Service Groups

Appalachian Spring!

Students from Xavier University

 

Service opportunities like "Spring Break in Appalachia"  happen year-round at the Gift of Tears.  Being TRULY immersed in Appalachia entails learning about the beauty of this land, its culture and customs, through the mountain people who know it and express it best.  The Catholic Worker's unique service program includes MUCH more than just the swinging of hammers.  Through hard work, simple living, a field trip to coal country, social analysis, evening reflections, and the Ropes Course, you will be experiencing Catholic social teaching first hand.  We invite you to step out of your comfort zones, we challenge you to break down stereotypes, and we work with you to build community among the local people, as well as within your group. 

  St. Monica's Catholic Church, WV

The Catholic Worker Retreat House

During your time in our neck of the woods, you will be staying at the Catholic Worker Retreat House on the Sunny Bank Farm Land Trust.  This beautifully rustic log home, situated on 780 acres of rolling pastoral fields, was once the private living quarters of Jean Melarvie, now retired and living in Florida.   The Catholic Worker gratefully accepted Ms. Melarvie's lifetime rights to the house and has been using it for hospitality, service groups and retreats since 2006.   When not in use, the house is available for short-term emergency housing.


     

Flatridge Farm

You may spend an overnight and day working at Flatridge.  It’s 170 acres of cleared rolling hill-top has an incredible view overlooking the whole world!  Built, owned and operated by Wess, Nikki and Lacey Harris, Flatridge runs about 40 head of cattle for breeding and consumption. In all their “free time” when they are not tending fields or cows, Nikki works for Child Protective Services, Wess is in on grassroots community building projects and Lacey is busy being a teenager.  With them, you will see how small family farms can still be viable today.

ACCOMMODATIONS


Lindsay from XU

The Catholic Worker hosts groups of up to 20 people year round.  Accommodations should be considered communal and “rustic” compared to most standards.   
 Sleeping Arrangements - Dorm-style sleeping arrangements with males and females on separate floors.  Bunks, twin and full size beds are available.  Please bring your own sleeping bags and pillows.
 Bathroom Facilities - to save water and our fragile septic system, we flush only when necessary, and take one shower per person, per week.  Daily "bird baths" out of the sink are encouraged (!!) and baseball caps and bandanas will become your group's new fashion trend for the week.  
Meals - Food is included in your donation.  Breakfasts and lunches are simple nourishing meals and often “on the go.” Dinners are a group effort and eaten communally.  There is always a vegetarian option, more than "just salad," but vegans may want to bring their own menu items to supplement. Sign up sheets for cooking and clean-up foster service among participants.


SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
We have several work site contacts with whom we will set you up. 
Some examples of projects on and off the Farm may include:
    chopping, hauling, stacking wood
    fixing fence
    baling, stacking hay
    gardening
    house cleaning
    painting
    yard work
    small building/ demolition projects
    visiting the elderly and youth
 
 BASIC DAILY SCHEDULE
7-8   Wake up - Breakfast - Clean Up
8-12  Work Projects (On and/or Off the Farms)
12-1   Lunch
1-5    Work Projects (On and/or Off the Farms)
5-6    Wash Up / Cook Dinner / Free Time
6-7     Dinner / Clean-up
7-9     Evening Activity
9-10:30   Evening Activity, Reflection
11pm LIGHTS  OUT (Trust me. You'll want them out by then.)
 
 


Creighton University, NE

Santa Clara University, CA & University of Cincinnati, OH

Walsh University, OH
 
WARNING:  After a long day of work, you may find yourself doing things in Appalachia you would not normally do at home.                                    click here to see J.J. from XU eat a grub
 

BASIC EVENING SCHEDULE
                        Evening Activity              
Sat:        Introduction, "Appalachia 101"  
Sun:       Movie on Appalachian Culture
Mon:      Living Simply/ Intentionally 
Tues:    Speaker on Appalachian Issue     
Wed:       Broadening to a Global Scope
Thurs:   Making Connections for Home 
 
(All scheduling is subject to change at our discretion, and flexible upon your request!)

                                                    Evening Reflection
Each night we ask a question for
prayer and discussion that is
relevant to the evening activity.
If your group prepares their own
reflection, be sure to let us know
so we can plan accordingly.

 


Mercy College, OH
 
                            ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING
Eco-History TOUR   of   COAL in West Virginia

To understand the justice issues in our state, we will take a one-day trip to the coal fields to learn about the history of mining, and the economic and environmental impacts it has on the region.
 

The  ROPES  COURSE


Jarita & Laura from SLU

In order to galvanize your group, we will be taking advantage of the Ropes Course Facility at Spring Heights Education Center.  Activities include group building initiatives, low ropes elements and, if Mother Nature permits, climbing and repelling from the 50 foot tower.


