As a Catholic Worker Community, we are committed to our primary goal of providing hospitality, within a loving live-in community, for Women Survivors of sexual exploitation. Additionally, we also see the importance of providing voluntary educational and spiritual opportunities for our survivor community AND for our broader community. And we have good news: THAT MEANS YOU!! So, we are now excited to extend the following three invitations to you:

1. Dorothy Day concluded her autobiography with these famous lines, “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. It all happened while we sat there talking and it is still going on.” We at the St. Bakhita Catholic Worker know that community is still going on in our midst… and we’d like to invite you to be part of it in a new way! Starting this September, all interested women are invited to gather once each month on a Saturday morning for a time of socializing, spiritual nourishment, and intentional conversation to build community and to care for your soul. These Soul Care Saturdays will be facilitated by our Catholic Worker, Laura, in a way that will foster connection with your truest self and with one another in the format of a mini-retreat. Our first gathering will be on Saturday, September 20th, from 9 AM – 12 PM (gathering at 9, program to start at 9:30). If you’d like to learn more, or to reserve a space, please email Laura at SoulcareMKE@gmail.com with Soul Care Saturdays in the subject line. We hope to see you soon!
2. We also invite you to join the third cohort group to engage in our seven-month “Dorothy Day Deep Dive” book study entitled Dorothy Day—Patron Saint of Both/And. It involves a group of up to 15 individuals (women or men) who will gather once a month, for seven months, learning about Dorothy and the Catholic Worker Movement. It is designed for those who have already read The Long Loneliness and want to take a deeper historical dive into the theological, intellectual, historical, and spiritual roots of the Catholic Worker. The first 15 people to email only register will be in our third group. Thus far, it has been such a wonderful and transformative experience. We will be closing registration on September 30th. We will notify you shortly after you register as to whether there is still space. Please see the syllabus and registration information below.
3. We want to extend, once again, an open invitation to our intimate Masses in our beautiful chapel. Bishop Jeff Haines is generally the presider. Mass is celebrated nearly every Tuesday at 5:15 PM (please check website for cancellations). One event that occurred during a Mass in July was a beautiful 25-year wedding anniversary blessing. It was very intimate and extremely touching. Bishop Jeff extends an open invitation to anyone who would like to have a similar experience (no matter the # anniversary) at one of his Masses. Just contact me at anne@bakhitahouse.org and we can arrange this at one of our Tuesday at 5:15 PM celebrations of the Mass!

We would absolutely love to have you join us for one, two, or all three of these community-building opportunities. In fact, we would like to suggest that gathering together may be one of the solutions to the challenges of our day. In the words of Dorothy, ”Even the most ardent revolutionist, seeking to change the world, to overturn the tables of the money changers, is trying to make a world where it is easier for people to love, to stand in that relationship with each other of love.” LET US BEGIN!

Blessings and peace,
Anne

INFORMATION FOR DOROTHY DAY DEEP DIVE:

Dorothy Day-Patron Saint of Both/And- A Seven-Month Study

It is our hope that this experience will broaden and deepen your understanding of the Catholic Worker Movement that was cofounded by Dorothy Day. With this in mind, we hope that you will feel a “revolution of the heart”. And in turn, may her life witness personally inspire you to act!