I know there will be extreme joy in being a parent and watching the development of my baby girl as she grows into her own personality.
Thinking of moving the diverse group of Catholic Charities programs and staff members into one location also fills me with excitement and anxiety. The opportunity to collaborate between programs and share resources to better meet the needs of our clients is very exciting. Yet I do wonder if I’ll need to wait in line to microwave my lunch or use the copy machine. I’m sure that “business as usual” will adjust for each of us as we are rubbing elbows with many more staff. The Catholic Charities family will also experience growing pains as we adapt to new security measures and shared spaces. Yet there will also be the joy in having a newly renovated office space, being able to ask questions directly to staff in another program without driving across town, and creating opportunities for clients to meet multiple needs all in one facility.
So as I pack a box or feel the baby kick, I realize what a thrilling time this is. There are so many things to look forward to and be excited about being a part of. And I will keep comparing the construction timeline to my own due date to see where both projects stand. Construction is notorious for delays – so I’m sure that I’m gaining on their progress. I may still win this race yet!
Finding the line between mansions and hovels
- Rob McCann, Executive Director
One of the standards that guides us in our efforts to provide housing for people is this question, asked by our previous executive director, Donna Hanson, when we were building new housing: “Would I feel comfortable having my mother live here?” Some people might say this is going too far. They might say we’re sacrificing too much quantity for quality. They might say that if we spread the money out more, we could serve more people.
They might be right. It’s tough deciding where to draw those lines. But one thing we’re always aware of is our desire not to injure human dignity. Would we really be providing a valuable service if we crammed a lot of people into cheap surroundings that did little to nourish the spirit?
What we deeply want for people is the same thing we want for our loved ones, for ourselves: a texture, a richness less material than spiritual. Making that manifest in a physical world usually results in something that is pleasing to the eye, something that makes you relax at the same time it makes you want to do better. That’s the kind of housing we like to provide for our clients.
Reconciliation
- Glori Houston, Director of Housing
2009 is the International Year of Reconciliation.
The dictionary describes reconciliation thus: Opportunities to reestablish a friendship, restore a close relationship, or bring back harmony with a colleague after a disagreement. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, describes reconciliation in this way:
It is the most powerful miracle cure for broken relationships and broken lives…It defuses conflict, turns chaos into calmness, it quiets quarrels, it swaps your stress for serenity, it turns tension into tranquility, and produces peace of mind, rather than panic or pressure.
In essence, reconciliation is the restoration of peace–with others, and in your own heart. And both are important. Why? Because, unless you create peace in your own heart, no amount of education will enable you to create peace with others. Building walls around your heart will preclude your having the experience of empathy for how other people feel–the essential ingredient of reconciliation.
But, you might say, reconciliation is easier said than done. You are absolutely correct. It is easy to confess good intentions to reconcile, but much more difficult to translate your words into action. Reconciliation is not easy. This is why it is seemingly in short supply today. But what good things in life come easy?
Rick Warren also has the following to say:
Many people are reluctant to reconcile strained relationships because they don’t understand the difference between forgiveness and trust, or the difference between reconciliation and resolution… In fact they are afraid that if they reconcile they will have to return to a hurtful or dysfunction relationship without any changes taking place.
You see, while resolution is the focus on the issues, reconciliation is a focus on the relationship. Reconciliation is not about trusting someone again, for trust is something that is earned through time. Rather, reconciliation is about forgiving people for their past actions: the realization that we are all infallible, capable of making mistakes, and sometimes swerve in the wrong direction. And thus, we would do well to give people a chance to earn back that trust, step-by-step and action-by-action.
So perhaps for 2009 it would be a good idea to look into our own hearts and make some reconciliation with others, perhaps family, former friends, or those who work around us.
Living Catholic
- Rob McCann, Executive Director
One of the meanings of the word catholic is “including or concerning all humankind; universal.” That’s one of the things I like about being Catholic. I appreciate the way I was brought up to believe that all humans contain a spark of divinity, and that it is my privilege and obligation to nurture that spark in whoever crosses my path. I’m not saying I always do it; but it’s the ideal I was taught, the ideal I believe in, the one that, when I’m at my best, guides my actions. It’s one of the guiding principles behind our work at Catholic Charities, which is one of many reasons I love being here.
Goethe said, “If you treat an individual… as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” It’s an interesting notion. Do you think people rise to the expectations we hold for them? If you treat a person as if he’s better than your experience might indicate, does that very treatment change the dynamic in a way that gives him more room to grow? If indeed we do each have a spark of divinity within us, it only makes sense to respond to that spark, to treat it as if it’s an incipient flame. Who knows what fire might begin blazing?
Changing Seasons
by Loreen McFaul, Director of Public Relations
Yesterday I went to the Christmas Bureau, as I do every year, to work at the ID table. I asked people somewhat personal questions, because, in running a charitable event, we need to have statistics to show Spokesman-Review donors that we are reputable and just how far their money goes. How many children do you have? How old are they? What is the size of your household? And finally, What is your monthly income?
They’re pretty straightforward questions. This year, though, I noticed a difference. As usual, moms were excited to talk about their children. Good parents will always put their children first, which is what brings them to the Bureau. But this year, when I asked the income question, I saw the vulnerability and despair leak out with a rawness I haven’t seen before. People had tears in their eyes, and the desperation was almost palpable. “My husband got laid off.” “My hours have been reduced.” “I don’t know what’s going to happen next month.”
Volunteers at the Christmas Bureau sort toys