Jacquie from XU
 

COST

Your donation of $175 per person per week goes towards:

  • Food and shelter

  • Materials and supplies for service projects

  • Evening educational programming

  • Fee for Ropes Course Facilitator ($10/person)

  • Small donation to WV Highlands Conservancy and OVEC (Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition) who give us free eco-tours and talks on Mountain Top Removal coal sites during our field trip day.

  • The continuation of the Catholic Worker's daily operation which includes utilities and up-keep of the Retreat House, gas and maintenance for  the vehicle, and postage and printing of the Newsletter- the Inner Voice .

 

DEPOSIT
TO SECURE YOUR DATES,
send a non-refundable deposit of $300 AND  information about your group. 
Checks may be made payable to “The Gift of Tears.”

Cancellations:
 Our existence is dependent upon  the non-tax-exempt donations we receive from visitors like you.   Once your dates are confirmed we are unable to schedule others in your place.     

 

Things to Bring:  Sleeping bag, pillow, toiletries, T-shirts, sweatshirt, coat, jeans, work boots (a must), work gloves (will save your hands), although ponchos are suave--not practical--bring a rain coat, watch, camera, journal.  Pack lightly and tightly, don’t bring anything you don’t want lost, broken, eaten or stolen by others. 
Do not forget: medications for allergies, asthma, diabetes or other conditions needing regularly prescribed drugs.  Dogs, cats, hay, pollen, dust and an occasional fellow student can cause a reaction.                                                       Leave in the Van: electronics and music (we like the quiet), junk food (critters like the sweets), cell phones (they don't work here anyway)
 

READING & RESOURCE  MATERIAL  LISTED  BELOW
 

TO SECURE YOUR DATES,
MAIL THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITH YOUR DEPOSIT.


Dates of your Stay______________________________________________
 
Estimated Time of Arrival on Saturday _______________________________
 
Estimated Time of Departure on Friday ______________________________
 
Total number of people staying at the Retreat House____________________________
 
Males _________Females _________Chaperones (m) ________(f)_________
 
 
  $300 non-refundable deposit with this information.
 
Remaining Donation Amount_________  Checks payable to “the Gift of Tears”

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 


Peace,  
Jeannie Kirkhope


" 'The art of human contacts,’ Peter called it happily.  But it was seeing Christ in others, loving the Christ you saw in others.  Greater than this, it was having faith in the Christ in others without being able to see him.”                                         -Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness

Reading and Resource Material

APPALACHIA

Books:

     1) The Appalachian Bishops' Pastoral Letters:

     2) The Appalachians-America's First and Last Frontier- edited by Mari-lyn Evans, et al.

     3) Confronting Appalachian Stereotypes-Back Talk from an American Region, edited by Dwight Billings et al.

     4) A Walk in the Woods-Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson

Videos:

     1)  The Appalachians - America's First and Last Frontier, 3 hour PBS documentary available in DVD/VHS

Website:

    1)  Appalachian Resources - http://www.uky.edu/Subject/appal.html

     2) Article on Catholic Committee of Appalachia,  www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Apr1997/feature2.asp

 

WEST VIRGINIA

     1) Facts & Figures- http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/state/westvirginia.html

      2) When Miners March, by William C. Blizzard www.whenminersmarch.com

      3)  Other places to visit while you're here: http://www.wvtourism.com/

 

THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT

Books:  for these and others, go to: http://www.catholicworker.com/bookstore/index.html

   1) Dorothy Day Selected Writings, edited by Robert Ellsburg

   2) On Pilgrimage, by Dorothy Day

   3)  Loves & Fishes, by Dorothy Day

   4)  The Long Loneliness, by Dorothy Day

   5)  Easy Essays, by Peter Maurin

   6)  Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, edited by Phil Runkel, et al.

Videos:

  1)  Entertaining Angels, with Moira Kelly, Martin Sheen

Websites:

  1) www.catholicworker.org

 

OTHER TOPICS & SITES OF INTEREST

Some of the issues confronting the Appalachian region are: absentee ownership of land, an economy based on extraction of resources such as coal and timber -often with environmental consequences, poverty, hunger and homelessness, private prisons, pervasive drug usage.  Other issues are more subtle: a large military budget resulting in cutbacks in social services and education, disproportionate number of Appalachian youth joining the military because of high unemployment, US domestic and foreign policies that affect the local economy, racism, sexism, and other divisions and conflicts.

Private Prisons - http://www.grassrootsleadership.org/

Mountaintop Removal - http://ohvec.org/

Appalachian Resources - http://www.uky.edu/Subject/appal.html

Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) - http://www.geocities.com/appalcora/resources.html

The AppalShop - http://www.appalshop.org/

Google "poverty in Appalachia" and get a slew of articles, papers, economic reports that give explanations for why Appalachia is considered the "third world" of the United States.


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