Saint Catherine’s Ministries in the News

St. Catherines Parish Auction: This Magic Moment.

Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at St. Catherines School in the Cafeteria and Gymnasium
‘’‘ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm ORAL AUCTION (School Auditorium)
$10.00 per person—Tickets can be purchased after mass from Auction Committee Members or at the door on the night of the event.’‘’

Join us for an auction and entertainment. Food is available for purchase.

Our parish auction brings magic to St. Catherines. This is our biggest fundraiser and we need your support in order to continue our ministries. Make sure the date is on your calendar. This is an affordable auction—no $50-$100 dinners, just lots of fun! Invite your friends & neighbors.

The Auction will feature some of the following items:

• Gift Certificates to Local Merchants:

3 foot Party subs from Subway, Interiorscapes $25 Certificate, Robert’s Frozen Custard $25 Certificate, Bike Tune up from Emery, Cheesecake Factory $25 Certificate, Milwaukee Magazine Subscriptions, Boy Tuning Aerobic Studio Certificates, Evolution Salon & Spa $50 Certificate, Alioto’s Restaurant $30 Certificate, Kusch Service Oil Change, O’Gorman’s Oil Change, Kathleen’s Hairstyling $25 Certificate, Bartollotta Restaurants $50 Certificate, Gilles Custard $40 Certificate

• Tickets for Special Events and Destinations:

Skylight Opera Tickets, Milwaukee Rep Tickets, Pabst Mansion Passes, Bluemound Bowl Certificates, Marquette University Helfaer Theatre Tickets, Bel Canto Tickets, Tickets to Irish Fest, Tickets to Polish Fest, Tickets to Festa Italiana, Marcus Movie Passes, Pfister Hotel Bed & Breakfast Passes, 4 passes to Water Park/Country Springs Hotel, YMCA one month membership, Schlitz Audubon Center one year membership, Intercontinential Hotel one night stay with $100 Kilowat Restaurant Certificate, Hilton Milwaukee One-night stay, Jesuit Weekend Retreat

• Special Items:

Miller Lite Golf Bag and Iron Covers, African Hand-Carved Wooden Mask, African Princess Regaled Bust, Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Hooded Sweatshirt, 2009 Collecter’s Series Green Bay Packers Football, Craftsman Cordless Drill Kit, 1991 Complete Series of Major League Baseball Collector’s Cards

• Gift Baskets:

Homemade Door County products, Christmas Home Decor, Gift Wrap, Care Bears, It’s Great to be a Guy Basket for men, Chardonnay Wine,

• Services

Meal for six includes Sauerbraten, Dumplings & Gravy, Handyman Services, Supply of Italian Bread for six months, Will/Power of Attorney and Bakery

• Hand Crafted Items:

Lap Quilt, Beaded Jewelry, and Crystal Jewelry

Donations are still being accepted. Notice those special sales and pickup an item for the auction. Call in favors from shops or restaurants you frequent—ask for a gift certificate for the auction. Donate craft or a service you can offer. And don’t forget the parish auction basket. January’s basket theme is “Chocolate” — candy, cocoa, gift certificates! Place the items in the basket in the back of church.

COMMON GROUND DELEGATES’ ASSEMBLY & LAUNCHING OF THE FACES OF FORECLOSURE CAMPAIGN

WHEN: JANUARY 25, 2010

WHERE: MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI MEMORIAL UNION – 3rd FLOOR*

TIME: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Come to:
- launch our Faces of Foreclosure Campaign
- learn the current plan for roll out of Health Care Co-op in March & April

We need a strong turnout because we expect some of our key potential allies to be there to support the campaign.

• Memorial Union is in the center of campus between Wisconsin Ave. and Wells St. at about 15th St. Visitor parking can be found in the 16th St. Parking Structure (between Wisconsin and Wells St. 16th St. is one-way going North) and at the Wells St. Parking Structure (on Wells between 13th & 12th.) The cost of parking is $3.00 – please have $3.00 cash upon arrival to help keep the traffic flowing quickly into the parking structure.

