A New CW in St. Louis
There’s a new Catholic Worker community coming to the St. Louis area; here are the details.
Three friends are starting a new house of hospitality in St. Louis. The trio hosted a local gathering on April 30, coinciding with the eve of the Catholic Worker’s 90th anniversary, bringing together individuals eager to support their cause.
The founders are Lindsey Myers, a former Andre House member; Chrissy Kirchhoefer, previously associated with Columbia’s Kabat House and now part of NWTRCC; and Theo Kayser, currently an itinerant CWer and formerly of the LA Catholic Worker and Karen House, among others.
The new community has issued its inaugural newsletter, provisionally titled “In The Shell of The Old,” a nod to the well-known IWW slogan often echoed by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. The newsletter is available via email.
The first issue of the newsletter includes a statement that reads in part: “The St. Louis Catholic Worker hopes to build a world where it is easier to be good, a world where each has according to their needs and gives according to their abilities, a world where interactions between peoples and communities is direct and personal and is governed by Love and concern for the common good rather than harmful institutions such as extractive capitalism or a militarized, carceral state.” You can read the entire newsletter here.
While Theo plans to continue his travels until fall, Lindsey, Chrissy, and a passionate group of supporters are exploring potential locations for the Catholic Worker house. They have also started hosting community-building gatherings on the last Saturday of each month.
For more than forty years, St. Louis was home to Karen House Catholic Worker, which closed in 2020.
Those in St. Louis wishing to stay informed about future gatherings, volunteer opportunities, or other local Catholic Worker activities can sign up for the group’s email list by completing this Google form or by e-mailing StLouisCatholicWorker@gmail.com. You can also connect with the group on Facebook or visit their website at www.stlcatholicworker.org. They also have a listing in the Catholic Worker Community Directory.
What the St. Louis Catholic Worker Hopes to Build
The following is from the inaugural issue of the St. Louis Catholic Worker newsletter.
The St. Louis Catholic Worker hopes to build a world where it is easier to be good, a
world where each has according to their needs and gives according to their abilities,
a world where interactions between peoples and communities is direct and personal
and is governed by Love and concern for the common good rather than harmful
institutions such as extractive capitalism or a militarized, carceral state.
To this end we advocate:
- Clarification of thought: to know where we are, how we got here, and where it is
we should be going - Mutual Aid: to share from our excess and receive in our need through direct and
reciprocal interaction with our human family - Resistance: to oppose oppression wherever it is found
The revolution we propose would be non-violent, decentralized, sustainable, soil
based, abolitionist, personalist, communitarian, spirit led, and immediate. We hope
that all people of goodwill might join this effort in their own place and context so that
we might together help to build a new society in the shell of the old.
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