Announcement Concerning the September Farm Gathering

Hi Everyone

Unfortunately, due to fast moving events I am forced to postpone our gathering which was scheduled for September 12-14. As you are all by now aware we made the painful decision to sell the farm due to reasons of health after our chief farm hand, my wife's brother, suffered some health setbacks that will make it impossible for him to continue on in that capacity. And my own ongoing issues with severe back pain as I approach my 67th year, as well as my wife's new job as Dean at St. Charles Seminary which keeps her off of the farm three days a week, have necessitated this move from the farm to the city. As our friend and co-owner Fr. John Gribowich likes to say, life is a series of "seasons". And the 13 year "season" of the farm is now over and a new season of urban ministry will begin. Fr. John will be a much bigger part of that urban ministry moving forward.

All that said, I thought we could still hold the September gathering here on the farm and treat it as our last major event before moving on. However, the process of selling the farm and moving to the old rectory in Scranton is moving along much faster than I anticipated. Our farm is going to be in major chaos mode over the next month or two as we prepare for this move. Therefore, the logistics of hosting a major event here in mid September just got to be overwhelming.

I am not calling this a "cancellation". I am calling it a postponement. The new house in Scranton has a very large living room and adjacent dining room which makes it perfect for hosting a gathering. That is why we chose this house. It has the requisite space to continue on with the Catholic Worker ministry of roundtable discussions. In fact, it might be an even more suitable space than the farm since all discussions on the farm, due to the smallness of the house, would have to be outside. And if it rains we are in trouble. There are plenty of hotels and rentals around the new house in Scranton as well. Furthermore, the house is right across the street from a Church (Immaculate Conception parish) and only a ten minute drive to our Ordinariate parish, which will make Mass attendance much easier. The only thing up in the air is the exact date of such a gathering.

I am keeping all the names and emails of those who wanted to come to the farm for the event. You will all get first consideration with regard to the new venue. I will make more announcements as the time approaches. Please pray that all goes well with the sale of the farm. Especially pray that I do not come unglued. I am not at all good at "practical" things and I live in my head 99% of the day. So these kinds of moments drive me crazy. All I really want to do is read, write, and interview interesting people or meet them in person for conversation. So all of this is a test of my patience!

All of this chaos has obviously also affected my ability to do podcasts since my study is all cluttered with stuff from other rooms that are being renovated. So I ask for patience!!

Dorothy Day, pray for us

‍

Larry