Ralph and Jane Kornburger Honored at the Vatican II Awards

Catholic Herald Staff
Thursday, 05 November 2009
Written by Catholic Herald Staff

MILWAUKEE — Fourteen people will be honored with the Archbishop’s Vatican II awards for distinguished service for outstanding contributions to church and society on Tuesday, Nov. 10. A prayer service and awards ceremony will be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 812 N. Jackson St., at 7 p.m.
The recipients of the 2009 Vatican II awards are:

Service in Administration: Steven J. Smith, St. John Vianney, Brookfield. Smith used his expertise as chairman and CEO of Journal Communications to assist the archdiocese’s Faith in Our Future Campaign and your Catholic Herald. He also served as a schools advisory board member.

Service in the Church: Maureen Gallagher, St. Anthony on the Lake, Pewaukee. Gallagher spent 22 years serving archdiocesan parishes and schools, including service as director of the Waukesha Catholic School System. She has also worked with a national consulting firm, conducting planning for parishes, schools and religious communities.

Service in Communication: Vue Yang, St. Peter Claver, Sheboygan. Yang has worked with the Hmong-Catholic community to bridge the cultural gap and foster an understanding of what it means to be a good Catholic and maintain a strong connection to Hmong heritage, and was involved and routinely organized Hmong Masses, taught English at his parish, and served on the parish council. He also works with the Hmong Sheboygan radio program, promotion of publications and Hmong Union Market.

Service in Ecumenism: Margaret Bemis, Our Lady of the Lake, Random Lake. Bemis was inspired by her husband, a practicing Methodist, to get involved with ecumenical work. She’s involved with interfaith communities, the promotion of ecumenism through education about other faith traditions, and other unity opportunities.

Service in Education: Kathleen Cepelka, Gesu Parish, Milwaukee. Cepelka is associate dean and director of teacher education at Marquette University, Milwaukee, and is also an active member of Pius XI High School Board of Directors; the Dominican High School Leadership Transition Team; St. Clare Center Advisory Board; Capuchin Province of St. Joseph Public Relations Ministry; and Schools’ Theology and Faith Formation Committee.

Service to Families: Deacon Ralph Kornburger Jr., St. Catherine Parish, Milwaukee. Deacon Kornburger co-developed the Interfaith/Interchurch Engaged Enrichment Programs and has worked with the Marriage Task Force Resolution.

Service in Liturgy: Judith Straus, St. Dominic, Sheboygan. Straus instituted choir exchanges to introduce her parish’s music to others, created a “Sister Act” group that entertained for five years, held musical fundraisers and worked closely with schools to foster their involvement in church services. In 1976 she was named the first parish music director in Sheboygan, and in 1992 was placed on the Sheboygan Music Wall of Fame.

Service to Missions: Patricia Parks, St. Mary Visitation Parish, Elm Grove. Since 1976 Parks has handled the stateside activities for the Working Boys Center, a Catholic organization committed to helping working boys and their families in Ecuador. Parks’ sister, Sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary Miguel Conway, traveled to Ecuador in 1967 as a missionary and is one of the founders of the Working Boys Center. To assist the center, stateside, Parks founded Family Unity International, a not-for-profit organization that further supports the Working Boys Center.

Service to Priesthood: Fr. Joseph Juknialis, pastor of Shepherd of the Hills, Eden. For more than 40 years Fr. Juknialis has empowered his parishioners to “be the church.” He taught seminarians at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary, St. Francis, and for 15 years has written Scripture reflections for your Catholic Herald, where he focuses on helping people look beyond the surface of faith in their lives.

Service to the Priesthood: Fr. Robert Gosma, temporary administrator at St. Mary Immaculate Conception, Burlington. During his 50 years of teaching religion in grade schools and religious education programs, Fr. Gosma served as an associate or pastor of various parishes in southeastern Wisconsin. He helped parishes grow in the spirit of Vatican II through emphasis on developing parish ministry staff, promoting strong outreach programs and enabling laity to share in pastoral ministries.

