Frying Fish for St. Stanislaus Kostka

I’m generally not one to advocate the Friday fish fry of a local church but in this case I’m making an exception. The Polish Falcons are having Fish Fry’s to help benefit St. Stanislaus Kostka Church from the bully on Lindell. Every Friday between now and March 18th you can get a complete dinner including desert and beverage for only $6.50. If you need more desert afterwards just take a stroll down to Crown Candy Kitchen.

If you click on the upcoming events section of St. Stans website you’ll get time and location information. If you’ve never been to the Polish Falcons for an event you are in for a treat. I can guarantee you’ll have a good time!

– Steve

Let Us Turn Our Thoughts Today to Martin Luther King

The following is one of my favorite works about Dr. King:

Let us turn our thoughts today
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
We are bound and we are bound

If you are a fan of singer/songwriter James Taylor you know those words from his song “Shed a Little Light (iTunes link).” His words echo what I think King symbolizes – “hope and love”, “sister and brotherhood”, “all men and women.”

A very relevant part of his song is “We are bound together/by the task that stands before us/and the road that lies ahead.” The road that lies ahead is Martin Luther King Blvd which runs from downtown to the city limits. The task is returning this street to an important part of the community – a street worthy of its name. We are all bound to this task because we cannot rebuild our city by continuing to ignore the north side.
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Save St. Stanislaus Kostka Church from the greedy Archbishop!

I am neither Polish or Catholic but I know the value of maintaining the rich history that is St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in North St. Louis. While the St. Louis Archdiocese has for decades closed city parishes the lay board governing St. Stanislaus has managed to maintain its own buildings, grounds and saved for a rainy day.

If anything, the St. Stanislaus lay board should run all the affairs of all the St. Louis parishes!

The parishioners of St. Stanislaus Kostka church have put together a very informative website which will get you past the rhetoric that diocesan spokesperson Jamie Allmman is spewing.

From the St. Stanislaus Kostka website:

Cha-ching!!! Archbishop Burke can’t be happy when a parish does well – who needs the church structure if parishes can make it on their own? As many of you know, the Archbishop is pressuring the lay board to turn over control of the church to the archdiocese. You can help them stay independent – go to the site, read what they have to say, sign up for their email list and call archdiocese and tell them what you think of their greedy tactics (the phone number is on the site).

Click here to Save St. Stanislaus Kostka Church

Click here to read my previous post on this subject from 12/8/04.

Thank you for helping Save St. Stanislaus Kostka Church!

– Steve

St. Stanislaus Kostka should not give in to St. Louis Archdiocese

Those of you in St. Louis are well aware that St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, founded in 1880, is being pressured to turn over control of church property and other assets (including an endowment) to the St. Louis Archdiocese. For over a century the lay board of St. Stanislaus has managed their own financial affairs – a unique arrangement I’m told. Discussion now centers on a irrevocable trust for church property & assets but I don’t trust Archbishop Burke. The members of St. Stanislaus should be commended for maintaining their church, building an endowment and remaining in a neighborhood which has seen a devastating amount of change over the last 50 years. We have this board, not the St. Louis Archdiocese, to thank for their continued presence. I hope they tell the Archbishop where he can go (don’t worry, he’ll get their eventually).

Over the last 50+ years the St. Louis Archdiocese has abandoned the City of St. Louis – closing church after church. It is almost as if they were deliberately pushing their parishioners to the suburbs. Take a tour of North St. Louis sometime – former Catholic Churches abound. Most are vacant. Most are some of the most stunningly beautiful churches I’ve ever seen – even in various states of disrepair.

Not happy with helping destroy North St. Louis, the Archdiocese now has its sights set on South St. Louis. A number of local churches built & maintained by generations of St. Louis families are going to close. The final list is still being debated but it seems to me the parishioners and the neighborhoods that will be impacted have little say in the matter. Meanwhile, demand for services from social service agencies such as Catholic Charities will increase as a result of their abandonment of the City of St. Louis. Perhaps that is the plan? Abandon the city so the social agencies can gain greater control? The residents & parishioners in the city are simply pawns in their game…

While my own personal faith has nothing to do with organized religion, I see the value to many in St. Louis for their local parish. In the suburbs you’re going to drive to church anyway – just based on their sprawl. But, in the City of St. Louis we need to see a return to the local church. The task of trying to attract new residents becomes harder without the local church in the neighborhood.

The St. Louis Archdiocese is making major mistakes that will have a very long lasting affect on the rebirth of St. Louis.

– Steve