During this Advent and Christmas season, we at Lydia’s House are celebrating with 12 special events over the course of the next three weeks.  We couldn’t be more excited about it!  For many of our guests, the holiday season has been less than joyful in the past, so we’re hopeful that Christmas 2014 can be a way to reclaim the hope, freedom, joy, and welcome that Christ offers us through the incarnation.  We’ll make Christmas cookies with volunteer Anne Housholder, sing carols to the elderly with the help of the Puopolo family, and watch the movie Elf on loan from

When I was 14 I spent a summer on the islands that line the coast of Georgia. It was a science and ecology camp and we spent most days studying sea creatures or discussing the ecology of the sulfur scented marshes. One evening stands out particularly in my mind. It was the night of the new moon, and the counselors took us down to the shore by flashlight. The area was a wildlife preserve and had none of the boardwalk lights I typically associated with a beach. I remember thinking the stars were especially bright in the absence of artificial

December e-Newsletter 2014

Last Sunday November 24 we celebrated our monthly worship with a Catholic Mass officiated by Father Jim Schutte of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church. The house was warmed with around 50 beloved friends from our community including the special presence of a former guest, her new baby, and members of her family. We were led in song by volunteers from Poco a Poco of Bellarmine Chapel and the talents of our own live-in volunteers Elizabeth and Rachel. The Mass reflected the celebration of Christ the King Sunday reminding us through Scripture and Father Jim’s words of Jesus’ role as