Kevin's Corner 06-27-10
IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY: Well, not exactly today, but it was twenty years ago this Wednesday that I had the privilege of celebrating Mass for the first time at Saint Peter Claver Church. I officially began my assignment at this parish on July 1, 1990, but moved into the rectory a few days before and had a 4:00 PM Mass on Saturday, June 30. With gratitude, I want to devote this column to some highlights of these two decades.
THE “GOOD CHURCH” CHURCH: Saint Peter Claver was not my first contact with African-American Catholicism. I had had the privilege of living for parts of two years at Saint Leonard parish in Minneapolis in the 1970's. That was (and remains) a hospitable community of warm worship and neighborly concern, but it did not prepare me for what happened on the second Sunday of August in 1990. My first few weeks at Claver were pleasant but, I would say, cautious ones, as we sounded each other out. Some of the mutual fear melted on a summer Sunday morning, however, when the Gospel Ensemble was singing with prayerful power and my preaching had a little more umph in it than I had expected. Walking out of the sanctuary after Mass, I glanced at my watch and noticed that our worship had exceeded the sacred time limit of suburban Catholicism (one hour) by a full twenty minutes. I was standing outside the front door prepared to take a scolding or two when Vernon Wilson, current parish trustee and the first person out of the building, extended his hand and said: “We had some good church this morning, Father”. It dawned on me right then that weekend worship would be filled with a grace I had not anticipated – and so it has remained ever since.
A PARISH OF STRONG WOMEN: Celebrating Mass on June 30, 1990 was not my first official act at Claver. That had taken place earlier the same day, when I had breakfast with the chair of the Parish Council, Rita Commodore, and the head of the Liturgy Committee, Teresa Mardenborough. Rita had called me a few days before to welcome me, but breakfast was to be the first step in my orientation. I have had the privilege of working with strong men here, including Yusef Mgeni, who helped to get the school building leased out that first summer; Bill Foley, who became the director of the Worn-A-Bit Shoppe and is still the first person to pitch in when something needs doing; Bill Brown, a parish trustee and husband to the redoubtable Laura Brown; Vernon Wilson, mentioned above, Bill Butchee, Steve McMoore, Barry Chism and Dan Glover and so many others. But as Bill Brown “warned” me (“Father Kevin, those women will try to control you!”), this parish is a matriarchy. The identity of Claver is fiercely defended and tirelessly promoted by Rita and Teresa and by Fenita Foley. Mrs. Ruth Benner taught me how to be deeply proud of the Catholic Church while sternly rebuking its racism – she was aided by her sister, Marguerite Wilson, and succeeded by her daughters Bernie and Elaine in that mission. Mamie Jackson never failed in her hospitality, and Annette Calloway was the embodiment of dignity. There have been community warriors: Josie Johnson, Katie McWatt, and Odessa Bond, for example. Younger leaders have emerged in the last two decades: Deb Montgomery and Nita Cunningham Hicks and Benita Amedee and Deborah Jackson and Kim Nelson and so many others. And the quiet strength of Joan Beaudoin and Annie Biebl and Rosemary Husbands and other sisters-in-the-struggle has been marvelous to witness.
RONDO PRIDE AND OUR CENTENNIAL: In the 80's and 90's there was a resurgence of pride in this neighborhood. Torn asunder by the construction of I-94 two decades before, the community began to explore and celebrate its own history with the founding the Rondo Days festival in 1982. By the time I moved here, there was a vibrant renewal of the community's sense of identity (never truly lost) and a desire to let the world know about it. That sense shaped our parish's own Centennial celebration in 1992. We collected parish stories through an oral history project, gathered on the Aurora and Farrington corner that had been our worship home from 1892 till 1956, and prayed up a storm for the neighborhood. The Centennial put us on an upward trajectory – into a second century of faith – on which we have stayed ever since.
AN AFRICAN FIRST, AND MANY MORE: Larry and Jane Ubani celebrated their wedding in our parish in 1991. There had been African immigrant members of our parish before, some of whom were prominent in parish life. But nobody had had the energetic flair of Larry and, especially, Jane. When Nita Cunningham took part in their ceremony, she helped forge a familial bond between our African-American parish and the Nigerian-American community. The Ubanis and many others since have created a wonderful extended family network in our midst. The same pattern has taken place among Cameroonians, with the Fondungallahs and Kighams and Mambos and Noubissies at its heart, and among our Eritrean members, rallied by the Affas and Mekonnens and Hashels. We are truly grounded in Africa.
THE NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC CONGRESS, AND MORE: Claver's Black identity has been constantly nurtured by our connections to various national African-American Catholic networks. I have had the privilege of attending four National Balck Catholic Congresses, and witnessed the joy and pride of thousands of Catholic people (often living as an almost invisible minority in their home dioceses) united in celebration. The same enrichment happens through the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver, our Kujenga celebrations, and a variety of US and world-wide gatherings.
REOPENING THE SCHOOL: Knocking on doors in the neighborhood beginning in the fall of 1990, I heard a constant refrain: “Saint Peter Claver – reopen your school”. Our Rondo community took great pride in the learning and faith inside our elementary school, regardless of their own church membership. As we built up resources in the 1990's, the possibility of renewing our commitment to the young people of Rondo became real, and our doors reopened on September 4, 2001. What a proud moment – one I thank God for daily.
MY FAMILY'S PLACE: And through it all this has become my family's home church. My parents lived in the rectory with me, and four of my brothers have called it home. Various friends have stayed here through transitions, and some of my people's most important events have happened here: funerals for my dad and my niece; two weddings; numerous baptisms and first communions. Through it all, you have made us so welcome. Thank you, Saint Peter Claver, for twenty blessed years. Let's keep going!