Service in Society: Fessahaye Mebrahtu, All Saints and St. Martin de Porres parishes, Milwaukee. For 25 years Mebrahtu has worked to ensure African immigrants have access to resources, employment and education when arriving in the United States. The Pan-African Community Association formed out of his parish’s Pan-African Committee, and he serves as the association’s executive director, as well as the Christian formation director at his parish. He is a national consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, serving on the Pastoral Care for Migrants, Refugees and Travelers Committee, and is a member of the Black Catholic Ministry.

Youth Service to the Church: Ryan Jonas, St. Alphonsus Parish, Greendale. Jonas has served as a kindergarten, second grade and confirmation catechist for four years, and has provided technical support for the parish by helping members with computers, projectors, video cameras and PowerPoint presentations. He has also set up a phone tree system, coordinated the technical aspects of parish trivia nights, auctions and presentations.

Youth Service in Education: Julie Twohig, Shepherd of the Hills Parish, Eden. Twohig’s positive experiences with mission trips led her to start teen mission trips within her parish, where through these trips teens learn the true meaning of service and how to fully give of themselves.

Youth Service to Society: Kathleen Geraghty, Mother of Good Counsel Parish, Milwaukee. Geraghty has organized and participated in tutoring programs at Mother of Good Counsel and Pius XI High School, Milwaukee, and represents the youth at her parish council’s meetings. She has participated in the Nehemiah Project’s Youth Leadership Institute, worked with a crime prevention agency to better her parish’s neighborhood and participated in service-based projects as part of the National Honor Society.

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Project Rachel Celebrates 25 years

Catholic Herald
Written by Tracy Rusch
Wednesday, 09 September 2009

Project Rachel, the post-abortion reconciliation ministry of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, has been healing hearts of those affected by abortion since 1984. As founder Vicki Thorn and others celebrate the 25th anniversary of its inception on Sept. 18, they look back upon the effect it has had on the lives touched by the ministry and the way God and his church heal the suffering hearts.

Vicki Thorn, founder of the post-abortion ministry Project Rachel, holds a 1994 photo in which Pope John Paul II is giving her a blessing in Rome. (Catholic Herald photo by Tracy Rusch)“It really is an awesome experience of looking back and seeing how an idea that was really only Spirit-inspired changed the face of the abortion debate in the U.S., and, not only in the U.S., but also in other countries,” said Thorn, executive director of the National Office of Post Abortion Reconciliation and Healing since 1990, and who serves as chairman of the Respect Life Advisory committee for the archdiocese. “Never did I suspect I would be in mainland China and Australia and New Zealand and a number of European countries … talking about this issue.”

Bishops’ pastoral plan led her to action

When the bishops issued a pastoral plan for pro-life activities in 1975 as a response to abortion being made legal, Thorn said their three pronged response made her take action. They advocated “womb-to-tomb” education and the sanctity of all life, getting people involved in the legislative process to be active participants in society, and offering pastoral care for those faced with a crisis pregnancy and healing for those touched by abortion, but there was no guidance for how to deal with it.

Thorn had watched a high school friend make the downward spiral through addiction, eating disorders and self-destructive actions after having an abortion. Thorn had worked in Minneapolis after she went to school for psychology only to learn that it didn’t teach her what to talk about with someone dealing with abortion. When she moved to Milwaukee, and became a Birthright volunteer, she wanted to prevent pregnant women from going down the same road as her friend.

She was offered the job as Respect Life director in 1977 and she saw an opportunity unfold.

“I thought, ‘You know, the church is the place that we could do this.’ That from what I saw of my friend, it was both a spiritual and a human wound that needed to be addressed, and as a church, with sacraments and the people who populate the church, we can take care of this. So that was my understanding, but then you had to find people who knew enough to be able to train priests, train mental health professionals, figure out how we’re going to deal with people in terms of how are they going to find us, the phone calls and things like that.”

