Kommuniteten Senapskornet in Luleå, Sweden (CCW Ep 21)
In this episode of “Coffee with Catholic Workers,” Theo Kayser interviews Elisabeth and Josh Armstrong about their lives at the Kommuniteten Senapskornet (Mustard Seed Community) Catholic Worker in Luleå, Sweden.
In this episode of “Coffee with Catholic Workers,” Theo Kayser interviews Elisabeth and Josh Armstrong about their lives at the Kommuniteten Senapskornet (Mustard Seed Community) Catholic Worker in Luleå, Sweden.
Episode summary
The following episode summary was autogenerated by AI from the audio transcript and subsequently reviewed and lightly edited ; all the usual caveats apply. It’s provided here to aid discoverability. If you’d like to help provide episode summaries or transcripts for Coffee with Catholic Worker episodes, reach out at info@catholicworker.org.
In this episode of “Coffee with Catholic Workers,” host Theo Kayser interviews Elisabeth and Josh Armstrong from The Mustard Seed Catholic Worker in Luleå, Sweden. Co-host Lydia was not present for this episode.
Josh shares his journey to the Catholic Worker movement, starting with his military deployment to Iraq, where he faced a moral dilemma reconciling his military role with his Christian faith. This crisis led him to the Catholic Worker movement and eventually to Cherith Brook Catholic Worker in Kansas City. His involvement with the community encouraged him to apply for conscientious objector status.
Elisabeth, originally from Sweden, was influenced by her experiences at a Bible school focused on environmental and justice issues. Her journey to the Catholic Worker movement began after visiting several Christian communities in Europe, including a Catholic Worker house in Hamburg, Germany. This led her to join the Cherith Brook community in Kansas City, where she met Josh.
The couple eventually moved to Sweden but didn’t immediately start a community in Luleå. They began by organizing community meals and showers for homeless Roma people at their local church. This initiative evolved into the Mustard Seed community, where they practice hospitality, live simply, and care for the environment by growing organic vegetables, keeping chickens, and managing bees.
Elisabeth and Josh also discuss their peace activism, especially in response to Sweden’s military exercises and close relationship with NATO. They organize alternative peace events like the “Arctic Peace Challenge” to promote nonviolence and peace in contrast to military exercises in the region.
They touch on the challenges and rewards of integrating their work with their local Lutheran church, highlighting their ecumenical approach to faith and community. The couple also reflects on raising their children within the community, emphasizing the unique experience it offers.
The interview concludes with Elisabeth and Josh expressing a desire to connect with the broader Catholic Worker movement and an open invitation to those interested in joining their work in Luleå.
Coffee with Catholic Workers is a podcast by and about Catholic Workers. Every two weeks, join Lydia Wong and Theo Kayser for a conversation with some of their favorite Catholic Worker folk. Special thanks to sound engineer Chris of Bloomington, IN.
