The August Compassion Offering is The Greater Turning Catholic Worker House of Hospitality. The Great Turning Catholic Worker Farm is a community on the west side of Madison offering hospitality and community to people experiencing homelessness. We prioritize mothers with their children, refugees, asylees, and immigrants. Guests have been referred to us by St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish, folks in the Meadowood and Prairie Hills neighborhoods, and soon the Catholic Multicultural Center.

A ‘house of hospitality’ within the Catholic Worker movement provides shelter, and often food and clothing, to those in need. The Catholic Worker was founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in New York in 1933 amidst the Great Depression as a way to live out Catholic Social Teaching and the Gospel values– responding to the needs of those immediately around them.

At the Great Turning, we usually expect to have from one to four adult guests and one live-in volunteer. We come together for one community meal each week (we’d like to do more, with more support), a monthly roundtable discussion, and other time together with guests depending on support needed that we can provide.

We’d like to thank all of you at Orchard Ridge UCC for your support. This is a community endeavor, and not something our organization is trying to do in isolation. If this model resonates with you, consider joining us for a work day on Saturday, August 12 from 8:00 am to noon (1409 Lucy Ln), focused on both outdoor projects for the house and inside projects that more directly benefit guests. In addition, we are looking for other kinds of support including meal preparation, childcare, transportation for guests, gardening, house maintenance, and financial support. Or see the listing in the ORUCC e-post each Thursday throughout the month of August for household items to donate. Thank you!

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/v7b04d5I-fY