Our Story

Life/Work Direction was born in downtown Boston the winter of 1981 when three persons—Richard Faxon, Don and Eunice Schatz—began listening to the stories of a small group of young persons who had come to the city full of idealism for some form of meaningful service. Unemployment was high, and they were looking for a way to support themselves and live out their ideals. An improvised workshop lit the fire of enthusiasm as these young persons began discovering their unidentified gifts, and they spontaneously shared this with their friends—who also turned to this triad of persons for ongoing help. Richard and Don and Eunice saw the potential and responded by incorporating Life/Work Direction as a non-profit organization chartered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The charter described Life/Work Direction as a work designed to “provide spiritual direction through an ecumenical context . . . for persons wishing to integrate their faith with their whole life/work.”

Our first location was in a Dorchester storefront. People kept arriving through contacts of friends, and the contents of the program developed in response to their expressed needs. One of the early participants, Scott Walker, was part of the community of participants who contributed to our ongoing experiments with program. A lot of our work was conducted in small groups, until the demand from individuals grew so great, we began conducting the vocational process with individuals. But it was always important that this work with individuals was conducted with two or three staff persons meeting with one person—an important principle of our philosophy.

In 1990, when Scott and Louise Walker were looking for a new home to house their expected first child, they offered to select a location that would house Life/Work Direction and simultaneously provide housing for the live-in staff couple, Don and Eunice Schatz. Richard Faxon continued commuting until his retirement from staff in 1993. The Walkers were not yet aware that their own calling would lead them gradually into a work in harmony with the philosophy of Life/Work Direction —a group experience named Threshold begun in 1998. By 2005, that work had matured to the point where it needed a “home” and Life/Work Direction extended its welcoming arms to embrace Threshold. As Don Schatz moved toward retirement and Eunice decreased her active participation, the Walkers assumed full leadership, continuing in the same philosophical vein, but also putting their stamp on the character of the work.

The compelling story is unfolded in Eunice Schatz’s 2011 book called Intricately Woven: Life/Work Direction’s Story, available through Amazon. It is a story of how an organization—like a person—has its own “life story” with a variety of colorful threads woven together in surprising and satisfying ways.