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The Miracle Continues
Last Thursday, January 24th was quite an exciting day for St. Anthony’s. It was the day we broke ground for our New Dining Room at Golden Gate and Jones. Here are the remarks of our Interim Executive Director, Barry Stenger, as he introduced the event. (in photo from right: Rep. Nancy Pelosi, former St. Anthony’s Executive Director Fr. John Hardin, and Barry Stenger)
This is an amazing day—one that we have long awaited. Many of us have been working a long time to get to this day.
Of course we’re all here today to celebrate something new. But when I look out on all of you gathered here I realize there is something very familiar about this gathering.
Yes, we’re here to break ground on something new—a new building that will house the New St. Anthony’s Dining Room and 90 units of new affordable housing for our seniors sponsored by Mercy Housing.
But when I look out on this diverse crowd, standing here at the corner of Jones and Golden Gate I see something normal and familiar—people hanging out on this corner is nothing new.
A new venture with Mercy Housing and St. Anthony Foundation in an innovative and exciting collaboration—but the Franciscans and Sisters of Mercy stepping up to help the needy of San Francisco is something that has been happening in this city for a long time.
There are some great old photos from after the 1906 earthquake and fire. One of them shows a line of people going right up Golden Gate Ave here, waiting for the Franciscans to feed them out the rectory door at St. Boniface. And there’s another photo, one showing the Mercy sisters standing in front of a hospital tent that they set up in Golden Gate Park to care for those who had lost their homes.
For years this corner has been the place where people who have a little something extra come and share with those who have little.
In 1950, Fr. Alfred Boeddeker stood where we are standing and recognized the dignity and the struggles of those out of work, veterans suffering the effects of war and those battling addictions. He brought together civic leaders, hotel owners, and willing volunteers from the painters and electrical unions—that coming together on this street corner became St. Anthony’s Dining Room.
After a few years, because there always seemed to be enough food to feed everyone in line, this coming together became known as the “Miracle on Jones Street.”
Our presence here today signals to all of San Francisco that the Miracle continues. We’re not turning water into wine; no, we’re transforming an old auto body shop into a state of the art Dining Room and homes for our senior citizens—the Miracle continues.
We’re not walking on water or raising the dead, but we are building homes and providing clothing and social services that will help people live lives of dignity and meaning—the Miracle continues.
We’re not feeding thousands on the hillsides—wait, we are feeding thousands on hillsides. On this hillside between Nob Hill and Market Street we’re feeding thousands every day. And this miracle continues as we construct a facility where another generation of San Franciscans will come to reach out to those in need. The Miracle continues.
The Miracle must continue—because we still have $2.5 Million to raise to build the New St. Anthony’s Dining Room. Let this gathering here today be a statement of our confidence that this miracle will continue and that we will raise the needed funds to complete this project
It is very exciting to see that today we are gathering at this blessed corner. I want to thank all of you for coming. The people who are responsible for this new building are here today. Those who had the idea for it, those who designed it, who donated or lent the funds to insure it’s construction, the builders who make it a reality and those who will benefit from it. Some will speak today or be formally recognized. But in the tradition of this corner and what has happened here for so long I want all of you now to turn to one another and congratulate your selves. Reach out and shake your neighbor’s hand and say, “Thank you.”
