This is the general question-and-answer page. If you are interested in living in our community as a volunteer, please see the Join Us page for more information.
What is the Winona Catholic Worker?
The Winona Catholic Worker is a small, intentional community in the tradition of the Catholic Worker movement. We practice the Works of Mercy named by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (25:35-36). In particular, we offer hospitality to those in need of food, shelter, and a friendly word. Our work embodies our commitment to community, voluntary poverty, hospitality, stewardship, nonviolence, and faith. These commitments lead us to challenge and work to change systems of injustice.What is the Winona Catholic Worker?
Our community owns two houses: Bethany House (832 W. Broadway) and Dan Corcoran House (802 W. Broadway). When we have enough live-in volunteers, these houses provide meals and overnight hospitality to single men, single women, and families. Bethany House can provide up to five single men with a place to sleep for up to a month, while Dan Corcoran House can provide up to ten guests with shelter. Our evening meal typically serves between ten and thirty guests and community members.
To learn more about our community, read the Who We Are and Core Commitments pages. To learn more about the Catholic Worker movement, read about its history or its aims and means, both at the Catholic Worker movement website (created and maintained by one of the founders of our community).
Are you a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization?
The Winona Catholic Worker is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the state of Minnesota; however, we do not have IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Any gifts to the Winona Catholic Worker (and we receive all of our funding through your gifts) are liable to be taxed. Most Catholic Worker communities are not tax exempt. Why? As Dorothy Day wrote:
Christ commanded His followers to perform what Christians have come to call the Works of Mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the harborless, visiting the sick and prisoner, and burying the dead. Surely a simple program for direct action, and one enjoined on all of us. Not just for impersonal "poverty programs," government-funded agencies, but help given from the heart at a personal sacrifice. ... We believe ... that the government has no right to legislate as to who can or who are to perform the Works of Mercy.In short, government regulation should not complicate our personal responsibility as Christians to perform the Works of Mercy.
Does the Winona Catholic Worker have a political or religious affiliation?
The Winona Catholic Worker does not have a political affiliation. Our ideas about civic engagement are rooted in the Gospel values of love of neighbor, non-violent resistance to evil, and the Works of Mercy, especially as those ideas have been developed in the Catholic Worker tradition and in what has been called "Christian anarchism." We believe in taking personal responsibility for living out the Gospel, rather than expecting others (such as the government) to live it out for us. A letter to the editor from one of our live-in community members captures the spirit of this philosophy well; you can read it here. For these reasons, many members of our core community choose not to vote or get involved in politics. Others do.
The Winona Catholic Worker is rooted in the tradition of the Catholic Worker movement, which is in turn rooted in the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. However, the Catholic Worker is not formally affiliated with the Catholic Church. Since our founding, members of our core community have been affiliated with a wide variety of faiths: some have been Catholic; others, Evangelical; others, Mormon or Quaker. Many have practiced a spirituality not affiliated with any religious institution.
How is the Winona Catholic Worker funded?
We rely entirely on private donations for our continued operation. We receive no government or foundation funding. We are able to operate on a shoestring budget, because our live-in volunteers are not paid a salary or stipend, and because we receive many donations of food from the community.
How many people are served by the Winona Catholic Worker?
We no longer keep track of the numbers of guests staying overnight. We are focused more on serving people in a personal, one-on-one way than on processing large numbers of people.
Having said that, the following may offer some insight into the scope of the work we do:
- We are able to provide overnight hospitality for up to five single men at Bethany House; all our available beds are occupied more often than not.
- The Dan Corcoran House has three guest bedrooms; depending on the number of children staying with us, we may have as many as 8-10 people staying overnight there, although it is more typical for us to have 3-6 overnight guests. For more than a year, we have been unable to provide overnight hospitality for women and children at the Dan Corcoran House due to a lack of live-in volunteers.
- We provide drop-in hospitality on weekdays from 4-7 p.m. During this time, anyone may come to shower, do laundry, grab a cup of coffee, read the paper, play a game, get groceries or personal hygeine supplies, or just hang out. We serve a meal at 6 p.m. that is open to anyone. Between 10 and 20 people typically participate in the meal on any given night.
- We distribute surplus food to people in low-income housing on a weekly basis.