Catholic Worker House opens in Iowa City

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Father Rudolph T. Juarez of St. Patrick’s Church in Iowa City takes a branch from a bush for a blessing at an open house for the new Catholic Worker House in Iowa City on July 2, 2016. The Catholic Worker House is based on a movement started by Dorothy Day during the Great Depression, in which volunteers offer works of mercy to their communities. The Catholic Worker House members plan to provide food, and eventually short-term shelter, for those in need. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Jul 8, 2016 at 6:18 pm
Emily Barske

On July 2, a group gathered to celebrate a first-of-its-kind house in Iowa City.

The night before, community leaders received the keys to the residence at 1414 Sycamore St., which is set to become the city’s first Catholic Worker House.

“This is a community house,” David Goodner, a leader spearheading the project in Iowa City, said at the ceremonial blessing of the house with 20 people in attendance. “It’s yours as much as it’s anyone’s.”

Though not affiliated with a specific Catholic church, the house is part of movement started during the Great Depression by Dorothy Day. The premise of the Catholic Worker movement is to have volunteers provide their communities with the works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and visit the imprisoned, Goodner said.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/life/community/catholic-worker-house-opens-in-iowa-city-20160708

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