Kevin's Corner 01-17-10
DR. KING AND HAITI: When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death in April 1968, his was perhaps the “most humble” of the famous assassinations of that violent decade. President Kennedy died while promoting his policies and preparing to launch his 1964 reelection campaign. His brother was shot after celebrating victory in a presidential primary. Even Malcolm X, whose life never moved in the social circles frequented by presidents and senators, was among his own friends – at a Nation of Islam rally – when he was gunned down. Dr. King was supporting a garbage workers’ strike. His death, like his life, was a testimony to his solidarity with poor people. I am thinking of him as we watch the tragedy of post-earthquake Haiti. I can imagine him – he would be just 81 this weekend – finding a way to go to Port au Prince, to heal wounds, to comfort the mourning, and to lend a hand in reconstruction. Not everyone affected by the Haitian drama is poor, certainly: earthquakes cut across all social classes. But there is an extra cruelty in this natural disaster compounding the sufferings of the poorest nation in our part of the world. And of course, that poverty will make the recovery efforts all the more difficult.
SOLIDARITY WITH HAITI: The weeks and months ahead will call on us to exercise solidarity with Haiti. In a very few days, the last of the moans of those inextricably trapped in collapsed buildings will have been silenced. Within a week there will be enough emergency food and water shipped in so that the most immediate sufferings of the population will have been relieved. And then the news cameras will leave. And we will be watching the next tragedy or scandal or diversion. Meanwhile, an exhausted, deforested, poorly governed and critically under-capitalized Haiti will be trying to rebuild. Of necessity, the wonderfully generous emergency response teams and hard-working U.S. military personnel will have been called away to other challenges. Who will remain to walk and work with Haitians?
WATCH THE N.G.O.S: Six months from now, the best international assistance in Haiti will be provided by non-governmental organizations, generously supported by our own government and those in Europe, but heavily reliant on private dollars and euros as well. One of the best in Haiti has been, and will continue to be, Catholic Relief Services. Our second collection this weekend will be passed on to that very fine organization. There are many others as well, ranging from the globally famous like the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to very small efforts that support individual schools and orphanages. I will try to keep track of the work of those groups and let you know of their accomplishments and their needs. May I ask you to do so as well? And please continue to lift up individual families in your prayers too. We have one Claver family with aunts and uncles and cousins in Haiti: pray for the Boyers and their loved ones. Please keep Haiti in mind even when the cameras go away.
A BLESSED KING DAY: Central as the Haitian Calvary is to all of us, I do not want to fail to mention Dr. King’s holiday in its own right. A survey released this week showed that African-American folks now look to the future with greater hope than ever. Of course, the context of that hope is the election of the nation’s first Black president. But more broadly, such hope is the result of many decades of struggle, a struggle whose icon we honor this weekend. Genuine change – whether in Haiti or America or even in one’s own life – is a long slow process. We thank God this weekend for the courageous example of Dr. King and all those in the Movement, and ask for a similar courage and dedication on our own part. Happy Dr. King holiday!
A LECTURE USEFUL TO OUR COMMUNITY: The Saint Paul Public Schools are hosting a presentation that may be helpful to more than a few of our Claver parents. Vanderbilt U.’s Dr. Donna Ford will speak this coming Thursday about “Parenting for Achievement and Identity”. She will discuss the major barriers to achievement for African-American young people and will offer parenting tools that advance children’s academic success. The talk takes place from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at 345 Plato Boulevard East, Suite 625. Please call ahead to reserve a spot: 651-744-1340.
PRAYERS FOR MARY MCDONALD: Mary Palmer McDonald and her best friend and husband Kwame have been longtime activists in our community. We owe a particular debt to Mary, because she was our kindergarten teacher when our parish school first reopened in 2001. Mary suffered a stroke a few weeks ago and never recovered, dying earlier this past week. May she rest in peace. God bless her husband and their son, Mitchell.
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION: We do not give much emphasis to athletics at Saint Peter Claver School, preferring to invest most of our energy into other fields of learning. But we have been encouraging our young people’s physical health and participation in team-building activities. And this week we had a very nice result. We have three basketball teams – one for middle-school girls, one for middle-school boys, and a team of younger boys. All three teams won their games last Thursday evening. We are not trying to build a basketball powerhouse, but it is a nice morale-booster to see the children enjoy a victory!
During Advent you contributed winter coats for people emerging from jail. Our former pastor, Father Stan Sledz, has been collecting and distributing coats for some years. He enlisted the help of the Cabrini Partnership in doing so this year, and we received a gracious thank you a few days ago. You will find it posted in the church entrance.