Seven years of organizing

The ministry that took Thorn seven years to organize, because there were no experts on healing the spiritual hole and pain left by abortion, resulted in an array of speakers, including; a regular psychologist and a priest psychologist who could bridge the gap in terms of the spiritual aspect, a woman who had had an abortion and worked with a priest for her healing, who gave her testimony, the sister of a woman who had had an abortion to talk about the impact on the family, a canon lawyer who talked about the Code of the Canon Law, and a Jesuit priest who Thorn described as an “automatic confessor” and shared experiences of the people he met through his work.

“They needed to hear the woman to talk about her pain and her healing,” Thorn said of the day’s speakers. “They needed to hear the family system stuff; they needed to hear the psychology of it and then how does this link together because my intention was that this would be a holistic response. As church, we have people who can address the spiritual issues as priests and we have mental health professionals and others who can address the psychology of it.”

When they started, they questioned whether the women involved were dealing with some kind of pathology, and terms like post-abortion syndrome came up. But Thorn doesn’t like the implication of that language – that something’s wrong with these women.

“This is a woman who lost her child in a traumatic and unnatural fashion. She’s grieving, hello! I mean, that’s normal,” Thorn said, explaining that pathology can exist if women try to resolve the grief and soothe the pain with alcohol, cutting or suicide attempts.

“And the process is one of helping her to process the anger toward the other people involved, to move to forgiveness, to be reconciled then with God, with her baby and with herself and forgive herself in that, that’s it,” Thorn said. “That’s not high-tech psychotherapy, you know, that’s spiritual healing and it works.”

Archbishop offered office space

Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland told Thorn she would have office space in the Cousins Center whenever she was ready, moving the cost from her budget to his. She also was connected with a financial supporter, “And on the Feast of the Assumption, I met the man, he gave me my check,” she recalled.

Through people like this, the program exists, because Project Rachel is funded through small donations. Another donor, Frank Julliano, was a convert to Catholicism with a large burden on his shoulders – he had helped a cousin get an abortion. During the two years when she began the conference, the two operated out of her house and Julliano’s place in New Jersey.

“This man had told me that he had all the furniture I needed, that when I had the money, I was supposed to call him,” she said. That furniture, carpeting and supplies, down to the pencils, fill the small Project Rachel office.

“So, then in 1990, we did another Mass of inauguration for this office,” Thorn said of the creation of Project Rachel’s central office.

Project Rachel aims to educate priests, too

Some of Thorn’s favorite work beyond the one-on-one with women is the speaking and training she does with priests and caregivers.

Fr. Ralph Gross, pastor of St. Bruno Parish, Dousman, a Project Rachel priest since shortly after it began, was among priests at the first training workshop meant to help them better understand people touched by abortion.

“Project Rachel has done a wonderful job educating priests over the years to be able to be more sensitive and more understanding of the circumstances, and to have a better insight into the crisis of abortion and the aftermath,” Fr. Gross said, adding that even those who aren’t directly associated with Project Rachel but have attended workshops have gained great insight into Thorn’s work.

For him, getting involved in the project has answered his need to reach out to the people who are hurting and help them return to the good graces of God in their minds, he said. Project Rachel has been instrumental in “breaking down some of that barrier and opening the doors of communication between those who have had abortions, been involved in abortions and the church and so they can seek out healing,” Fr. Gross said.

Many people, according to Fr. Gross, sought healing through the sacrament of reconciliation, before Project Rachel’s existence, but this has given people a chance to talk about their pain and help them heal in addition to the sacrament of reconciliation. “That’s something that I have felt pastorally is just so absolutely necessary,” he said. “So this has been a tremendous blessing and thank God it has actually gone beyond the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and has stretched all over the world now, in many places. So, it’s been a wonderful tool and a wonderful blessing on the church and for people’s lives in the church.”

