Consider the sacred place of the carpenter in the life of Jesus

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I really like the simplicity of the art on this year’s Glenmary Christmas card. Each time I see the card I find myself drawn to the image of the Holy Family. A few days ago I was looking at a card on my desk and I focused on St. Joseph and the shepherd’s crook in his hand. As I thought of the literal interpretation of the image, I laughed. If Joseph was really holding a shepherd’s crook that night in Bethlehem, it must have belonged to someone else. Joseph wasn’t a shepherd, he was a carpenter!

I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for carpenters since I entered Glenmary in 1961 as a brother-in-formation. Back then brothers were expected to learn a trade, usually construction. I quickly learned that I didn’t possess the skills of a master carpenter—or even a mediocre one. I didn’t even know the difference between a flat-head screwdriver and a Phillips! I came to admire the skills of the Glenmary brothers who were master carpenters—and we’ve had many such men, including Brother Joe Steen. He, like all the brother-carpenters, always included another person in his projects: St. Joseph the Worker.

As a Glenmary brother, Joe Steen saw an opportunity to combine his love of carpentry with his love of God and he has done just that as he has built across Mission Land, USA, serving those in need. I can’t help but think that in today’s world, Joseph, Mary and Jesus would be considered a “working class family.” In that way, they are just like the folks Brother Joe and all our missioners minister to each day, a ministry made possible through the generosity of donors like you.

As you celebrate the birth of Christ this year please consider making a gift to Glenmary in honor of Brother Joe and all those who work to provide shelter for those in need—those like the Holy Family who were in search for adequate shelter that Christmas night long ago.

Although Brother Joe doesn’t carry a shepherd’s staff, he does remind me of St. Joseph. They share many of the same gifts: carpentry, humility, compassion and a deep love of God. And, just as St. Joseph had, Brother Joe has an unwavering obedience to God’s will—saying “yes” without knowing the reason for the question. Brother Joe’s ministry is, as Brother Larry Jochim used to say, based on building for the love of God and the love of God’s people, not the love of money.

For the past 10 years, Brother Joe has worked in Pontotoc County, Miss., as executive director of the county’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, building affordable housing for folks struggling to set down roots and own their own home. In those 10 years, he, working with local churches, volunteers and the Habitat families, completed 30 homes.

His work in the county was an evangelization tool. Because of his affable personality and high visibility in the county, Brother Joe made connections with local folks from various faith traditions. Folks got to know him as a home builder—and a Catholic—causing many of them “to begin to see Catholics in a very different way,” Brother Joe says.

I mentioned that Brother Joe is open to whatever God calls him to. Currently, God is calling him to begin a new phase of his ministry. He is spending the next few months on sabbatical, part of which he is spending on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi helping with post-Katrina construction. When he is not wielding a hammer, he will be learning Spanish because “I like to talk to people,” he says, “and I get frustrated when I meet people I can’t talk to!” In January he will begin a new assignment and is sure, once again, that God will guide him to a place where he can best use his carpentry and outreach skills.

Although Brother Joe will begin a new ministry assignment in January, he won’t soon be forgotten in Pontotoc—a street in one of the Habitat neighborhoods he helped develop was renamed “Joe Steen Street.” Quite an honor for such a humble man!

As you consider how you will celebrate of the birth of the Savior this year, I encourage you to consider the sacred place of the humble carpenter in the life of Jesus. In honor of that carpenter, St. Joseph, please make a gift to Glenmary so that missioners like Brother Joe Steen can continue to respond to God’s invitation to attend to the spiritual and material needs of individuals and communities right here in our own land.

Thank you in advance for your generosity. Know that you and your loved ones will be in the prayers of Glenmary priests, brothers and coworkers during this Christmas season. I ask that you remember our mission and ministry in yours. God bless!

Your brother in mission,

Father Dominic Duggins
Director of Development