I've been to the Congregation of the Great Spirit a couple times since I documented my first visit here almost two years ago. I think about them every time I'm running late for mass, which is 9 times out of 10, because their service doesn't begin until everyone gets there. Something mine should consider.
A national radio report on the Congregation this morning interested me because one of my short-term goals is to get there again, soon. We're told the Congregation is the nation's first Catholic parish to combine Native American traditions with Roman Catholic ceremony; hard to believe when you consider the Catholic missionary work in this country going back hundreds of years.
The point of the report was to mention the funding cut by the Milwaukee Archdiocese, which could potentially destroy the parish. It's in a poorer area around 10th and Lapham, and it ministers to some of the poorest in the area: street people, alcoholics, jobless.
It would be a shame to lose such a unique parish, one of only a handful similar to it in the country. The answer might be to solicit donations from Potowatomi Casino, though I'm pretty sure the Archdiocese wouldn't be too keen on that idea.
10/18 Journal Sentinel article