Yvonne Florczak-Seeman, president of Woman’s Choice Services, an organization with four pregnancy centers in Illinois, sought the healing of Project Rachel after five abortions. While she was baptized Catholic, she had been Protestant for 40 years until Project Rachel gave her a new understanding of Catholicism and what it means to understand God’s fullness and forgiveness.

“(Project Rachel) trains the priests, it gets them to understand the compassion necessary for these women to come back home, and it forgives them of the mortal sin of abortion and opens up a whole new world to them,” she said.

While there are many postabortion healing programs – a simple Google search reflects millions – Project Rachel was set apart from all the others for Florczak-Seeman.

“I believe it’s set apart because it was the Holy Spirit that inspired Vicki Thorn, along with those priests, that I truly believe with everything that I have in my entire being that they met in the throne room of God to put it together, because it begins the process of healing for women to let go through reconciliation.”

Abortion affects more than women

In the beginning, Project Rachel focused on helping women cope with the decisions they made, but it has since recognized the need to help the many others affected by abortion.

“If every year there’s something like 43 million abortions in the world, I mean, that’s women, but there’s men, and then there’s extended family because the other children are impacted,” Thorn said of the way that the lasting effects of abortion call for ministries that help women, men, family and friends.

With the help of the Knights of Columbus, Thorn held two national conferences for men dealing with abortion, and they’re planning more. The ministry has been important not only to Thorn, but to the archdiocese and the larger Catholic community. Its growth is evident in the more than 170 dioceses where Project Rachel has sprouted, and in the mark it has made internationally, but also on occasions like Thorn’s 1994 introduction to Pope John Paul II.

When her friend told the former pope that Thorn had created Project Rachel, he knew what it was, and said, “That’s very important work,” and gave her a special blessing.

“On a universal level, the awareness that our prophetic stance on the fact that abortion isn’t good for women, men or children has to be matched with the pastoral care,” Thorn said. “You know, recognizing what a temptation this is in this world and it’s passed off as such an easy thing, but the recognition that this is a life-changing event that leaves a hole in your soul.”

As Thorn looks back upon the 25 years of Project Rachel, she remembers the many stories that have touched her, from young women who were struggling alone and had no support but Thorn’s one-on-one phone conversations; to a priest who was ready to leave his vocation but
was then contacted by a Project Rachel woman and rediscovered his purpose and calling.

“Just having somebody that you can trust, that you can talk to on the telephone is enough to get you through that kind of a crisis,” Thorn said. “…even the priests, the priests who are still priests because they did this work, because this isn’t only for the women, it’s also for the priests who help – this is what priests were ordained to do, to set captives free.”

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Joshua Thorn’s mission trip to Gambia

Joshua Thorn, a parishioneer at St. Catherine’s, is on an extensive mission trip to Gambia in West Africa. Josh is working for a Christian School. He has started a blog and has posted some entries. Share in his experience by viewing his blog.

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Gala Dinner and Big Silent Auction on May 15, 2009 raised thousands of dollars for Lissy’s Place, a haven for homeless women on Milwaukee’s West Side

My Home, Your Home, Inc.
June 22, 2009
Written by Michael Zahn

About 250 supporters of Lissy’s Place, a haven for homeless women on Milwaukee’s West Side, attended a fundraising Gala Dinner and Silent Auction on the evening of Friday, May 15, 2009 at the Midwest Airlines Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Thousands of dollars were raised for Lissy’s Place, which is operated by My Home, Your Home Inc.

Lissy’s Place helps homeless women to develop economic self-sufficiency and personal independence. More than 400 women have been assisted since Lissy’s Place opened on Sept. 4, 2001.

The May 15 event honored the following individuals:
► Father John “Jack” Kern, pastor of St. Catherine Church; Toni Wagner, president of the St. Catherine Parish Council; parish trustees Trudy Ranallo and Mike Wessa; and Parish Council members Juan Luglio and Mike McElwee.

