To the Editor:

This past weekend marked the completion of 42 years of service by the hundreds of Volunteers who have, faithfully, responded to Jesus’ call in the Gospels to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless and to clothe the naked (Matthew 25).

Such was the origin of the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality, in Danbury.

It was a typically cold day, January 26 — the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul — when the doors were opened and a handful of guests came in. The menu consisted of lentil soup, supported by an assortment of breads and the like. In the months and years that followed, the numbers would rise to 100 meals served, each day – seven days a week including, all but Christmas, when churches and other community groups offered a special meal.

The Dorothy Day team would eventually include people from multiple area faith communities, including Newtown, who would be responsible for one day, each month, to prepare, serve and restore the kitchen to be ready for the following day. One year later, the Dorothy Day team decided to construct and open an emergency housing shelter for 18 guests. Volunteers, once again, would spend a night attending to the guests who were in need of warmth, shower facilities and an opportunity to wash their clothes. With such a support system, each person had a much better opportunity to seek or to maintain their work schedule.

Much prayerful thought and preparation went into the founding and development of the Dorothy Day House. John Simonelli, from Bethel (recently deceased), Dr Paul Hines, a former professor from WestConn and yours, truly, came together to share our thoughts about Jesus’ message to care for others. Each of us were steeped in the gospels and came out of a background to care for all brothers and sisters. Each of us had a similar concept of ministry, namely, one that included both faith and action (a Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and Richard Rohr type of thinking).

The Benedictine Grange, a faith community in nearby Redding, had opened up a similar type house of hospitality, in Norwalk and Stamford. For nearly a year, we searched and researched, walking up and down Main Street and its multiple side streets, observing each facility and its surroundings. We, then, called others of like-minded thinking, together to hold meetings and eventually, following prayer and deeper planning, opened the doors and welcomed our initial guests

With gratitude to God and to our many Volunteers, including those who are with the Lord, enjoying the ultimate and never ending spirit of hospitality.

Pastor Leo McIlrath

Sandy Hook