From the western suburbs of Chicago, they made the 35-mile drive back to the urban South Side parish. Still on the move, the Lykes made south suburban Matteson, a racially diverse community, their home. For years they chose the safety and familiarity of their faraway predominantly Black parish over the nearby unknown St. Lawrence O'Toole. But the Lykes story is not one of longing for acceptance among whites. It is a lesson learned about opening up in order to find a home where a family could be Black and Catholic among white Catholics.
Today is a typical day.
Zipping up and down floors at the archdiocesan pastoral center. Lyke exchanges comments with Father Esequiel Sanchez of the archdiocesan Office of Ethnic Ministry, about the wonderful experience of Encuentro 2000, held over the summer in Los Angeles. There are meetings and more meetings. But with a beaming smile attached to his full-moon face, Lyke, heads down to a committee meeting. Minutes before it starts, Lyke tries to share his joy over Encuentro 2000, a national event he had recently returned from with committee members.