Season 4, Episode 3: Integral Friendships: Fun Amidst Frustration

Laurie and Spencer talk to Colin Miller and Tyler Hambley, who trace their path to the Church through the practices of Catholic Workers: praying daily, sharing meals, and opening their homes to the homeless. Now in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, they live family-to-family alongside formerly homeless men and teach through the Center for Catholic Social Thought. They argue for “thick” Christian community over thin, optional social ties.

Dustbowl Diatribes Season 4, Ep. 3: Integral Friendships: Fun Amidst Frustration (Video)

In this episode, Colin Miller and Tyler Hambly trace their path from Anglican clergy to the Catholic Church through the concrete practices of the Catholic Worker: praying daily, sharing meals, and opening their homes to unhoused neighbors. What began as the Daily Office in Durham became a life of works of mercy that made them “Catholic before they knew it,” later confirmed by Newman and Augustine. Now in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, they live family-to-family alongside formerly homeless men and teach through the Center for Catholic Social Thought. They argue for “thick” Christian community—defined by prayer, meals, child-rearing, conflict and reconciliation—over thin, optional social ties. The friction is real, but they see it as a share in Christ’s Passion that yields the true fruit: a reconciled people.