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On their first date 54 years ago, John and
Nancy Murray spent the whole night talking about
Dorothy Day.
"Her ideas were part of our romance,"
Nancy Murray said. "That whole era of what was
happening in the church, it knocked us into a different sphere."
The couple, now retired and parents of eight
adult children, have spent their lives emulating
the Catholic activist's philosophy of faith-based activism and
hospitality for the poor.
Since 1994, St. Andrew the Apostle parish
has given the annual award to someone whose
life and actions exemplify the life and actions of Day, a journalist and
political activist who helped
create the Catholic Worker Movement and its network of houses of
hospitality for the poor.
She is considered one of the great Catholic lay leaders for her
promotion of pacifism, civil rights
and relief for the homeless.
Day visited Syracuse several times before her
death in 1980. She was inducted into the
Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls in 2001.
Several ministries in the Syracuse Diocese
operate under Catholic Worker principles.
They include Jail Ministry, Unity Kitchen, Unity Acres and Dorothy Day
House, a shelter for
women and children that is operated by Onondaga County Catholic
Charities.
"There will never be another Dorothy
Day," Nancy Murray said. Day's philosophy
encourages people "to think about what we say we believe and the
ramifications of the Gospel,"
said Nancy Murray, who worked with Day in New York City. "If
we believed the Gospels,
we Christians, we'd all be living differently. Love your
enemies? Whoa."
Since moving to Syracuse in the 1950s, Nancy
and John Murray have worked with Catholic
activists on issues including housing, employment and school
integration.
Nancy Murray, 74, was a founding member and
president of the interfaith agency that
became the InterReligious Council of Central New York. She
participated in Syracuse Area
Middle East Dialogue Group and is involved with Women Transcending
Boundaries, an interfaith
group that has drawn national press coverage.
John Murray, 75, worked for the Federal Poverty
Program and Regional Medical Program.
In January 2003, he was charged with disorderly conduct for his
participation in an antiwar
protest at Syracuse's Hanley Federal Building.
"John and I try to recognize the sacred in
everyone we meet," Nancy Murray said. "We
don't always succeed."
Three of the Murray children expect to be at
the award dinner tonight. One is their youngest
daughter, Clare, who lives in Liverpool and is named after the woman who
set up John and
Nancy's first date.
---from
an article by Renee K. Gadoua in the Post-Standard May 6, 2004 |
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