OPEN DOOR COMMUNITY

One of my former Emory professors recommended that I go to the Open Door Community. I heard a call in his words, and I went last night. Open Door Community is part of the Catholic Worker Movement. As such, it was founded by a group of lay Catholics, and is not officially part of the Roman Catholic Church. Weekly Eucharist is celebrated by a lay person, and all are invited to the table. The most notable figure of the Catholic Worker Movement is Dorothy Day. The key tenets of Day's ministry were pacifism and nonviolent direct action. The communities in the Catholic Worker Movement take justice seriously. Social services are provided daily at the OD: food, showers, medical care, worship, as well as a participation in a community courtyard and other living areas. People have access to foot care one day each week. I am not sure what foot care includes- I assume socks, shoes, and nail trimmers. A spa experience is probably a bit too extravagant for the folks running the OD, although it is notable that a spa for pets opened up just down the street.

When I arrived at the Open Door, I walked under a hand-painted banner, and passed a "Free Troy Davis" sign. I rang the door bell and was welcomed into the living room. I filled out a name tag, and joined in conversation. Admittedly, I was more interested in listening to conversation than speaking. There were divinity students from around town, homeless folks, live-in volunteers, people from the streets of Atlanta, transients. There was an icon of Jesus with dark skin on the wall, and various photos and quotations having to do with justice around the room. We were multi-racial and multi-cultural, spanning economic and social location. There appeared to be a core group of white men and white women in their 50s, Roman Catholics, who have participated in the OD for many years. Personally, I was struck by the sincerity and empathy people had for one another. Everyone who spoke to me used my name.

When it was time for worship, we went into the sanctuary (another room in the house). The altar was dressed in kente cloth. The chalice was pottery, with words of Jesus imprinted in the clay: "I was hungry, and you fed me. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink." We used a hymnal without notes (only words). The songs we sang were mostly Afro-American spirituals, but I noticed while we were singing that the song "Let it Be" by the Beatles was on the next page.

The sermon was about God being the only one who can help our souls, and thereby liberate us from addiction. The man who preached was black, in his forties, had a Baptist background, and had just returned from a trip to Israel. He stated in his sermon that we are all simultaneously addicts and those who walk with addicts. He quoted Carl Jung and Paul Tillich, and bound together those who have been hurt by addicts with those who are addicted.

During the prayers, various members of the core group asked for prayers for the prison inmates on death row. One person said they asked their friend (who is on death row) if they wanted the community to pray for anything in particular. The friend said that he was watching a Cribs on MTV, and was concerned by the wants of some people in our society. He wanted us to pray that people understand the difference between wants and needs. He also wanted us to pray for forgiveness, because God forgives us, and wanted us to be able to forgive one another.

A lay woman from the core group broke the bread and blessed the wine. She used justice-oriented language. We passed the bread and cup around the room, giving communion to the person sitting next to us. I remembered he last time I participated in communion in this way. I was at a different church, and I was sitting next to Desmond Tutu.

Dinner is served at the OD following the service, at 5 pm. If you are interested in coming to the Open Door, it is located at 910 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA.