In October 2005 the parish of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Waterfront South, Camden, NJ held a synod to discern the direction the parish needed to move in terms of its ministry and outreach to the community of Waterfront South in South Camden. This neighborhood is one of the poorest and most environmentally damaged areas in the United States. The parishioners initiated a new ministry called the Center for Transformation. Its mission is to create a space where people can come to be awakened to their responsibilities as Christians to the earth and its environment. We envision a retreat center that would enable us to host up to 35 people at a time. The retreat center would sponsor weekend or week long experiences in which people would work hand-in-hand with people of the neighborhood on remediation as well as urban farming initiatives. We have been offered the abandoned convent of Sacred Heart Church to house this retreat center. We are in the middle of renovating it. Part of the space will also serve as a free medical clinic and as space for art and science lessons during the week for the students of Sacred Heart School. The Center for Transformation will be open to anyone who seeks to delve more deeply into their relationship with the earth and their responsibility for it. We hope to involve people of faith from various communities as well as young people from area universities. To facilitate our work we petitioned successfully to be recognized as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization under federal tax law.
The biggest challenge is the financial resources to finish the renovation of the convent. We have been working on the second floor which will be the living quarters. We already have new showers, bathrooms, electrical, heating and AC done. The paint job is well on the way to being finished. We also have a new roof! In tune with our mission we are going as “green” as possible in the renovation of the building. We are currently looking to put in a large kitchen to serve our guests.
In addition to the retreat space, we have a community garden, a fully functioning greenhouse, and we hope to grow produce for sale at an envisioned Waterfront South Farmer’s Market. We have an urban farmer who is already working with neighborhood children and their parents in the community, teaching them to grow their own produce and how to prepare it for healthy meals. The dream of a farmer’s market is all the more pressing as there is no grocery store in all of Camden City. When we started to understand the struggle of poor people to have access to good food, we realized that we needed to begin working for the transformation of that situation.
The retreats that we have in mind for the Center for Transformation are geared toward people form the Catholic parishes of Southern New Jersey, as well as people of faith from the entire area. The goal of the retreat experience is to equip people with the resources of the Christian tradition so that they can work in their network to raise awareness of the Christian commitment to environmental justice. In addition, the retreat will provide hands on experience for those who visit us to work in the earth of Waterfront South, with our neighbors. The work of environmental justice is not just an intellectual exercise; we have to get our hands dirty and work with our neighbors in Waterfront South who help us remember that caring for the earth is caring for our brothers and sisters.
We imagine people arriving at the Center on a Friday evening, being welcomed by volunteer staff. Friday evening will be an opportunity to create a community among those present, and to celebrate the rich heritage of our Christian faith as that pertains to environmental justice. On Saturday, after breakfast and prayer, we will work in the neighborhood (e.g. in the community garden, in the greenhouse, planting trees, painting murals, cleaning up abandoned lots). This work will be done in partnership with neighborhood organizations and individuals. Saturday afternoon we hope our visitors will be able to join the people of Waterfront South at Joe’s Place for dinner and fellowship. Sacred Heart has a dinner for all those in need in the neighborhood every Saturday. This is a great place for fellowship with our neighbors. Saturday evening we will reflect on what we have done all day. We will also share with our visitors various tools they can use to increase an awareness of our responsibility for the environment in their worshipping communities as well as in their homes. Sunday we will continue the discussions of the previous evening, and join the people of Sacred Heart for Eucharist at 10:30AM. The Eucharist is the highpoint of the weekend as it is in liturgy that we celebrate the transformation of the fruit of the earth into the body of Christ, not only on the altar, but in the hearts of all those who gather, particularly those who have spent the weekend in Waterfront South.
As noted above, we imagine this kind of weekend experience for groups of adults numbering 25-30. As the Center develops, we imagine having week-long experiences for college students and high school students who want to immerse themselves in the work of environmental justice. We also hope that the Center can become a base of operations for local universities who might sponsor research into environmental issues by their faculty and students.
The Center intends to work in concert with the Office for Social Justice of the Diocese of Camden so that it can be a resource for that office as well. The same can be said about the relationship between the Center for Transformation and the Romero Center of Camden. The focus on the environment, the opportunity to work and fellowship with the people of Waterfront South, and the capacity to train leaders to bring the vision and practices of environmental justice back to their faith communities: this is the mission of the Center for Transformation!
We are sharing this with you as an invitation to join us in this mighty work. You are certainly welcome to join us in the day-to-day tasks before us, but you can also join us through your tax-deductible financial support. Contact us if you would like more information. Most importantly, we ask you to pray for this work, the Center for Transformation, that it might become more of a reality in 2009.
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work! (Psalm 104: 13)
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