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A couple of weeks ago, we were busy babysitting our grandchildren while their parents left town for an audition for seventeen year old JaShawn. As a result he was offered a recording contract. Unfortunately, it was not an acceptable offer so they are re-negotiating the contract. In addition. here is what has been happening:
Our 10 year old Grandson Jayavion (pronounced Jay-A-veon) got the highest score in the country on the MEAP Test. His school district is giving him a dinner for his achievement on May 29th.
Kiera Milan our 7 year old granddaughter models for Kohls and just returned from a photo shoot as of last week. She shot a commercial with Derrick Rose (basketball Player) and has other projects in the works. She has been under agency contract for over a year and has been working steadily ever since.
Kyle, our seventeen year old has been accepted at Perdue University.
So I have been absent because of all that has been going on. We are so proud of our children. Next week I will be back at my regular postings.
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That is the theme for a fundraising campaign throughout Detroit. The one comforting thing is something Msgr. Robert McClory our pastor said at one of the masses. He has been so impressed with what is going on at Presentation-Our Lady of Victory and because of that he is pledging $6,000. He was emotional telling us how much he loves being at our church and that he specifically asked to be assigned here. Before he arrived here, the members had come together around the deacon’s daughter in law who was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with her fourth child. Thanks to all the prayers and help she’s doing fine now. Members started bringing dinners to the family (that was a year ago); the Men of Victory started visiting another member also diagnosed with an illness; one of our young members got in trouble but was saved from a long prison term because Fr. Byrnes, Msgr. McClory, Deacon Sanders and church members packed the court room and parishioners wrote letters to save him and it worked. This is what happens when a people come together and help each other through tough times. This was so impressive to the monsignor that he is now the only thing standing between us and a church closing.
At the 73rd Annual Claver Conference last year a young black priest spoke at a prayer breakfast I attended. He said two things that stood out to me. “You have to have a priest for two reasons: to have a voice in your community, and to receive the sacraments.” Having Msgr. McClory has given us both. His commitment to our parish has put my mind at ease and now I plan to make my pledge knowing that someone higher up is fighting for us. So we got the voice and the sacraments. And that is what changed my mind about our future.
As of this writing we are about 98% on the way to reaching our goal of $123,000.00.
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You know how we all like to play and win big from publishers clearing house. Well, I got bit again and as I was going thr0ugh the steps to win I had to go on PCHs Search engine in order to qualify for more prizes. So I decided to put in “Our Lady of Victory” and up popped a surprise…a blog about the church and some information on me. I never knew it was there. Here is the link:
http://detroitchurchblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/presentation-our-lady-of-victory.html
They have an active link in there but it is no longer relevant because its a .net address. You will already be on this site so ignore it.
I cannot tell you how surprising it was to read this blog so I want to share it with you.
I just got back from our 75th Northern District Conference in a one-horse town Parsippany, New Jersey. They were not prepared to handle such a large crowd of us but we got through it as best we could. The conference was sponsored by the Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver and is held each year.
I write about this organization in my book because a council and court was started right here at OLV in 1949. The title? Santa Maria Council #105. Look it up. There is also a junior division which we plan to restart. Looking for parents to get involved with their youngsters. Have to be 7 years of age, be baptized and make their First Holy Communion. I am currently looking for new members for the ladies court and of course their daughters later on after the new members learn all they can about this noble order.
I didn’t appreciate this organization when my mother and sister were in it. That’s because I didn’t know that much about it until I started researching our history. That came after I was asked to join and was put on the history committee for another project. It’s amazing how things come together because I decided to place my findings in the book project since it is history as well. The book went from being just history to a narrative history complete with my story and the claver history added in later on.
The conference deals with business, make corrections and amendment changes to district bylaws, awards scholarships to qualifying young people, raffles drawings, etc. Delegates are selected at their home councils and courts and have voting rights based on the number of members they have.
I bid on some scented soaps and won the item. One year I won $100 from the Pot of Gold drawing. There is a breakfast, a dance, a banquet and awards given and board meetings to plan the next year’s conference, then its on to national.
Just got back into town last night and I am exhausted.
Q: Your book is a fascinating historical account of one particular church in the Detroit area. You did a wonderful job with the details. Why was it important for you to share this story?
A: I felt like our history was about to be wiped out like so much of black written history is. In fact with a stroke of a pen it was wiped out by the Archdiocese of Detroit. I felt someone had to act and I was put in the right place to be the one to do it. I was working at Our Lady of Good Counsel where I got the inspiration.
Q: How long did it take you to write it?
A: I started in 2002 and finished the manuscript by 2005. The book was published in 2007 with the help of the editing dept. from iUniverse.
Q: Was your family always Catholic or did you change religion in order to become members of Our Lady of Victory?
A: My family was baptized into the faith in 1955. My mother did not belong to a particular religion before then. She grew up in a sanctified church and felt that there had to be something better. My book explains how she found the faith. Really interesting!
Q: One unique aspect about Our Lady of Victory was the Federal Credit Union that was in the basement of the church. In light of the financial crisis today, how do you think this organization would do today if it were still active?
A: It probably would do quite well. There is a credit union in my neighborhood and it is still there. The people back then were very innovative. I was impressed when I came to the realization of what these pioneers had done.
Q: Your book was published by iUniverse. Why did you decide to forfeit traditional publishing for a print-on-demand publisher?
A: I took some not so good advice and did a pre-order promotion before the book even had a publisher. I was trying to really self publish. That didn’t work out because I had not found an editor and that held up the printing. I started to panic because I had all these people’s money and no book. A priest friend of mine recommended iUniverse because of the editing problems and that is how I abandoned self-publishing and went with them, which is a form of self-publishing anyway. I was trying to get the book out to my customers who waited a whole year patiently and were exceptionally patient. Traditional publishing would have also required that I send out query letters and manuscript or find an agent. I was not up to doing that. I was drained after the interviews, the research and trying to get the book to print.
Q: What do you hope readers will learn from reading your book?
A: Most people do not know enough about black history and blacks especially don’t know enough about themselves. In order to move forward you have to know where you have been. At the very least it explains why the Black Catholic Church is losing ground in the Detroit area. I certainly have gotten enlightened once I learned the background because it explains why there are no Black priest today to keep our churches open. Most of the people I meet are former Catholics. That is alarming. I show a pattern of 4 Black churches closing down from similar experiences and now the church in general is in trouble here in this area and people need to know…the Pope needs to know how his flock is doing in America.
Q: Are you writing another book?
A: I want to but it is very costly and money is very tight. I want to do a story about my family, particularly my father, who was something of a mystery man with a past. I also would like to do a story on the Black family in crisis. And there is the story of my tenure at the Detroit Free Press which is a lesson in business politics and race. I haven’t taken the time to jot down my thoughts except on the Free Press story.
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Our Lady of Victory Remembered! 