They were presented with a plaque that reads:
My Home, Your Home Inc. and the residents and staff of Lissy’s Place thank
Father John Kern, the St. Catherine Parish Council, the Parish Trustees and all
the parish members for their unflagging support of this program. Since the
founding of Lissy’s Place eight years ago,, more than 400 homeless women have
developed economic self-sufficiency and personal independence. The unending
kindness of the leaders and members of St. Catherine Parish has been a
profound blessing to many.

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Two Local Men Help St. Catherine School

WTMJ 4
Positively Milwaukee
January 14, 2009
Written by Carole Meekins & Katie DeLong

A video segment by Positively Milwaukee was filmed on this story.

MILWAUKEE – The holidays may be over, but one local school is enjoying a gift that keeps on giving, all thanks to a Positively Milwaukee story we told you about in November.

They got game…and more.

Students at Milwaukee’s St. Catherine School are now playing under new hoops and backboards.

Back in November, TODAY’S TMJ4’s Carole Meekins told you about a dilemma facing St. Catherine. The school had been donated more than $15,000 worth of equipment, but they didn’t have the money to get it up.

The backboards and hoops came from the West Suburban YMCA. Athletic Director Gary Thompson showed Carole Meekins how they were just sitting in a garage because the school could not afford the $6,000 installation fee.

“We just want to get them up so the kids can enjoy playing on them,” Thompson said.

After we aired our story, two wonderful men were moved enough to give.

Jim McCormick of Diversified Insurance Services of Waukesha and John McNally, an attorney of McNally Law Offices in Milwaukee donated the money. Both were honored during halftime.

TODAY’S TMJ4’s Carole Meekins: “What motivated you to give, to decide to help the school here?”

“You. John and I saw your piece at the same time and this is the type of activity we like to participate in. There was a need and this was the opportunity,” Jim McCormack said.

“We wanted to do something for children in Catholic grade schools in Milwaukee, and when we saw your piece on Channel 4 it was a perfect fit,” John McNally said.

Also spotlighted, the West Suburban branch of the YMCA that donated the equipment.

“We helped another local school transform their gym into something the kids can spend time in and be mentored in. It makes me feel so great about what we’re doing at the YMCA,” Christine Larson said.

TODAY’S TMJ4’s Carole Meekins was also touched to be singled out for doing the story. She was also impressed with what one all star alum told her about the basketball program.

“Grades come first and everyone had to get their grades up in order to play,” Kendall Evans said.

So it’s not just getting points on the court, but in the classroom and hopefully kids will see that sometimes the biggest victories come from giving back.

“It’s because we saw the piece on Channel 4 and the more you do of those, the more we may get more people to step forward.”

The two donors are not graduates of St. Catherine’s. By the way, Jim McCormack’s company, Diversified Insurance Company of Waukesha spent its 25th anniversary helping to restore, cleanup and beautify Sherman Park.

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Neighbors no longer ask, ‘Where’s St. Catherine’s?’

Basketball, tutoring program part of parish outreach

By Brian T. Olszewski
Catholic Herald Staff
June 12, 2008

MILWAUKEE — Shortly after he arrived as pastor of St. Catherine Parish in July 2004, Fr. John “Jack” Kern walked the area around 51st and Center St. in order to get to know his neighbors. He stopped to introduce himself at the home of a man who was an elder at another church.

“‘Fr. Jack, where is that St. Catherine’s?’” the priest recalled the man saying. “He’s living across the street from these buildings!”

His neighbor’s question became the impetus for a parish-based evangelization program.

“It opened my mind to the fact that we have to let the draw bridge down over the moat, leave the castle and get out into the community. That was the beginning of our ‘Knock, Knock’ ministry – not as proselytizers but as neighbors.”

The neighborhood, 47th Street to 54th Street, Lisbon Avenue to Locust Street, has the highest density of youth of any Milwaukee neighborhood, according to parishioner Mark Peters, but the least amount of activities for those youth.

