Last week, I spoke with Maureen Doolan-Boyle. I know Maureen initially because her wonderful children went to SJB! However, I learned over those year that she has a great connection to St. Anne's and is one of the founding members of the Hospitality Too Soup Kitchen. I snuck over to post this (we have a little down time this morning) to share with you her e-mail to me:"I am so very happy that you are in St. Anne's! What a wonderful experience with such good, hard working people. The challenges we saw in that community were so very different from what we had seen in any other parish we ever belonged to. The generosity of spirit and the mingling of cultures in this community were some of the best gifts we ever could have given our children as they were growing up. We were active members of St. Anne's for about 20 yrs. The people of St. Anne's were there for us when we needed them and even when we thought we were giving back they were still teaching us and sharing the spirit.
I knew about Dorothy Day before St. Anne's but I "met" her in the old school basement on a cold November morning when discussion of the peanut butter and jelly gang first came together. I learned about dignity within poverty in a way I had never known from this experience. I also learned that not all those who are in need are gracious and thankful but it is just as important to give to and serve them with a happy heart as it is to those who seem more grateful. I saw conversion for the first time through the Little Rock Scripture Studies right before my eyes. Where grown men, only there to just get out of the house (or so they said) found their faith and then lived it. I saw people on Sundays coming to Mass who were very, very flawed (just like myself) but you could just tell that they honestly were doing the best that they could. In other communities I think that many people just had the means to hide their flaws (inside and out) but here they were accepted and in this way honest- I am who I am. What you saw is what you got and as strange as that may seem- it was refreshing.
I saw young families coming to Mass with children dressed in their Sunday best and every Sunday they were wearing the exact same dress or suit because it was the ONLY dress or suit they had and it was saved for Mass and special occasions. Sure there were flip flops and inappropriate t-shirts but the women wearing skirts and the fathers in collared shirts stood out and impressed me and reminded me how important it was make the effort. I had never before seen ushers who were responsible for stopping people after Communion from taking the Eucharist home. This never would have occurred to me but it has stayed with me. There was a reverence in this parish that was felt because it was challenged and the sacredness of the Mass became more important I think because of this.
Being an RC was not the only game in town- how many churches are there in Brentwood? TONS right? There are plenty of options for those who are interested and amazingly St. Anne's and the Roman Catholic church was where these people chose to be on any given Sunday. Over and over again simple things within the Mass and within the American RC culture needed to be explained (during Mass) for those who were "checking it out" or new to the community/culture and as someone who was born and raised an RC this old time education was really surprisingly helpful and a wonderful reminder of why Catholics do the things that they do.
I hope that you not only enjoy your experience at St. Annes and that meet as many wonderful people as we did while living there."
My experiences here at St. Anne's are not new - this community has been changing lives for many years!
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