Karen House Vision Statement

Please see this page for further readings, sources, and articles related to each topic.

Karen House is a Catholic Worker rooted in the vision of Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day, and the Gospels.

  1. We believe in welcoming all people and creating a space that feels like home.  
  1. We believe in Community, and in sharing life, work, decisions and resources together.  We hope to do small things with great love.
  1. We believe in both meeting the direct needs of people and confronting the injustices that create these unmet needs.
  1. We believe in challenging oppression at the systemic AND personal level in an ongoing way. We believe that personal work is central to taking risks and challenging systems of oppression, including racism, sexism, ableism, size-ism, heterosexism, ageism, classism, transphobia, and religious oppression.kh building
  1. We believe that our liberation is tied to each other, and that we are responsible for one another: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”(Lilla Watson, Aboriginal activists group)
  1. We believe in seeing the face of God in each person before us, that all creation is interconnected and interdependent, and that the sacred lies in even the simplest acts.  We seek to be good stewards of God’s creation.
  1. We believe in creating a space (and world) where people are living their best lives, pursuing their dreams, and where it is “easier to be good” (Peter Maurin). We support each other in our spiritual journeys. We celebrate life, goodness, beauty, and joy. We believe in self-care, courageous acts, accountability, and active engagement with each other as avenues of growth and liberation.
  1. We promote political education, manual labor according to our ability, and the “clarification of thought” through Roundtable discussions, informal conversations, the work of the house, our newsletter the Round Table, and our website.
  1. We believe in sharing our resources and living communally.  We hope to resist the toxic effects of capitalism and consumerism, acknowledging the differences between voluntary downward mobility for middle class folks, and achieving economic stability for poor and working class folks. We seek to create a house where people can both offer what they have, and receive what they need. cw
  1. We promote bold acts of nonviolence that promote love, connection and justice. We believe that active nonviolence as a tool for revolution helps us to avoid replacing one violence with another. We do not promote nonviolence to maintain the status quo, to silence angry or outraged voices, or to dictate to oppressed groups how they should respond to state oppression. Our interpretation of nonviolence includes courageous, risk taking acts – both large and small – that challenge oppression and injustice.
  1. We believe that value statements and mission statements are no substitute for relationships and face-to-face interactions. We invite you to meet us, and get to know Karen House!

Please see this page for further readings, sources, and articles related to each topic.