“We asked, ‘What could we do?’ One of their concerns was youth. ‘Kids don’t have much to do. They cause trouble,’” Fr. Kern said.

So the pastor and parishioners entered into what he termed “real dialogue” to determine what they could do for the youth of the neighborhood.

“We were confused about how to change the youths’ mentality,” said Albert Ithier, 56, a resident of the area. “The kids were the ones who really wanted a neighborhood so it was best to get to know these kids. So, I was hoping we would be able to open the gym.”

“’Fr. Jack, you can’t let them in there’ – the ‘them’ were the neighbor kids. ‘They cause trouble,’” the priest recalled some of the parishioners advising him.

Fr. Kern concurred with Ithier’s belief that the gym was a key to serving the kids.

“Fr. Jack said, ‘We’re going to open it,’” Ithier recalled.

Six months ago, the parish opened the gym two hours each night on Tuesday for boys 15 and under and Friday for boys 16–19 with Ithier volunteering to coordinate the program and with a parishioner to help him when the gym was open.

While the gym may be open, it is not open gym. Ithier, who has worked with youth since he was 19, coaching AAU, running leagues at several Milwaukee playgrounds, and directing an alternative middle school, set the rules.

“Gym is run tight. No horseplay. No clowning. No dunking. No grabbing the nets. No touching the rims. It’s just play basketball. While you’re waiting for your game, you have to be seated. No jumping around,” he said.

On a recent Friday night, with more than 40 teens in the gym – some nights there are more than twice that number – the program was as organized as Ithier had described it. Ten young men played a seven-minute, full-court game while others watched. No trash talking, no chest thumping. At one point, noticing basketball shorts riding lower and lower, Ithier calmly instructed, “Pull ‘em off or pull ‘em up.” Failure to comply earned one player the opportunity to do 25 push-ups which he did without complaint.

“It’s all about discipline, and the kids now have bought into it,” he said, describing himself as a “surrogate father” to many of the players. “I just give them that look. They know the body language or the tilt of my head. Whatever I do, I do with humor and affection. Never with malice. I’m never mad at them.”

The program continues to evolve, thanks in large part to an $11,200 grant from Safe & Sound, Inc., a collaborative effort among private and public entities to combat crime in Milwaukee neighborhoods. That money will provide some funding for a 10-team summer league that will have coaches, referees, and time keepers as a Saturday afternoon component is added to expanded Tuesday and Friday night hours.

Barbara Notestein and the board of Safe & Sound on the St. Catherine program were “very impressed with the number of youth, their attitude and their behavior.” She was also moved by what she termed their “sense of selflessness.”

“There had been discussion about the number of youth who could participate,” said Notestein, Safe & Sound’s executive director. “They said they would play less so more people could participate.”

The grant also provides funding for a tutoring program that will begin in fall.

“We’re using the basketball program as vehicle to get these kids into more reading, writing and arithmetic,” Ithier said.

The program has a mentoring component which will involve people like Aaron Clark.

“I like working with kids and keeping them off the street,” said Clark, 20, who plays in the Friday night session.

An employee of Anointed Cleaners, Clark said when he came to the program, he “had to clean my language up a lot. He (Ithier) stayed on me.”

“I’m more respectful around people,” said Clark, who will coach one of the summer teams.

Ithier described himself as an “exceptional athlete,” able to touch the rim when he was in fifth grade. A student at Gesu School and St. Rose School before going to West Division High School, he said he is motivated by “justice” in undertaking the program.

“I didn’t want kids to have to go through what I went through as a kid,” he said of the color barrier he experienced. “I want them all to have a fair shake. Let’s show these kids some love.”

As parishioners have gotten involved in the program, perceptions about their neighbors have changed, according to Fr. Kern.

