+ Advent
Appeal 
of the Oscar Romero Catholic Worker
House
In 1999, I was worked as a contractor at Catholic Charities OKC
helping with their response to the
1999 tornado disaster in Oklahoma City when I came to a discernment
decision to start the
Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House. The first person I told
outside of the household here was Sister Gail Addis,
who also worked at Catholic Charities OKC. She gave me kind of an
odd look and hurried out of the room.
I thought, “What did I say?” She came back quickly and gave me two
twenty dollar bills. She said, with the
loving practicality of her years of experiences in the Sisters of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary – “You’re going to need some money.”
I looked at the twenty dollar bills in my hand, and thought – “She’s
right.” And she was right.
We did need money then, and we have needed money a lot between then
and now.
Food. Gasoline. Phone. Domain
hosting. The occasional utility bill or rent payment for someone.
It’s pretty prosaic and predictable. Nothing very
exciting. Here we are 12 years into this, and the same thing
is going on.
People call for food assistance and we deliver. Sometimes we have
more to deliver, sometimes a bit less, but
thanks to the generosity of our benefactors and the Dorothy Day
Center and St. Charles Borromeo Parish
and the people who come to do the deliveries, somehow it all gets
done.
We are grateful for teh past, present, and future generosity of our
financial benefactors. The simple truth
of our work is that we can’t do what we do without some money.
There are paper bags to be
bought, trucks to be rented, a phone bill to pay, domains to be
hosted. We help support the Dorothy Day Center by contributing to
their expenses.
I know that in these days, there are many needs that need to be met,
and few of us have enough money to be as generous as perhaps we
would
like to be with every request that ends up in our in-box. I simply
ask that you continue to support us with your prayer and if you are
so led by the Spirit, to make a financial donation in support of our
work here in Oklahoma City this holy day season. You can
donate via paypal to jpeaceokc@yahoo.com, or you can send a check
payable to “Catholic
Worker House” to 1524 NW 21, OKC 73106. We pray for
our benefactors every day, and if you have special prayer requests,
please send them to us.
We invite you also to join with us in the actual work of delivering
the food. Visit our 2012 Schedule
for upcoming dates.
During this First Week of Advent, as we look forward to the coming
of our Lord, I pray that all of us will follow the example of
Oscar Romero of El Salvador, and open our hearts to the Lord's call
to be justice and peace, wisdom and beauty in our communities and to
the world.
Bob Waldrop,
on behalf of the thousands of people we served in 2011.
Venite Adoremus,
10 improvisational meditations on
the music of Advent, Nativity, and Epiphany, recorded live by Bob
Waldrop on the
Yamaha Conservatory grand piano at the Church of the Epiphany of
the Lord in Oklahoma City. Funds from the sale of the CD benefit
the
ministries of the Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House.