Funeral Scene from Ragtime
Choir story

After a hard day of penance or grace yesterday, Pat and I attended a concert music by the choir at Milwaukee Lutheran High School. My goddaughter is in the choir. It was a concert of ‘ragtime’ music with a story to go along with the songs. The choir was excellent and different characters played the lead actor and actress in the story. However, what really made the concert special was the racial diversity of the youth, white, black and Asian. How the youth naturally interchanged parts and worked together was a realization of the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. where every youth would be equal no matter what race and everyone would be treated with respect and dignity. My spirits were renewed by the youth.

Today I received an email response from one of the Archdiocese priest who I had sent my essay: day of penance or Grace | Story of Struggle for Milwaukee SVDP It was obvious that he did not read the essay but he personally attacked me and my character with the party line of the small group controlling the Milwaukee St. Vincent de Paul Society of what a terrible person I was and how I was hurting the poor.

In my response I told him this true story: “A Vincentian Friend called me today to tell me how one of her neighbors in a housing project on the North side, 26th and Villard, called the SVDP central office recently for help with a couch. She is living on disability and had not had furniture in her living room for three years. She was told by the intake person at the office, after checking her address, we do not have a Catholic Church with a SVDP conference in your area and thus we cannot serve you. My friend thought about calling Our Lady of Good Hope for help. I am informed her the central office and the Pastor of our Lady of Good Hope had just closed the conference (one of the top ten in making home visits) and the money, over $7,000 in the conference account was being sent to the Central Office. The housing project was originally covered by St. Nicholas Church conference and when that church was closed by Blessed Trinity and when that was closed by another church conference for a while but is no longer covered, as most of North Central Milwaukee” I thank him for his email since most priest just ignored my essay and me, the worst form of hatred.

The youth represent openness with a fresh view on life. This priest represents a closed view of life with stigmatizing persons. Hopefully the youth of this world will reunite, eliminate stigmas and work together as one.

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