[Oe List ...] Death Bed

[Beret Griffith]

Stories abound....thank you Dick - for your continued linking work.
Beret Griffith

On Sun, Dec 10, 2017 at 3:19 PM, Nancy Trask via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net
> wrote:

> Wow... Thank you for this!
> Nancy Teask
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Richard via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
> To: Dialogue Wedgeblade <dialogue at wedgeblade.net>, Order Ecumenical <
> oe at wedgeblade.net>
> Cc: Richard <dick_alton at hotmail.com>
> Sent: Sun, 10 Dec 2017 16:10:33 -0500 (EST)
> Subject: [Oe List ...] Death Bed
>
> Death Bed
> After being at the October Chicago ICA Celebration of the Band of 24,
> being my birthday (76years), I thought it would be appropriate to share
> some of my history. For the last 6 years I have supported ICA Chicago’s
> work on Accelerate 77. This first helped me to get familiar with the
> Southside of Chicago as Seva Gandhi (ICA Director of Programs and
> Partnerships) and I visited Accelerate 77 Southside partners. This
> familiarization helped me to take the One Earth Film Fest to the Southside.
> The Southside is great
>
> In working on the Southside, I discovered one of the great community
> organizers was Saul Alinsky. Terry Bergdall loaned me his autobiography
> (Let Them Call Me Rebel) that highlighted Alinsky taking on the University
> of Chicago and Mayor Daly. Alinsky was a master in mobilizing local people.
> But what really caught my attention was one of the key figures in the book
> is Monsignor Jack Egan who brought resources and people to the table for
> Alinsky’s effort.
>
>  I became acquainted with Egan when I was assigned for a week to go to
> Trenton New Jersey to work with Egan as his facilitator for a gathering of
> the diocesan development coordinators. Monsignor Egan was at the University
> of Notre Dame, at that time, heading up the Urban Ministry Institute. He
> would give these great talks and then I would follow him to lead the group
> in strategic planning. Egan would kick them in the pants and then I would
> capture their new energy.
>
> So when Alinsky mentioned Egan, I looked for and found a book about
> Monsignor John Egan called An Alley in Chicago. I was sure there would be
> something in the book about ICA/EI. And there was: Egan was assigned to
> Presentation Parish, which is right next to 5th City. That is how he became
> a great friend of Joe Mathews. Then on page 269 the book tells the story of
> Egan being asked to come to Joe’s death bed and to hear his  ‘patrimony to
> the world’:  “We’ve tried to get the established Church to see that it’s
> not about peddling abstract dogma but about awakening men into life and
> significant engagement in the historical process so that they might truly
> experience the glory of life through intensification of consciousness, and
> intensification of engagement. Jack Egan prayed with his friend Joe
> Mathews, blessed him, and knelt for the blessing of this very beautiful and
> bright man… and to this day, I am a member of the Ecumenical Institute’s
> board of directors”
>
> Wow, is this not what we are still about? Ok, change men to people
>
> Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968 in Philadelphia.
>
>
>
> Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302
> T:1.773.344.7172 richard.alton at gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking
> out hold you back Babe Ruth
>
> --
> Nancy Trask
> 515-505-0456
> nancy50273 at centurylink.net
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