Kevin's Corner 06-20-10
CELEBRATING OUR GRADUATES: One of my favorite events happens each spring: we celebrate our Claver members who are graduating from various levels of education – from the eighth grade through doctoral studies. That celebration takes place at next weekend’s Masses, especially the 10:00. (My apologies for misstating the date in a note to some of our members.) Some of the more humble of our graduates are reluctant to allow themselves to be honored at church. But I ask that you do so, not for your own sake (your hard work is already its own reward) but as an encouragement for younger members of the parish. I had the privilege of growing up in a family that treated educational achievement as a daily expectation rather than an “extra”, and that is what I want for our Claver family as well. As we say each morning at Saint Peter Claver Catholic School: “God made us to be the best of the best of the best of the best.” That is what we will be recommitting ourselves to next weekend.
THE WINFIELD AWARDS: Celebrating the best of the best is also the purpose of the Winfield Awards. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and his family established the Awards in 1977 to honor outstanding high school student athletes in Saint Paul. Two weekends ago ten finalists were feted in a gala dinner. I have posted their pictures and stories in the church vestibule. Take some time to read them, and I know your hope for our future will be renewed. Four of those ten finalists have Saint Peter Claver connections. Gabrielle Jackson, an all-state gymnast on her way to the University of Minnesota, celebrated her youngest sister’s First Communion here last month. Kendra and Santano Rosario (all-conference athletes on their way to Harvard and Rice Universities, respectively) are at Mass weekly with two or three pews full of their extended family. And Cecilia DiCaprio (a three-sport star who will follow mom and dad into the medical sciences through Princeton University) began her faith life with us, although her family now worships a little closer to home. Gabrielle and Santano were selected from among the final ten as the overall winners of the Awards: a proud day for them and for us.
AND ANOTHER AWARD FOR JOSIE JOHNSON: In the last decade or so the Winfields have also honored their beloved, deceased mom Arline by presenting a Mother of the Year Award in her memory. That award was presented to our own Dr. Josie Johnson at the Awards Banquet. Dave and Steve Winfield considered their mom to be their greatest fan and their strongest critic, pushing them to excel and to give back. It is hard to imagine anyone embodying those two qualities more than Josie does. Congratulations, Dr. J!
RAVEN’S TESTIMONIAL: The graduation ceremony for Saint Peter Claver Catholic School is another Spring highlight. As do most graduation ceremonies, ours begins with a procession of the students. To see these young people – occasionally sullen or distracted or just plain irritating in other settings – walking straight and tall through our church is such a joy. One of the graduates, Raven Ousley-Brown added to that joy with the following testimonial:
“I am proud to be the first graduate of the re-opened Saint Peter Claver School who has successfully completed Kindergarten through 8th grade here. When I started Saint Peter Claver in kindergarten, I was an innocent five year old girl. My first teacher here taught me the simplest lessons in life. These lessons started with the ABC’s and 123’s and have remained with me even today as I graduate from the 8th grade.
The teachers at St. Peter Claver have helped me to develop and strengthen my intelligence as a committed student. In thanking all of the teachers, I am not only thanking those who were in the classrooms with me on a daily basis, but also those who were on the staff, who served as principal, who drove the bus and served us food. Also I am including those who taught me outside of the classroom. Over the years I have learned from many people who have taught me on field trips to the History Museum, the Ordway Theater, Mississippi River, Science Museum, Steppingstone Theater, Dorothy Day Center, and many others. I have learned valuable lessons about life outside the walls of St. Peter Claver.
Yet it is the important lessons of all the teachers here at Saint Peter Claver that shaped my character and will carry me through. I believe that I have strong Christian values, and my education here at Saint Peter Claver has not only been academic but also spiritual. I try to reflect my Christian values in my day to day life while at school as well as in my community. All of the teachers at Saint Peter Claver have helped to shape me into the student I am today. Although I won’t be at SPC next year, this school will be in my heart.”
“GRADUATING” AS CHIEF OF POLICE: John Harrington completed his six-year term last Thursday as Chief of Police for Saint Paul. What is most memorable about these six years is the lack of dramatic moments of crisis through them all – no accusations of a violent or inattentive police force, no protests about community mistreatment, no unaddressed crime waves. Chief Harrington led with an open door, an open heart, and a thoughtful, engaged, and open mind. He reminds me of “No Drama Obama”: not for the color of his skin but for the consistency of his character. Thank you, good and faithful public servant, for a job well done.
THAT NOTE FROM DON OMODT: In last weekend’s sermon about Father Stephen Theobald and his 100th anniversary of ordination, I told you about a note from retired Hennepin County Sheriff Don Omodt. His mother was a great admirer of Father Theobald and often worshipped here in the 1920s and 30s. Don told me about a 1969 Catholic Bulletin clipping that his mom had saved for decades: it referenced a photo packet published that year by the Minnesota Historical Society and entitled “Afro-Americans in Minnesota History”. Does anyone in our parish have a copy of that packet? I would like to put one in our parish archives. God bless Father Theobald!