no pain
no more nonsense
no high-wheeling non-profit CEO's rolling in G's
Mary Catherine Strobel paid the ultimate price for her dedication to the homeless in Nashville Tennessee.
Relocating to Portland---a mecca for homeless youth--reminds me how everyone needs security, a bulldog, a protector.
Who will protect your mother when she takes a knife, for having a heart?
one wrong move, and the game is over.
How can we end homelessness and suffering and hunger, and stay alive---balance the risks of our compassion with the endemic violent programming of a warlike colonial warmachine america?
http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Schweiss-7
Born in Nashville, Davidson, TN, USA
[sibling(s) unknown]
Mother of Alice Strobel, Alice Strobel, Charles Strobel, Charles Strobel, Jerry Strobel,Jerry Strobel, Veronica Strobel and Veronica Strobel
Died in Nashville, Davidson, TN, USA
Last profile change on 23 August 2013
19:32: Lianne Lavoie edited the data for Mary Strobel. (Merged Mary Catherine Schweiss into Mary Schweiss) [Thank Lianne for this]
This page has been accessed 562 times.
Advocate for the poor and homeless. Mary Catherine was the only child of Henry Charles and Mary Magdalene Sullivan Schweiss, Jr. She was baptized at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Nashville, Tennessee on September 25, 1912. She was raised by her father and two aunts after her mother died in a fire.
She married Martin George Strobel on September 14, 1937 and they had four children; Veronica, Alice, Jerry and Charles. Her husband Martin was an employee of the Nashville Fire Department. Martin died suddenly in 1947 and following the death of her husband Mary Catherine was hired by the department and thus became the first female employee of the Nashville Fire Dept. For 28 years she was secretary to the fire marshal. She also became the firefighters' favorite mother figure; confidante. At Christmas each year crews of firefighters visited the Strobel home to make sure the children had toys. She sometimes knelt in prayer when they were sent out on a fire call. The fire marshal's building in Nashville now bears her name.
She worked tirelessly with the poor and homeless. While in the city, she was abducted and murdered. More than a thousand people came to pay their respects to the tiny, compassionate woman who had touched so many lives. There were firefighters, police officers, public officials, the bishop of the Nashville diocese, more than 50 priests and even a few homeless people. A stickler for details, she left instructions for her own funeral. There was to be coffee if she died in the winter, lemonade in the summer. She also left the names of pallbearers. The funeral procession included a fire truck and five police cars.
The Strobel children wanted everyone to remember: "Mary Catherine Schweiss Strobel was a very special Mother. She gave us life-- then showed us how to live it with vitality and virtue....Our mother was a giver, not a taker. A participant; not an observer. A lover; not a hater..."
Years later someone wrote: "Mary Catherine was Nashville's Mother Teresa minus the fame. A tireless & unsung good Samaritan in life, she has become the standard by which volunteer work is measured in the capitol city as well as middle Tennessee. Every year the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer of the Year Award is presented and it's just an honor to be nominated".
Family links: Parents: Henry Charles Schweiss (1871 - 1928) Mary Magdelene Sullivan Schweiss (1874 - 1914)
Spouse: Martin George Strobel (1901 - 1947)
Burial: Calvary Cemetery Nashville Davidson County Tennessee, USA
Created by: Jody and Lesa Baltz Record added: May 31, 2005 Find A Grave Memorial# 11070495
http://www.larryhollon.com/blog/2011/02/07/what-do-the-homeless-need-charles-stroebel-knows/
What Do The Homeless Need? Charles Strobel Knows.
Recently I met a man I’ve long admired—Charles Strobel, a longtime advocate for the homeless and founder of Nashville’s Room In The Inn ministry. Room In The Inn partners with more than 170 local congregations in the Nashville area—including 34 United Methodist churches —to provide shelter for more than 1,200 homeless individuals from November to March.
It Started With An Open Door.
Back in 1986 when Charlie first decided to open the doors of Holy Name Catholic Church to the homeless, he knew the decision was a pivotal one. One cold evening, he briefly thought to himself, “If I let them in tonight, I may end up doing this for the rest of my life.” He did indeed foretell his future.
One question people ask Charlie repeatedly is, “What do the homeless need?” His answer?
“They need everything I need—everything you need. Of course, there’s Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs starting with the fundamental things like food, clothing, shelter and basic personal things. And then they need education, social support, recreation, employment and those things on the next level. But then Maslow talks about the highest level of need is the need to find meaning in life and purpose in living—to resolve the riddles and mysteries of our world and our life. I don’t have to understand them anymore than I need to understand myself. If I understand what drives me and what are the obstacles and roadblocks in my own life, then it’s easy to understand the homeless. We’re not that different.”
People also ask Charlie if he ever wishes he had some other “problem” than advocating for the homeless.
“They’re not a problem. I wrote once that they present a million problems, but they’re not a problem. Isn’t that what parents mean? I used to hear my mother say, ‘You all are driving me nuts! I can’t understand how you can do this and then do that, when I ask you to do this and you won’t do that!’ And she was telling me that we caused problems, but we weren’t a problem. It’s because love was there. The homeless are not a problem. Love is there. They’re not a problem because I love them.”
This winter there will be anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 homeless men, women and children on the streets of Nashville. Every city across America has its own version of that same reality. My hope is that every city also has a Charlie Strobel—a kind, loving and gentle soul who was once faced with a life-changing question, “Do I open this door and let them in?” If he hadn’t, the lives of so many—especially his own life– would have been so different. I, for one, am grateful for the choice he made.
No comments:
Post a Comment