Apr 8, 2016
CHICAGO – The Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern University is the recipient of the 2016 Kinship Award from the Precious Blood Center (PBC). The Kinship Award recognizes community contributions and social justice efforts that have strengthened the Precious Blood Center’s mission of providing hope, healing, and hospitality to at-risk youth in Chicago’s Back of the Yards/New City neighborhoods, including those youth detained at the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center (CCTJDC). The award will be presented at PBC’s 5th Annual Fundraiser, “Opening Doors,” at the Floating World Gallery in Chicago on April 20.
The Sheil Catholic Center is a faith community of students and families in Evanston, and through the pastoral leadership of Father Kevin Feeney and Campus Minister Tim Higgins, has generously provided student and adult volunteers to minister to youth incarcerated at the CCJTDC in Chicago for the past 14 years. In addition, Sheil annually donates turkeys at Thanksgiving for the families of the youth served at the Precious Blood Center, which is located at 5114 South Elizabeth Street in Chicago, and also contributes Christmas gifts to youth as part of their Mitten Tree Program.
Sheil has hosted PBC art shows featuring works by juvenile and adult inmates, Confirmation candidates from their School of Religion have written to residents at the CCJTDC receiving their Confirmation, students from the School of Religion have supported PBC’s Mothers Group, and both college students and adults regularly write letters to prison inmates.
“Through their continuing commitment and faithful support, the Sheil Catholic Center is opening doors for the youth and families we serve, especially those in detention. Their generosity has demonstrated kinship with the spirituality of the Precious Blood religious congregations,” said Father David Kelly, a Missionary of the Precious Blood and executive director of the Precious Blood Center. “Our spirituality, in concert with Pope Francis and the Year of Mercy, is to build community through the inclusion of the marginalized, to walk in solidarity with those who suffer, and to seek reconciliation in a divided world.”
The 5th Annual Fundraiser will be held Wednesday, April 20, from 6:00PM–9:00PM at the Floating World Gallery, 1925 N. Halsted Street, Chicago. The event will feature wine and cheese, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, storytelling, and the Kinship Award presentation. To purchase tickets, visit www.pbmr.org or contact Sister Donna Liette at 773-653-5467.
As part of the Kinship Award, the Sheil Catholic Center will receive a framed piece of original artwork created by youth artist Tommie Myers and Precious Blood Center’s program instructor Alberto Alaniz. Established in 2014, previous recipients of the Kinship Award include Home Depot (4555 S. Western Blvd., Chicago); Anthony Suarez-Abraham, then director of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Peace and Justice; and St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs.
The Precious Blood Center was established in 2003 in the Back of the Yards/New City neighborhoods of Chicago to reach out to a community affected by poverty, gangs, violence, and racial divisions, and to work for reconciliation and healing. It is part of the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR), a network of reconciliation ministries inspired by the spirituality of the Precious Blood religious congregations. For more information, visit www.pbmr.org.
Apr 8, 2016
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Rev. Dr. Vernon Percy Howard, Jr
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) holds multiple speaking events throughout the state educating groups and individuals about the concerns of the death penalty using grants funds from the Precious Blood: Human Development Fund. On February 27, 2016, MADP held a workshop, Death to the Death Penalty, which included guest speaker Rev. Dr. Vernon Percy Howard, Jr., the Senior Pastor of St. Mark Union Church in Kansas City, MO. His passionate presentation on Feb. 27th invigorated the audience with a message of recovery and reclamation to the word of God and His justice and grace. Rev. Dr. Howard said he believes capital punishment in our current criminal justice system destroys faith and preached:
God chose to provide Christ as the punished one in His penal code and proposed we restore justice. Jesus has no face while on the cross because his face is my face, your face, our face, the face of sinners…if anything should die, it’s the death penalty. Capital punishment is ungodly. It denies the end-game of love: salvation, redemption, and restoration.
Rev. Dr. Howard, Jr. stated MADP helped make it clear that “In every murder, there is always more than one victim and that the murderer is not a monster, only a person who is lost.”
MADP is honored to report that Rev. Dr. Howard said he was “greatly enlightened and inspired” by MADP’s presentation, outreach, volunteers, members, and work. He claims one of his new-found missions is to “spread the teachings by MADP to followers of Christ.” Over 30 other faith leaders, the newly elected state president of Missouri’s NAACP, and members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were also in attendance and helped sponsor the event.
True to his word, directly after his presentation at Death to the Death Penalty, Rev. Dr. Howard, Jr. gave a special presentation on concerns of the death penalty on KPRT’s Gospel Radio Station – AM 1590 hosting MADP State Coordinator, Staci Pratt. Rev. Dr. Howard also confirmed there is an openness for dialogue with the clergy alliance, the Justice Witness Committee, and the Missouri Mid-South Conference (MMSC) for the United Church of Christ. He has already collaborated with individuals within these groups and connected these individuals with MADP representatives for educational information on the death penalty. Rev. Dr. Howard also plans to discuss the concerns of the death penalty at the annual gathering for MMSC held in June, 2016. His energized work against capital punishment offers a rich seed, one that will bear fruit in work with other African-American ministers and clergy throughout the community. MADP’s outreach to him was made possible by funds given through Precious Blood: Human Development Fund.
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Apr 8, 2016
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)
How much do I really trust God? That is a question for us to reflect on every single day. How much of myself am I willingly putting in God’s hands? This Gospel is a powerful reminder of giving our all to God and letting God multiply it. The psalm verses today show us the blessings and joys that we receive when we enter in God’s house. Of course if we take that a but further, it means we need to follow God’s rules and ways of doing things if we wish to stay in God;s house. For it is when we leave our ways of doing things and give our all to God, that God can truly bless us.
Fr. Michael Mateyk, CPPS (Atlantic)
This reflection comes from the Easter Reflections, prepared by the Precious Blood Family of communities:
Adorers of the Blood of Christ (US Region)
Missionaries of the Precious Blood (Atlantic, Cincinnati & Kansas City Provinces)
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (O’Fallon, MO)
Sisters of the Precious Blood (Dayton, OH)
Sisters of Saint Mary of Oregon
Easter Reflections is available for printing here.
