New Kansas City CW Will Nurture Creativity and ‘a Listening Society’
A new Catholic Worker community in Kansas City, Missouri, will focus on hospitality, nurturing creativity, and “building a listening society,” according to founders Wilhelm and Sally Höjer. The couple hope to raise nearly $200,000 to launch the project; their appeal letter follows.
The following appeal letter was written by Wilhelm and Sally Höjer as they plan to launch the San Sebastian Catholic Worker.
We are hoping to open a Catholic Worker House in the Historic Northeast area of Kansas City, MO. We have long been interested in the Catholic Worker movement and how it is being lived out in our day. We have spent time in several different Catholic Worker houses and other communal living situations over the past ten years searching and asking what we are being called to and how could God be asking us to use our specific gifts to make the world more beautiful. What has ultimately pushed us to realize that we feel called to start a Catholic Worker house is the continued understanding of the needs we see all around us. The needs of our times. Namely the needs that the disintegration of community, the rise in loneliness and the lack of beauty and art in our world has caused. That is why the San Sebastian Catholic Worker house will be, primarily, a community hub centered on the arts, music, and food. It will focus on gathering people together to discuss, but more importantly, to listen to one another. We hope to co-create a listening society. Will our efforts change the world? We think so. Will this house bring the Kingdom of God on earth? We can only pray. Is the best way to change the world to start in your own backyard? Perhaps it is to start in your own soul, and then open the doors to your well-tended interior garden. However it will go, we will be committed to loving ourselves and our neighbors and in doing so commit to the hope that God will do what only he can do. In the words of Dorothy Day, “No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There’s too much work to do.”
What the San Sebastian house will offer:
- A room (or two) that will be available for temporary (or long term) housing for those in need. Emergency housing, transition housing, or housing for those who can’t afford it on their own. It will be a free place to stay for those God brings our way. Because this will be a family-run Catholic Worker House, we would use discretion in who we house and would opt to help women, families, and elderly first. We also have a specific vision for multigenerational living and to bring the young and the old back together.
- An open art studio equipped with supplies for ceramics, painting, weaving, and other mediums as it grows. This will be a space that will host monthly talks, classes and a pop-up gallery showcase through the help of volunteers.
- An open recording studio with equipment to help local musicians express themselves through sound. This will be a space where people can also offer their talents and gain talent with music production, sound mixing, and instrument lessons through the help of volunteers. This will also be a springboard for musicians to connect to form bands and have a space to practice.
- A monthly community dinner that will be held in the style of a silent monastic meal with a meditation or reading being presented. The meal will be followed by a group discussion and reflection time on the reading.
- A monthly “village prenatal” for expecting mothers in the area. A village prenatal is one way that women are bringing birth back to their communities. It is not a medical assessment, or a place to judge a mother-to-be’s birth plan or choices. It is a sacred space to love and support the Holy Women who are carrying life within them. Life that is the future of our world.
The Spirit that we hope the San Sebastian Catholic Worker House will create:
Our vision is for a house that becomes a community center and a gathering place for all types of people. The house will base itself on the ancient rhythms of the Church’s Liturgical year with all of its feast days and congruence with nature. As the first Catholic Workers understood, and as Dorothy Day said, “we cannot build up the idea of the apostolate of the laity without the foundation of the Liturgy.” Our works will be supported by this foundation. There is no discrimination in those we are called to serve and love, but we will be glad to share what it is that gives us strength and inspiration to carry on. We hope to give new life to the ancient teachings of the Catholic Church, the papal encyclicals that are still relevant to our day and a renewed curiosity for how the Holy Spirit is speaking through the church now. We have a particular love for the social encyclical of Pope Francis, “Laudauto Si”, which touches upon the relationship between God, nature, and our fellow man.
Why San Sebastian?
As a lesser-known patron saint of Rome, the Eternal City, where our story began and we met one another, St. Sebastian is of universal fame in the art world. He is recognized by his body pierced with arrows, hands behind his back tied to a pillar. Wilhelm spent the early days of his conversion to the Catholic faith living on the Appia Antica and walking past the Church of St. Sebastian. So moved was he, by this church and this saint, that he took the name Sebastian as his confirmation name. We then gave the name to our son, Crispin, as his third name and have now adopted St. Sebastian as our family’s patron. As we ask for his intercession in all things in our lives, we ask especially that he will intercede for us as we take the steps to open an arts-based Catholic Worker House with his name.
What we need:
We need financial support from those interested in this vision to buy a house that would be appropriate for a Catholic Worker house. Practically, there are a couple of houses that we have been looking at that would allow us to start the San Sebastian Catholic Worker House. The one that we think would be best is currently listed at $163,000. This house is in good condition but needs a few renovations, namely to convert a side garage into the art studio, turn the basement into a music studio, replace the windows, as well as some small updating to the kitchen. If we were to purchase the house at its listed price, we estimate that another $30,000 would be needed to do the renovations and leave a small bit of money to support the start of opening its doors. After that, we will rely on our own paychecks, volunteers, and potential incoming donations to continue to sustain us. We are sure that there is a way through grant money, donations, and perhaps an interest-free private loan to buy a house. We are currently writing letters and sending requests to those we think would want to support this vision. That is why we are writing to you. We also have a GoFundMe page that we hope will help. If this is something you or someone you know would be interested in supporting please connect us via email or call/text,:
wilhelmhojer@gmail.com
Thank you for prayerfully considering co-creating this with us, and perhaps most importantly of all, to keep our family in your prayers as we move forward with the San Sebastian Catholic Worker House. We are excited to see the fruit that will be born!
With every blessing,
Wilhelm, Sally, Crispin and Clemence Höjer
*see below links for more information on the origins of the Catholic Worker Movement and its founders, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin:
A link to our blog to learn more about our journey until now:
GoFundMe Link:
