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Council Comments

3/26/2017

As I write this, all I can think is “this has been a really tough week for all of us.” Sr. Jolene’s stroke on March 16 certainly was unexpected. She seemed in good health, except for her platelet issues of course, and had just driven back from Wisconsin four days before. It really reminds me how fragile life is and how little we know what any day will bring.

As I write this, there is some good news, at least in the sense of hope. She has been moved out ICU, understands what people say to her, shakes her head to yes and no questions, moves her left arm and leg as therapists request, and smiles. Part of me compares that to March 15 when she was tutoring as usual, but I have decided not to go there and to look ahead and to prayer, a positive attitude, and hope for Sr. Jolene’s future. As you read this, I hope she will have made even greater strides forward.

That, said, I want to reflect on some of life’s lessons she has taught me and I suspect many of you. By no means can any words encompass who St. Jolene is to us and others, but it certainly reminds me to emulate her wonderful qualities. A few:

Be there for others: she was always there for all of us but I think of the many times, I know she answered the phone and then spent hours helping someone homeless or in need find the right help, not because she knew them but because they needed someone. My lesson learned: take time to listen to and reach out to those I meet and make that person feel they are an important human being.

Work hard: what can I say? Not many people work as hard as Sr. Jolene, day after day, year after year and she liked it! My lesson learned: work hard and take time to enjoy what you are doing and the people you are doing it with.

Believe in the power of prayer: she believes in the power or prayer and I know prays daily for us, the world, the poor and the many, many needs of so many others. My lesson learned: continue to pray!

See God’s beauty in the world: the farm girl from Wisconsin who loved wide open spaces also fell in love with Detroit and all our diversity of people. My lesson learned: see God’s beauty wherever you are and in whoever you meet in this world every day.

There’s lots more I could say but I will close and speaking for all of us (hope you don’t mind): Thanks, Sr. Jolene, for being who you are! We’re lifting you in prayer and will be there for you in whatever you need for your recovery!

Chris McLaughlin

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Deacon's Deliberations

3/19/2017

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I went cross-country by bike in 2002, from Anacontes, WA to Portland, ME. It was 88 days of never looking back, coming in peace, and leaving with hope and love. Mostly. OK. Montana was pretty rough— “Home of the Unchained Dog” could have been the state motto. But Montana was also beautiful, though many of the towns we rolled through were struggling. And there’s no need to guess about folks who can hardly care for their own: they’re good at making a place for others.

As we approached the Mississippi headwaters at Itasca, MN We were swarmed by more buts than are in the American Embassy in Moscow. They flew into our mouths when we tried to talk, they flew into our eyes, they were insurmountable and unstoppable. It was my cook-night, and there’s a picture of your poor deacon wearing all his rain gear (this on a humid high-80s late afternoon in July), his head and face wrapped in Buff headgear with only a slit for this eyes, standing over a picnic table tending the cook-stove and pot. I woke up the nest day with the flesh around my eyes puffy from bites.

That nearly broke my will, but what happened a few days later stung in quite a different way. We came to a tourist town in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, maybe a bit west – it’s a mitzvah that I can’t remember its name – and I stopped at a quickie-mart for an energy drink and to fill my water bottles. This was SOP (standard operating procedure): fill your bottles when you can, not when you must, as we were making 70-90 miles a day in unknown lands. Inside I found a hand-printed sign: “No filling water bottles.” I set my purchase on the counter and unscrewed my water bottles, causing the grumpy-pussed clerk to point to the sign and say “You can’t fill them up here.” I asked, “Even with a purchase?” And the clerk frowned that it was so – no water, no how. I left my purchase there and explained – OK, bragged – as I walked – OK, stormed – out that I’d ridden 2500 miles and this was the first time I’d been refused water. The clerk groused something about how much their water cost. OK. But nothing like that happened thereafter, all the way to Maine.

Do not weep for your deacon. And do not let him play the victim or cover himself in righteousness. Ask him how he responds to someone asking for a handout when he’s out on our streets. The only power this memory holds is that it helps me enter into today’s readings in an unaccustomed role: of depending on another. Or so I delude myself. How could that exchange have ended in a way that would have served us both? Maybe there is no other way. How could it have served the Gospel? With this: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to finish his work” (Jn 4:34). Ride on.

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Council Comments

3/12/2017

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2017 Father Singer Nativity Scholarship Program

Last year we granted 10 scholarships under the Father Singer Nativity Scholarship program. This year in addition to the primary funding, there were also funds available from the final year of Changing Lives Together activity. As a result, the minimum award amounts have been increased for this year only by $250. For this year, minimum award amounts are at least $1,250 for Higher Education, at least $750 for Parochial Secondary Education, and at least $500 for Parochial Primary Education.

The proposed changes have been reviewed and approved by the Parish Council. All three categories are limited to active members of Nativity. The applications are to be received not later than June 1st to be considered. Awards will be chosen from qualified applicants in the order they are received.

Application forms are color coded with the application on the front and guidelines on the back. The submission period is April 1st thru June 1st. Forms are available in the back of church through May. The application forms for Higher Education are green. The application forms for Parochial Secondary Education are yellow. The application forms for Parochial Primary Education are lavender. If someone wants to have an electronic version of a form, they can email a request to me at [email protected], and I will send them one.

Funds for the Father Singer Nativity Scholarship program are maintained by Archdiocese of Detroit. Donations to the Father Singer Nativity Scholarship fund are welcome and can be mailed to the church office, indicating their intention. A summary of the program is available in the Our Work section of the Nativity website.

Scholarship committee members are Fran Carnaghi, Danny Wois, Chris McLaughlin, and Harry Wimble. Questions about the scholarship program can be directed to any scholarship committee member.
And again remember, all applications must be received by June 1st to be considered.

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Council Comments

3/5/2017

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Finding Welcome and Comfort in our Communities

During this Lenten season, the Peace and Justice Committee is focused on the subject of Immigration. Each weekend of Lent we will hear a Communion Reflection related to an immigration topic and we will also sing a new song called, “How Long, O Lord.”

This Monday night, March 6th, at 6:00 pm, the Committee will welcome Diane Baird, an expert on the issues that affect refugees in our country. She will talk with us at our Soup Supper and the Committee encourages and welcomes all parishioners and their friends and neighbors to come to this event to eat a simple dinner, pray together and learn about the plight of refugees and how we might respond. We are all busy, so the Committee wants to assure you that you will be on your way by 8:00.

Last month Pope Francis made ‘Comfort for the Afflicted’ the theme of his prayer intention for the month. He prayed: “that all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities.” I would like to draw attention to an organization in our community that has consistently responded to this prayer. The organization is Freedom House and you may remember that a representative from Freedom House came to a previous soup supper and brought several former residents of the program who are now successfully integrated into our country. It was a wonderful evening and we responded by collecting supplies that are needed on a continuing basis and some members of the parish committed themselves to doing volunteer work there. Freedom House is now facing a new challenge.

Mark Miller, our Parish Council President, has had a continuing relationship with Freedom House and he has sent the following information so we can be informed about their situation:

“Freedom House is a temporary home for indigent survivors of persecution from around the world who are seeking asylum in the United States and Canada. The mission of Freedom House is to uphold a fundamental American principle, one inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, providing safety for those “yearning to breathe free.” Freedom House also provides temporary housing for victims of human trafficking. Freedom House is located in the former convent at St. Anne’s parish in Southwest Detroit.

After providing housing and services to asylum seekers for over 30 years, Freedom House is in danger of closing. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development recently denied the request by Freedom House for renewal of its federal funding, which had been 60% of its annual budget. The loss of this funding places the future of Freedom House in jeopardy.

If you would like to help or learn more about Freedom House, please check the Freedom House web site at freedomhousedetroit.org.”

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