Br. Charles, Molly, Br. Bob, Allison and Br. John in front of the portrait of Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt in the center hall of the Christian Brother Volunteer Residence in New Orleans.
Molly and Allison were members of the community from September 2010 to August 2011, sharing prayer, meals and community life with the Brothers while pursuing ministry at Operation Helping Hands, a sponsored work of Catholic Charities in New Orleans. They worked as long-term volunteers rebuilding housing and supervising crews who came for week long projects from parishes, schools and organizations in the United States. Br. Bob also works at Operation Helping Hands, while Br. Charles volunteers with the Presentation Sisters at Lantern Light Ministries providing lunches and services to the homeless, and Br. John serves as an educational consultant, process facilitator and retreat director for school and church groups in New Orleans [and wherever he is invited--from Madison, Wisconsin to Huntsville, Alabama to Honolulu, Hawaii.]
The volunteers for 2011-2012 have not appeared yet! We will contact volunteers doing ministry in New Orleans who are be interested in living in community with Christian Brothers and sharing in prayer, meals [eating and preparing!] and community life--discussion, reflection and offering hospitality. The latter is very important to the community--we welcome co-workers to share dinner with us frequently and when groups from Edmund Rice affiliated schools, or when groups affiliated with the volunteers are in town we offer an evening of food and reflection in our residence.
Students from one of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers high schools gather with Br. John and the volunteer community for reflection after dinner, and before dessert.
The volunteers commit to joining fully in community life, and making community a priority--we are a community not a hostel. We have been a volunteer community for three years, and other religious communities in New Orleans are now making similar arrangements.
Former volunteers from our community are now pursuing graduate work in Boston and Chicago, working in Washington, DC, working in early childhood education in Seattle, and working with the handicapped in the Mid-West. Our two most recent alumnae have chosen to remain in New Orleans, Molly is doing early childhood education and Allison continues with Operation Helping Hands. [We rely on her to keep an eye on Br. Bob!]
If you or someone you know is interested in experiencing a faith-based community committed to working to educate for justice so we might have peace, volunteer communities like this one may be an avenue to pursue.
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