Catholic Worker in Guadalupe California
Catholic Worker
From: Dennis Apel <jda...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 8, 2023, 18:09
Beatitude House is a Catholic Worker house in Guadalupe on the Central Coast of California. The house was founded by Tensie Hernandez and Dennis Apel in 1996 and for the past 27 years has provided support for people most of whom are field workers and most of whom are undocumented. We have provided English classes, a supplemental food program, a donated clothes program and a free medical clinic. The house also has three bedrooms for hospitality for people needing transitional housing. The work we do is highly relational as we have gotten to know intimately many of the folks who come to us, and aside from the programs listed above we do a significant amount of advocacy for issues around health, disability, workers’ compensation, legal issues and immigration issues.
Dennis and Tensie are getting older and although they have had a few other community members over the years, none have stayed long enough to take over the house and work. We are casting our net out to see if there is a couple or individuals who would like to continue the work. The infrastructure is in place and the relationships established, we are just looking for someone to carry it on.
We don’t need someone to necessarily follow in our footsteps, but we do have an image of the type of person or persons we would like to see continue here. She/he would come from a faith perspective; be motivated by a spiritual foundation for why they would want to be of service to the community. She/he would speak Spanish. She/he would be more interested in how they might improve the lives of those on the margins than in how they might improve their own lives. She/he would understand that any proposal for the use of the house would be for the wider community regardless of how that service might be envisioned or carried out. In other words it doesn’t need to follow our vision of service; it just needs to be of service.
And so we send this notice out hoping that it might resonate with someone who feels that what is available here resonates somewhat with their path and journey. Again, one needs to speak Spanish to be of service here. If you are interested, call Dennis or Tensie at (805) 343-6322 and we can have a conversation.
