St. Martin De Porres Catholic Worker of Harrisburg

06/06/2026

"Do Not Neglect Hospitality!" The man, the myth, the legend Dr. Harry Murray visited the house during hospitality this week on a trip through Harrisburg.

Read more about Harry and his insights into the "aporia" or contradictions of Catholic Worker hospitality at the interview Renée did with him at Roundtable:

https://catholicworker.substack.com/p/boy-i-did-a-great-job-i-fulfilled

And summertime means vegetables from the farmer's market!! Our fearless leader Paul (right) was handing out fresh greens to folks passing by this morning as neighbors watered the community farm (behind James and Harry in the picture to the left).

Come by next Saturday to join in a community farm workday! 🌱☀️

06/05/2026

We are saddened and outraged at the injustice being done to Eliza and her family by Children and Youth Services in Dauphin County—an agency intended to protect children is causing grievous harm. Read more at CBS 21. If you would like to contribute to the support of Eliza and her family, please contact us.

A Harrisburg Mexican-American family says a lack of Spanish language support in the child welfare and justice systems has kept them separated for more than two

06/03/2026

Congratulations to Renée on this exciting fellowship at Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown. Here's to a year of "blowing the dynamite" of Catholic Social Teaching in our lives, and unwrapping the Social Gospel from nice "phraeseology," as Peter Maurin wrote, to let it create the City of God in our world of Babel today.

"To blow the dynamite
of a message
is the only way
to make the message dynamic.
If the Catholic Church
is not today
the dominant social dynamic force,
it is because Catholic scholars
have failed to blow the dynamite
of the Church.
Catholic scholars
have taken the dynamite
of the Church,
have wrapped it up
in nice phraseology,
placed it in an hermetic container
and sat on the lid.
It is about time
to blow the lid off
so the Catholic Church
may again become
the dominant social dynamic force."

- Peter Maurin

The Initiative welcomes its 2026-27 fellows: Bob Bordone, Cecilia Flores, Jean Welch Hill, David Jimenez, Sr. Mūmbi Kīgūtha, CPPS, Marcus Mescher, Santiago Ramos, and Renée Darline Roden

Read more about the fellows and the announcement here: https://catholicsocialthought.georgetown.edu/subtopics/2026-2027-fellows

05/18/2026

Come join two solidarity pilgrims on THURSDAY for the final leg of the 80-mile Witness Walk from Lewisburg to Harrisburg!!

05/14/2026

It's been a busy spring at St. Martin de Porres and Mama Mary Farm! Grateful for all our friends who celebrated Olivia's new apartment with a housewarming party and who came out to help clean up and plant in Mama Mary Farm!

Come join us for (finally!!) a sunny Saturday morning gardening day this Saturday!!

05/07/2026

Don't forget to come to our Hospitality Training this Saturday!

We are in need of volunteers to help host our Wednesday hospitality days from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m!

You may ask your self:

What is hospitality? What happens during hospitality? What is the point? Who is there? What's the goal? What are the rules? What do I need to do? Who will be there with me?

If you 1) have these questions, have 2) time over the summer and are 3) interested in helping out on one or two Wednesdays over the summer, please come to a training meeting on Saturday, May 9 at 3 p.m. at the house

If you can't make that meeting, feel free to write to us and set up another time to chat and answer those questions!

05/02/2026

Happy 93, Catholic Worker! Grateful to Fr. Jim Lease of Saint Catherine Laboure Parish for celebrating Mass, for his wonderful homily on the challenge of the Gospel and the gift of Catholic Social Teaching and personalism for the digital age, and for the 20-odd guests who crammed into the dining room for Mass, and provided so much yummy food, including this giant cake!

05/01/2026

Join us for a House MASS for St. Joseph the Worker starting at 5:30 p.m. and a potluck dinner to follow! Praying to St. Joseph for Good Weather and it's here!