Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Last August, I began working for a non-profit agency that serves individuals and families in eight west suburban communities of Minneapolis. We respond to emergency needs (such as food, housing, employment, childcare, etc.) and work hard to move people from poverty toward stability and positive change. Two nights ago, there was an event at our facility where over 150 people from 18 different worship communities in the immediate area came together. We learned about the dramatic rise of poverty in the suburbs and the complexity of issues we face. Until recently, I had a certain naiveté about poverty in the suburbs. It is, after all, mostly invisible. It wasn’t until preparing for my first interview with Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners that I began to seriously think about poverty in the suburban areas of this beautiful city. Now that I work there, I am in relationships with real people ...

To me the vow means holding all things in common. I might say "my car" but it was purchased by the congregation. It does not belong to me.  I live alone so I am the only one who drives this car but if I lived with other sisters I'd be sharing my car with others. Each spring I prepare a budget for the following fiscal year. I presently have a good salary and my paycheck is payable to the Sinsinawa Dominicans and deposited in my central bank account. What I need each month to live on remains in my account. The remainder is transferred to the congregation. The congregation paid for my education. I have insurance from my place of employment and expenses not paid by insurance come from our congregation medical account. I am expected to be accountable for the budget I submitted and had approved last spring. I also know if I have unexpected expenses the congregation is there to help me.  I know I must do my part but I also know the congregation is there for me.  We hol...