OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Our parish is a beacon of light where ALL ARE WELCOME … We are a diverse people of God whose faith inspires hope that shows itself in love.” (From the parish bulletin of Christ Our Hope Catholic Church, Seattle)
In the heart of historic and gritty downtown Seattle, amidst the bustle of nearby Pike’s Place market and the street dwellers, young urban professionals and cruise ship tourists, sits a beacon of light known as Christ Our Hope Catholic Church. What was once a grand hotel more than 100 years ago, is now a beautiful chapel connected to a high-rise affordable housing complex for low-income residents. The building, now called the Josephinum, is owned and operated by the Seattle archdiocese’s Catholic Housing Services and offers a range of social services to house, feed and sustain the most vulnerable. It is widely known as the church that WELCOMES ALL.
During a recent Holy Week visit to Washington State, representatives from the Diocese of Honolulu met with folks from the archdiocesan Catholic Housing Services (CHS) to talk story and learn more about their ministry, especially with the homeless and the elderly in their area. The Hawaii delegation consisted of folks from the diocese’s Finance Office, HOPE Services Hawaii, Catholic Charities Hawaii and the Office for Social Ministry — all eager to learn from the CHS model of housing and service with the vulnerable.
CHS seeks to build better lives, stronger families and healthier communities across the Western Washington archdiocese. Established in 1979, CHS develops, owns and manages 2,100 affordable housing units in 50 properties for low-income families and individuals.
CHS collaborates with public and private partners to provide supportive services for the vulnerable, especially homeless persons, the elderly and farm worker families. Creating safety, stability and community with vulnerable people are the heart and soul of CHS’s mission to make affordable housing a priority and accessible to all.
We visited a dozen CHS properties, including the Josephinum which provides 221 studio and one-bedroom apartments for a diverse population, including formerly homeless persons. Many of them receive case management support through a Counseling, Recovery and Wellness Program (CReW) on the second floor, which is licensed as an outpatient mental health and substance abuse service provider.
In Josephinum’s basement is the Women’s Wellness Center that offers homeless women hygiene services and connections to other shelters around downtown Seattle, including the Dorothy Day, St. Bahkita and Rose of Lima permanent housing for women. Josephinum uses the same “housing first” approach employed by HOPE Services and Catholic Charities Hawaii, which quickly connects homeless persons to permanent housing.
On Holy Thursday, a diverse crowd of more than 300, including Josephinum residents, homeless men and women in transition, elderly, disabled, as well many young Vietnamese and Latina immigrant families, huddled together in the Christ Our Hope Catholic Parish chapel which used to be the hotel’s grand first floor dining room.
There the pastor spoke of how the Last Supper Gospel that evening was about the transformation of what was under the table (dirty human feet) as well as what was on the table (bread and wine ). Then he invited all to participate in the ritual washing of feet representing our shared vulnerability and need for forgiveness and care for each other.
In the chapel are stunning murals depicting two disciples fleeing Jerusalem and encountering Christ in a stranger on the road to Emmaus, then recognizing our Risen Lord in the breaking of the bread, inspiring them to return to Jerusalem to be part of building the Christian community. All the faces in the murals are of current or former Jospehinum residents. The chapel also has clear windows so folks from the street can look inside and those inside are reminded of the larger community which we are called to serve
As we celebrate the joy of Easter, let us continue to wash each other’s feet, to break bread with one another, and to WELCOME ALL … transforming our shared vulnerability so that all may be nourished through faith, hope and love.
For more on CHS and Christ Our Hope Catholic Parish, please go to http://ccsww.org/catholic-housing-services/ and https://www.christourhopeseattle.org/
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
