The Homeless and Hungry in America: A Meditation for Lent; Remembering Chuck Matthei

As part of the Karpos Ministry at St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio, we try to feed the hungry and homeless. This winter we have offered many homeless people emergency shelter when the temperatures were bitterly cold. And if someone needs a coat, hat, gloves, or socks, we provide for them. We do not have huge funding; no paid employees; no big organization. What we do have is faithful and dedicated volunteers and the support of our church and our pastor. Some of our volunteers are Catholics, members of St. Mary's parish; many are of different faiths. All passionately believe in living and fostering the corporal and spiritual Works of Mercy.

Today in the mail I received The Catholic Worker newspaper--the one published by the Catholic Workers on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The March-April 2014 issue has a beautiful woodcut with the words of the Moroccan poet, Abdellatif Laabi:

"In these days of abstinence, it was a source of pride to me to be hungry and to disturb a little the shameful peace of those who starve our people."

A thought-provoking remark in the season of Lent. Who is it that allows, even fosters, the great hunger and homelessness we see in Painesville and throughout our country?

Abdellatif Laabi's remark makes me think of Chuck Matthei (1948-2002), the great Peacemaker, who once told me that he fasted every Friday in solidarity with the hungry of the world. Chuck was a kind of saint. He felt he was called to such extraordinary action. We are probably not called to that. But we all are called to the task of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and sheltering the homeless--and trying to cure our society of these problems.

Here is a site with a short bio of Chuck and some photos: Remembering Chuck Matthei.

My old friend Wendy Rawlins Tuck is currently researching and writing a biography of Chuck.

Chuck Matthei

Patsy Harman's Novel, "The Midwife of Hope River"

I just finished reading Patsy Harman's debut novel, "The Midwife of Hope River." The appearance of this book is especially exciting for me because I knew Patsy and many of her friends in the 1970s (including Tom Harman, Kenny Przybylski, Timmy Jenkins, Wendy Rawlins Tuck, and many others). Patsy has published two other outstanding books in the past few years. In 2009 she published "The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir." Then in 2012 she came out with "Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey." I loved "Arms Wide Open" because for me it was a kind of puzzle trying to figure out who was who (she disguised people's names and identities except for her and her husband Tom Harman). I think "Arms Wide Open" is a major contribution to the literature and history of the peace movement and the communitarian movement (Patsy and Tom established communities in Batavia, Ohio, and Spencer West Virginia; I lived in the Batavia house after the communards left; and I visited the Spencer community on two or three occasions).

"The Midwife of Hope River" is fictional, set in West Virginia of  1930 (with flashbacks to other times and places). But like all good fiction, the book is "truer than true." and taps into archetypal reality. You really care about the characters--Patience Murphy, Bitsy, the veterinarian Daniel, and the many women that Patience served as a midwife.

I am astonished at Patsy's skill as a writer. You can't help but wonder how such incredible talent emerged so late in life. I am reminded of a letter that Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote to Walt Whitman:

"I greet you at the beginning of a great career, which yet must have had a long foreground somewhere, for such a start." 

I don't know what Patsy's foreground was. Maybe it was writing letters or diary entries or journals. Whatever it was, it has prepared Patsy for an extraordinary career rather later in life than we normally see.

Hurray for Patsy Harman! Hurray for these wonderful books!

Patricia (Patsy) Harman's book "Arms Wide Open"

I am about 50 pages into Patsy Harman's book, Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey. The book was published in 2011 by Beacon Press. It is a very very good book!

I met Patsy about 38 years ago, when she was a hippy and peace agitator. I can't say I ever knew her very well. But I did visit the communes in Batavia, Ohio, and Spencer, West Virginia where she lived. I knew her husband, Dr. Tom Harman (I can hardly believe Tom's a physician!), and many of her friends: Kenny Przybylski, Wendy Rawlins Tuck, Tim Jenkins, Chuck Matthei, and so many more. I even lived in the ragged Batavia farmhouse after this group left for their West Virginia adventure (Rick Anderson was my house mate)..

To me the book reads like a "roman a clef," names of the characters changed to protect the innocent and guilty. The only actual names I think Patsy is using are her own name and her husband Tom's name.

So far the book has drama and tension--necessary ingredients to keep us reading. And I find the sentences well-crafted, almost at times like poetry. I keep wondering how Patsy learned to write so beautifully in a life that has been so full (and at times so hard).

Patsy has one other memoir out, The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir (Beacon Press, 2009), and a novel, The Midwife of Hope River (William Morrow, 2012). I am going to read all of these books. I am so excited to see her talent blossom out like this.

Let the Wolf Come Knocking

(“As John Ortberg said, the wolf knocks at the door of every little piggy.” From a sermon by Wendy Rawlins Tuck.)

There is no escaping this Wolf,
Who might be the Lord
Or might be the Devil
Or maybe both.

Just think of his (or her!) visit
As an opportunity for both fear and consolation,
Loneliness and Love,
Despair and Redemption.

Let the Wolf huff and puff all he wants:
You, my friend, are protected by the Spirit
And the Sign of the Cross.

[Robert M. Coughlin
October 12, 2009]