
— PENIEL
“Where Jacob Wrestled With God and Survived”
October, 2016
Twenty-Second Anniversary Issue
Temenos Catholic Worker
P.O. Box 642656
San Francisco, CA 94164
415-204-2124
www.temenos.org
Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.S.T., D.Min. Candidate, John Knox Seminary

JOURNAL OF AN ALIEN STREET PRIEST:
This month we celebrate our twenty-second anniversary working on the streets of San Francisco. On October 4 of 1994, we moved into our room and bought our first piece of pizza for a homeless youth. And from there it has gone, each and every day, in different ways. The City has become gentrified, but the poverty of the ones we serve remains the same, and has even increased. People ask,
“What have you learned?”
First of all, we have learned about the faithfulness of the words of I Corinthians 15:3:ff:
“Christ died for our sins in line with the scriptures, he was buried, and he rose on the third day in line with the scriptures. He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, and then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once. . .Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me. . I am what I am by God’s grace. . .”
We have learned that we belong to God.
Br. James Koester presents a message to us about belonging, in his comment:
“I don’t know about you, but this is a question I reflect on a great deal in one way or another: to whom do I belong? Where do I belong? What does it mean to belong? Whose am I? This, in a sense, was the question posed to Jesus and His answer, though ambiguous was clear. We may have responsibilities to Caesar, but we belong to God.”
Secondly, we are all brothers and sisters, nothing more, nothing less. We are all equal as human beings, and in that equality we should share of what we have, so that all might have.
Thirdly, in the words of St. Jeanne de Chantal, “No matter what happens, be gentle with yourself.” And, also in her words, “In prayer one must hold fast and never let go. If it seems that no one is listening to you, then cry out even louder. If you are driven out one door, go back in by the other.”
In other words, always be kind to yourself, for there are so many others who will not be kind, and to never, never give up.
And so we begin another year in the trust of Jesus, in the gentleness of his arms, with thanksgiving for all of you who have loved us, been gentle with us, and prayed for us. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

THE PHILIP WORKMAN MEMORIAL BANQUET
Friday, October 7, 2016
Noon
Haight and Stanyan
With Agape Meal
of Vegan Stew
followed by
Passing Out flyers and Visting With People on the Haight To Vote Against the Death Penalty by Supporting Yes on 62
Remembering Philip Workman, who was executed by the State of Tennessee in May of 2007, and who gave his last vegetarian meal to the homeless.
Vigils are Every Wednesday and Leafleting Every Friday
Vigil Planned for State Capitol on October 31, 2016
for more information contact franciscansagainstdeathpenalty@gmail.com or phone 415-710-8709

WE ARE BEGGARS
Someone recently asked us, “How do you live, when everyone is asking for donations?” The truth is that we live on faith, and trust, as we have for twenty-two years, through the generosity of others, and in so doing, we have provided food, socks, pastoral care, and harm-reduction supplies to thousands All we can say is that we are thankful for your continuing to care, with all the of the requests coming your way, and want you to know that your gifts have given hope and joy to so many. Please continue to support us at:
Temenos Catholic Worker
P.O. Box 642656
San Francisco, CA. 94164
or at www. temenos.org on PayPal
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WORLD VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL
THE SAN FRANCISCO VEG SOCIETY HOSTS THE 17TH ANNUAL WORLD VEG FESTIVAL:
On behalf of the SF Veg Society and World Veg Festival Committee, we invite you to the 17th Annual
World Veg Festival to be held on Sat and Sun Oct 8 and Oct 9, 2016 at the San Francisco County
Fair building (1199 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122 located inside Golden Gate Park next to the
Botanical Gardens).
For 17 years, the San Francisco Veg Society
www.sfvs.org
has been organizing the World Veg Festival to
educate and inspire more people about the benefits of vegan, plant‐based lifestyle for healthy, ethic, and
sustainable living. Every year we curate a group of the best speakers, chefs and presenters on the topics
of vegan health, ethics, animal rights, good eating and more to present to our festival goers. From 10am to
6:30pm there will be fun, food, entertainment and activities for the whole family! $10 general admission.
$5 students w/ ID, seniors 62+, and youth under 18. Tickets sold at door. Free for press with press pass.
Any of our speakers and sponsors/exhibitors are available for interviewing:
Greg Rohrbach, SF Veg Society President and World Veg Festival Organizer, 415‐948‐9642
Patly Rohrbach, World Veg Festival Organizer, 415‐948‐9642
The following sponsors will be present at the festival and are available for in person interview:
Friends of Animals, Priscilla Feral, feral@friendsofanimals.org
Ripple Foods Tolu Onafowokan c
413.330.3124
+
tolu@sunshinesachs.com
+
Gentle Barns, Ellie Laks (speaker Sunday)
+
Lentilicious Lisa Josefik, President & CEO, info@lentilicious.com,
408.314.9362
Solar City
Stanford Inn. sid@stanfordinn.com