Jim Anderson received four years of first-rate theology instruction at the University of Notre Dame, but it wasn’t till decades later, as a volunteer with Catholic Charities Twin Cities, that he discovered Catholic social teaching. It resonated deeply.
“I guess I wasn’t paying attention (as a college student),” said Anderson, 74, who attends Assumption in St. Paul, where he and his wife, Kathleen, serve as sacristans. “I came to those concepts late in life, and I’m so glad my service with Catholic Charities stimulated that kind of reflection.”
After serving for 26 years in the Navy and then moving to 3M, Anderson joined the Catholic Charities Twin Cities’ board. Every Monday, he volunteers at the St. Paul Opportunity Center, a daytime shelter located on the Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Place campus in downtown St. Paul.
Q) As a boy, your dad was deployed for nine-month stints with the Navy.
A) We’d write him letters, and he’d write back. That was our connection with him. Mom would read us his letters at dinner. Decades later, when I was married with an infant and on my second ship (with the Navy), I’d make a point of writing every day or every other day. Mail call, when a postal clerk would come up and put letters in the little slots and call out names, was an important thing. You’d be elated if there was something for you.
I haven’t kept up letter writing, and I think as a result my brain has changed. It’s become harder to concentrate. When you’re connected electronically, there are all these rabbit holes and you’re very easily distracted. I’m sorry I’ve lost that skill.
Q) What has stayed with you from the Navy?
A) Learning to be a leader and learning to be a follower. I always thought about loyalty as loyalty upward — loyal to your boss, your country. But one of the men I worked for taught me that, if you served well with him, he’d make sure he was loyal to you, and he’d always be there to help, advise and influence, if he could, your career. Loyalty upward and downward. That enabled me, at the age of 48, to jump into a senior management position at 3M and hit the ground running.
Q) That job gave your family more stability, settling in the Twin Cities. Eventually you found your way to Assumption.
A) A close friend told me about the friendly banter between (the late) Father Steve O’Gara and Father John Malone when Father O’Gara was the pastor and Father Malone was the pastor emeritus. My friend said, “And the other thing you’ll like is it’s within a block of the Dorothy Day Center, and people from there come over for Mass. It’s very inclusive and welcoming.” We were living in Oak Park Heights and decided to start going to Mass at Assumption, 16 miles away. Later when we became empty nesters we moved to St. Paul. If anything was ever heaven-sent, it was that: That I could come to St. Paul and be right next door to my church and where I focus my service.
Q) How did getting involved with Catholic Charities Twin Cities open your eyes?
A) They taught me about the parable at the end of (the Gospel of) Matthew, where the king returns and separates the good people from the bad people, like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he writes about the criteria: When I was hungry, you gave me food, when I was thirsty, you gave me a drink. My No. 1 goal is to be one of the sheep. I didn’t know I felt this way until I got involved with Catholic Charities when I was 57 years old. That parable really captured my imagination.
When I joined the board, they gave me a book by Father Larry Snyder, the former director of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, about Catholic social teaching called “Think and Act Anew.” That was the title of the speech Abe Lincoln gave. It’s a very practical book.
We learned about the seven tenets of Catholic social teaching, and three are really important to me. First, the one about the dignity of each human person. If I pass someone who looks some way I might disapprove of, I have to remind myself: “But he’s a child of God.” Second is the preferential option for the poor. I always thought this was something Bill Gates said, but apparently, it’s in the Gospels: To those who are given much, much is expected. And the third concept is solidarity. We’re all in this together.
I think about all these concepts, coming to them later in life. I don’t have all the answers. I wish I knew more. But I do think about them.
Q) Every Monday afternoon you arrive at the Opportunity Center with a cart full of games, and you usually play cribbage with a small group.
A) It’s fun. We play games and have a little side conversation going on there. I’ve gotten to know names. I now have a list of over 175 people that I’ve met, one time or another. I keep it on a note on my phone. I try to remember people’s names. I’ve found they like that. They’re as different as any other group you’d meet, but they have some commonalities and things you recognize in yourself.
Q) Do you fight the urge to offer advice or try to fix their problems?
A) Yeah. That’s what I’ve done all my life. But I realize my limitations, and I don’t know how to fix it. I wish I was smart enough to understand the whole picture. I don’t. I just see my little piece of it. It’s beyond my knowledge. I wish we’d focus — as the city of St. Paul and the state of Minnesota — more attention and resources on homelessness. These are our brothers and sisters who lack what we take for granted, which is a roof.
You have to meet the people where they are — not where you are. We volunteers are taught to assume that each person we encounter has dealt with trauma in their lives, so don’t be surprised if they don’t necessarily act the way you would. They might be defensive. They might be very introverted like James. We play three hours of cribbage every Monday. When he decides we’re going to quit, he just gets up and leaves. He doesn’t say goodbye or thank you. I’ve learned that’s not a reflection of what I’ve done. That’s just the way he is. Maybe the fact that he’ll look at me and make jokes and tease me the way I tease him is a breakthrough.
I always ask him: Is there anything you need? He has nobody else. It’s usually simple. Once he asked me to get him some Pepto-Bismol.
He shows an amazing equanimity in spite of the limitations placed on him.
Q) How do you make Christmas meaningful?
A) We try to turn the pace down. We always get our two sons home for Christmas. That’s a big deal. We like to take our time. We don’t want a hectic schedule.
At Assumption, Kathy and I are usually asked to be sacristans for one of the evening Masses on Christmas Eve, which we love. At the end of the service, the choir sings “Silent Night.” The last couple of years, I’ve been privileged to be back in the sacristy at that point, and when the pastor introduces the song, he gives me a sign and I turn the lights down. They sing it in German first, then in English. It’s pretty touching.
Q) What do you know for sure?
A) Very little except that salvation is achievable if we live good lives and give and serve. I’m just an average guy who wants to be — fittingly enough, near Lake Wobegone — above average. Time’s a-wasting — I’m 74. I don’t know how many more years I have left here, but I’ve got lots to do and still lots to give. That’s what I know for sure.
