About us
Painting by Leslie Carranza
Mission
To bring together progressive Catholics and spiritual seekers for creativity, intentional community, and cooperative housing.
Overview
History: The Fireplace began in 2021. In the years since, it has emerged as a vibrant community space. Learn about the community’s journey here.
Structure and governance: The Fireplace is a cooperatively-governed intentional community. This means that we do not have an external governing body; the long-term residents are the Board of Directors and participate in monthly board meetings. We are a not-for-profit corporation in the state of Illinois.
Values: The Fireplace is women-centered, LGBTQ+ affirming, and intergenerational. We strive to be anti-oppressive in our community practices. We have Catholic roots and are open to people of all religious and spiritual identities.
Extended community: Non-residents who engage with the Fireplace are our “extended community.” They may attend and support house dinners, use our space, contribute financially, and share their creative skills.
Events and guests: The Fireplace is an intentional community that sometimes holds public events and allows community members to host events in our space. As we are able, we also use our guest rooms to host visitors.
Residents’ shared life: All residents work or study outside the house (the Fireplace is not our “full-time job”) but long-term residents each do about 10 hours per week of house activity, ranging from twice-weekly dinners/prayers to house administration. We also welcome subletters who share community life at the Fireplace but make a lesser commitment to its operations.
Location: The Fireplace is located in a large house on the south side of Chicago (Kenwood/Hyde Park).
Current residents
Ariel Davey is a native Rhode Islander and recently relocated to Chicago to complete a Master’s in Education, Culture, and Society at DePaul University. She works in the non-profit field as a Coordinator at LINK Unlimited Scholars. She was baptized into the Catholic faith at 18 years old through OCIA her freshman year at Providence College, and has been dedicated to her faith ever since. When she’s not working or completing schoolwork, she loves to read, bake, listen to Beyoncé, and enjoy the outdoors, particularly being by a body of water.
Sister Sharon Dillon, SSJ-TOSF is an experienced master special educator and Franciscan spiritual director. She ministers full-time as a Special Education Instructional Teacher in Berwyn, IL. In the summers, she’s often out playing golf.
Chelsea James is originally from Memphis, TN. She works in Marketing at Thermo Fisher Scientific, where she gets to blend storytelling with science. Chelsea recently completed her MBA at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management and is now leaning into her artistic side — exploring music, fiber arts, and drawing.
Karen Pallist is a Chicago native, with spiritual roots in Christianity, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. She writes for pleasure and growth, for worthy causes and occasionally for money. She is joining the Fireplace Community to engage and nurture her creative side while earning a paycheck in guest relations at Lurie Children's Hospital.
Abby Rampone holds an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary and works in ministry at DePaul University. She has a background in the Catholic Worker movement and church reform, and loves writing, cross-stitching, and all animals (especially cats).
Katerina Sasieta is an outdoor enthusiast and musician, committed to communal singing and climbing trees. She’s from a multiracial family in small town Illinois and has lived and worked in various communities across the country, including Catholic Workers and organic farms.
Melanie Winston is passionate about combining creativity with healing, and values a holistic approach to spirit, emphasizing well-being, connection, and joy as key to collective liberation. Her work as an independent contractor centers on helping others tap into their fullest potential, not just through traditional leadership strategies but by incorporating somatic practices, art, and nature. When she's not working, Melanie is a lifelong singer-songwriter, yoga enthusiast, ceramicist, plant serial killer (oops), and a semi-professional dad joke aficionado.
Ember is a tortoiseshell cat originally from the Woodlawn/Grand Crossing area. After attaching herself to political canvassers, she found her way to the Fireplace. As an extrovert who runs to the door when visitors arrive, she’s the perfect community cat. Her hobbies include climbing, cuddling, playing with fire, squirrel-watching, and enjoying outdoor time on her leash.
