[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 69 (Wednesday, June 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO FATHER JIM WILLIAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2000

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, today I honor Father Jim Williams, a 
Catholic priest whose parish is located on beautiful and historic 
Mackinac Island in my northern Michigan congressional district.
  It was from this spot in the U.S. House that I rose in July 1996 to 
call the attention of the nation to the tricentennial celebration of 
Ste. Anne's de Michilimackinac Church. Today I honor Father Jim, who 
spearheaded the fund-raising effort to restore the historic church. I 
honor him on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his ordination, 
and on the occasion of his receipt of the Mackinac Island Community 
Foundation's first ``Community Service Award.'' Mr. Speaker, I can tell 
you there is no more fitting recipient.
  A special ceremony on June 4 recognized Father Jim's many community 
accomplishments and his unique, personal and loving ministry. Michigan 
Governor John Engler and Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm 
served as honorary co-chairpersons of this event, which took place at 
Mackinac Island's remarkable Grand Hotel. To further honor Father Jim, 
the Grand Hotel generously donated a reception, dinner and hotel stay 
for guests of the event.
  Every servant of God must follow his own path, trusting the Voice 
within to lead him toward his life's mission. Father Jim, born a 
Methodist in Pontiac, Michigan, graduated from the University of 
Michigan in 1963 with a double major in history and literature. Working 
on Isle Royale, a remote park in Lake Superior, he met the priest 
responsible for his eventual conversion to Catholicism.
  He was ordained while living on the Bay Mills Indian Reservation on 
the Lake Superior shore, and in the next ten years adopted or served as 
foster parent to 12 children. Perhaps unique among Catholic clergy, 
Father Jim has numerous grandchildren and even one great-grandson, 
Little Bear.
  He was so near Mackinac Island then, but his path carried him instead 
to sea, where he served as chaplain aboard the aircraft carriers 
Nimitz, Kennedy and Coral Sea. In 1986 his path led him back to Upper 
Michigan, and in 1990 Father Jim came to Mackinac Island.
  The sense of a community that is part of island living must be what 
suits him best. It was on a Great Lakes island that his new faith took 
root and it is now on another Great Lakes island that his role as 
community shepherd has flowered. ``This is the place I've loved being 
the most,'' Father Jim says of his parish. ``I love being part of a 
community with so few walls, where there is such a great mix of people, 
rich and poor, a wide variety of cultures, nationalities and races. The 
magic of the Island is the magic of its people, and the magic of the 
people is the mix of many peoples.''
  In his work to restore Ste. Anne's, Father Jim made sure it would 
have a community room in the basement, and this room is open to the 
Jamaican, Mexican and Filipino workers three nights a week as a place 
they can gather and celebrate their own cultures. For these workers, 
Father Jim has started classes in English as a second language.
  Because of Father Jim, the island has Teen Night, a night for the 
island's youth to gather as a drug- and alcohol-free option. Father Jim 
started a ``Take Your Wife Out to Dinner,'' night once a week, and 
weekly square dancing. A ribbon cutting will soon be held for 
affordable housing units, another project that Father Jim helped bring 
to fruition.
  My wife Laurie and I were honored last year on our 25th wedding 
anniversary with a mass celebrated by Father Jim at Ste. Anne's with 
our sons Ken and Bart Jr. Even though we are residents of Menominee, 
Michigan, we were grateful to receive the blessings and prayers of our 
dear friend on Mackinac Island for our special personal celebration.
  A man of God finds his own reward and does not seek our praise for 
his work. But I know Father Jim appreciates the fact that he can be a 
model and an inspiration to others, who may not know how much one man 
can accomplish. Mr. Speaker, in these remarks, I hope that some of the 
power of the good works of this island priest shine through.

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