by Mary Farrell
Whenever someone moves out of the Catholic Worker house, it is a loss and it takes some time to adjust to the change because something is amiss in the community. Diane and Mike Leutgeb-Munson moved out of Bethany House in March, prepared to start a green revolution in the country in an old stone house with a wood stove and a plot of earth to grow their own food. With their leaving, we keep sacred the memories of their time shared with us.
Their years with us at the Winona Catholic Worker were rich and full of transformation. They could be counted on for anything: for organizing the tupperware containers in the kitchen, for colorfully painting each room in both houses, for coordinating volunteers, for gardening and canning, for playing cards and games with our guests, for laying out the newsletter, for writing profound articles for the newsletter, for cooking and preparing special meals, for teaching and acting on the principles of non-violence and resistance, for entertaining the community with music and song, for bringing joy and fun into the lives of many children and for giving heart and soul to the works or mercy. We give thanks for their gift of self-giving and for their commitment to living a life that respects the earth and those who inhabit it.
This has been another transition for us as well as another opportunity to ask God to help us through this time of growth and to give us the faith and trust to see what new life will come from the seeds that Mike and Diane planted while they were living here. We ask God’s blessing on their new beginnings and for ours as well.