I apologize for the long wait for an update about myself and the Center for the Working Poor, the Burning Bush community. We have been very busy. This year we are serving more families than ever due to the economy, … Continue reading
Ancient Christian practices are finding a home in post-modern Christianity by Brian McLaren I was raised Plymouth Brethren in the 1950s and 1960s, a group that has taken some pride in skipping over the centuries of church history between about … Continue reading
On Thursday, Sam Pullen was arrested at the Los Angeles offices of the insurance giant Blue Cross. He refused to give his information to police and vowed to remain in prison until Blue Cross agreed to hear demands that it … Continue reading
by Richard Rohr, OFM – December 2005 As published in Radical Grace, the publication of the Center for Action and Contemplation Vol. 18, No 6 – November-December 2005 Contemplation happens to everyone. It happens in moments when we are open, … Continue reading
Sitting in for Healthcare A new group takes the fight for a single-payer system directly to insurers—and politicians. By Diana Novak November 16, 2009 Since September 29, when Mobilization for Health Care for All organized its first sit-in at health … Continue reading
by Dorothy Day The Catholic Worker, May 1980, p. 4. We were just sitting there talking when Peter Maurin came in. We were just sitting there talking when lines of people began to form, saying, “We need bread.” We could … Continue reading
The moral imperatives for change. by Jim Wallis, John DiIulio Jr., Carol Keehan, E.J. Dionne Jr., Janelle Goetcheus, Rose Marie Berger, Tom Sine, and Arthur Waskow printer-friendly version For the Healing of the Nation: 46 million reasons for health-care reform … Continue reading
What the Catholic Worker Believes The Catholic Worker believes in the gentle personalism of traditional Catholicism. The Catholic Worker believes in the personal obligation of looking after the needs of our brother. The Catholic Worker believes in the daily practice … Continue reading
Summary: I am still living in an intentional community called the Center for the Working Poor, or the Burning Bush community. Over a year ago, when I said that I was starting a community and a “non-profit organization”–and then started … Continue reading
11/19/07 I was walking down the street the other day here in Los Angeles, and I saw a billboard that stopped me in my tracks. On the bottom was the familiar image of a half-naked couple in an embrace. Above … Continue reading
By Barbara Ehrenreich, Barbaraehrenreich.com Posted on July 17, 2007, Printed on July 31, 2007 http://www.alternet.org/story/56965/ It’s always nice to see the President take a principled stand on something. The man formerly known as “43,” and now perhaps better named “29” for … Continue reading
By Paul Engler The Summary I still run the Center for the Working Poor, delivering food to impoverished workers, writing, speaking at churches, and supporting living wage boycotts. While doing this, the House of Representatives passed a law designed to … Continue reading
Wal-Mart has been closely watched by many corporate leaders that see it as a model for the new Economy: rapid growth, poverty wages, few health benefits, no unions, race and gender discrimination, and the destruction of small family businesses. In … Continue reading
2020 Center Update: Surrender and Become Attentive
December 17th, 2020
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die …” — Ecclesiastes 3:1 “Surrender to what is dying, and become attentive to what is emerging.” — … Continue reading
Monasticism, Indigenous Cultures, Burning Man, and/or Kingdom of God?: My trip to Taize.
December 27th, 2019
After being invited to Barcelona, Spain this fall for a chaotic tour of book talks, TV appearances, and radio interviews, I needed a place to recover from all the activity. And one of the greatest realizations of my life has … Continue reading
Are We Cells in a Mystical Body? Center Update 2018
December 24th, 2018
As many of you know, I am a social justice geek. I compulsively read and think about social movements, and have been doing this for a long time, and am now considered a specialist in the field commonly referred to … Continue reading
January 18th, 2018
The election of Trump was like somebody threw a political bomb into the middle of a crowded room. For undocumented people, it meant fear of losing DACA and being deported. For labor unions and the working poor, it meant losing … Continue reading
CENTER UPDATE 2016: STILL OTHER SEEDS FELL ON GOOD SOIL
January 9th, 2017
Many have asked how I am feeling after Trump was elected to President of the US. The largest natural disaster in my lifetime just hit my community. It reminds me of both the day after my father died in my … Continue reading
Plan For the Revolution, But Keep Everyone Washing the Dishes: A New Year’s Update
December 31st, 2014
Dear Friends, I started the Center for the Working Poor in 2006. I donated all my money and my car, and slept on the floor of my shared, cramped apartment with our first full time volunteer, Clayton Perry. We ate … Continue reading
Christmas Update From Paul Engler & The Center
December 17th, 2012
The Center for the Working Poor, (aka the Burning Bush Community), continues to share in the wonderful mix of serving the poor, communal living, prayer and meditation, and nonviolent movement organizing that distinguishes our beautiful home. In addition to delivering … Continue reading
A Moment of Hope for a New Movement: Update from the Center for the Working Poor
December 15th, 2011
By Paul Engler Every once in a while, a rare and special moment comes when you realize that you are doing more than turning out for just another protest. Instead, you realize that you are in the middle of true … Continue reading