Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
Walls made of living stone.

For over 20 years, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church lived the above verse from the song “Christ be Our Light” with the purchase, maintenance, and mentoring of large, low-income families in the St Theresa Transitional House.  This house was purchased in 2001 through the efforts of St Theresa Social Concerns, with the sole purpose of providing transitional housing to large families, who faced major discrimination in the housing market.  Many large and small contributors raised the purchase price to buy this home with significant donations coming from non-parishioners. Since the time of purchase, over 100 parishioners (many who are now deceased) and people outside the parish participated in work days, donating thousands of hours of labor and thousands of dollars of materials towards the maintenance of this house. Countless hours were given by St. Theresa Social Concerns members and St Theresa parish staff as a labor of love in the administration and oversight of the house and tenants since 2001. 

As the house aged (along with the committee members!), it became more difficult to manage and maintain the property and tenants. After several years of discussions with involved parishioners, the Diocese, the Finance Council, Pastoral Council, and Pastors at St. Theresa; the house was sold.  Fr. Raphael designated the Peace and Justice Committee to allocate the sale proceeds of the house.  The Peace and Justice Committee unanimously approved the proceeds to be split equally among three agencies who would continue the house’s original mission of providing affordable, decent, and safe housing to large families:  Anawim, Habitat for Humanity, and Families Forward. 

It has been a humbled privilege to those involved to be the “walls of living stone” sheltering the many families who have benefited through this work of justice and mercy.  By giving the house sale proceeds to these three agencies, the spirit of the St Theresa Transitional House lives on and will be enshrined eternally in Heaven as the *heart and treasure* of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church.

*But store up treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Mt 6:21-22