“People tell me, ‘I walk down the street now; at one time I’d see two of these kids coming toward me and I’d go to the other side of the street. I feel really comfortable,’” he said. “They (parishioners) talk to them on the sidelines.”

The parish’s outreach also includes a girls’ club that meets twice a week, a summer playground program, and hosting AA meetings.

“They are getting to know who we are and what we’re about,” he said.

Everyone in the league will wear a jersey with St. Catherine’s imprinted on the front.

“This jersey is going to make St. Catherine’s a very popular place,” Ithier said.

No longer will neighbors have to ask, “Where’s St. Catherine’s?”

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Volunteers needed for new church-based basketball program

By Tom Heinen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online
Wednesday, Jun 4 2008, 11:05 AM

St. Catherine Catholic Parish at 5101 W. Center St. is looking for adult volunteers to fill 100, one-hour time slots for the summer basketball program that it is launching for west side boys and young men from 14 to 19 years old with a $10,000 grant from Safe & Sound. The parish hopes to have 10 teams of up to 10 players each, with an open gym from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and league play from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays in the parish gym, which is on N. 51st St., just south of Center.
“There’s nothing in the immediate neighborhood, no Boys & Girls Clubs or YMCAs,” Peters said. “They have to cross over other neighborhoods to get to them, and that can sometimes be a problem.”

Volunteers don’t need athletic ability or coaching experience, though there is a need for some volunteer coaches. In both cases, people can choose their hours and dates, with no minimum commitment requirements. They are needed to take attendance, monitor the gym and perform other support duties. The program runs from June 17 through Aug. 16.

The Catholic parish started offering organized basketball in its gym last fall as a result of a “knock-knock” evangelization and outreach program in which parish members went door to door in the surrounding area to see if people wanted to come worship with them on Sundays, said Mark Peters, the basketball program’s volunteer coordinator. Although a couple of families came, the St. Catherine’s people found that most households were already attending a church. They also learned that many people were concerned about the neighborhood, especially about the lack of gym space and organized activities for what is a high concentration of youths in the area.

“There’s nothing in the immediate neighborhood, no Boys & Girls Clubs or YMCAs,” Peters said. “They have to cross over other neighborhoods to get to them, and that can sometimes be a problem.”

The parish might involve other area churches in the effort after this summer, Peters said, adding that it also hopes to start an after-school tutoring program this fall for the ball players. To volunteer, or for more information, call Peters at (414) 963–0779.

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West Side Catholic parish gets $10,000 basketball grant

By Tom Heinen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online
Tuesday, Jun 3 2008, 04:58 PM

Safe & Sound, whose mission is to reduce crime and violence in Milwaukee, has given a $10,000 grant to St. Catherine Parish, 5101 W. Center St., to help fund and expand its basketball league for boys this summer. Details are going to be announced at 7 tonight at a news conference at the parish with Ald. Michael Murphy.

The Catholic parish started offering organized basketball in its gym last fall. That was a direct result of a “knock-knock” evangelization and outreach program in which parish members went door to door in their west side neighborhood to see if people wanted to come worship with them on Sundays, said Mark Peters, the basketball program’s volunteer coordinator.

Although a couple of families came, the St. Catherine’s people found that most households were already attending a church, Peters said. They also learned that many people were concerned about the neighborhood, especially about the lack of gym space and organized activities for youths in the area. In response, the church started an evening basketball program, initially as a reward for boys who participated in neighborhood clean-ups. It quickly grew week by week, with younger teens playing on Tuesdays and older ones playing on Fridays.

The new St. Catherine’s Summer Basketball League is expected to run from June 17 through Aug. 16, with 10 teams of up to 10 on a team. Details being announced tonight might vary, but the league is expected to have play for boys about 14 or 15 on Saturdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. A majority of players are expected to range in age from 16 to about 19, playing on Tuesdays and Fridays from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The parish might involve other area churches in the effort after this summer, Peters said, adding that it also hopes to start an after-school tutoring program this fall for the ball players.

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