“We’re reflecting the best values of all our faith traditions and all the best values of our nation. Even in hard times, goodness prevails, and our young men will have renewed hope from community partners.”
This was the heart of the message from Fr. Corey Brost, CSV, Viator House of Hospitality Co-Founder and Executive Director, as he addressed a sold-out venue at Saturday’s Taste of Viator House. “We are an international, interfaith, intergenerational family, bound together by compassion,” Fr. Corey said.
The annual event is the primary fundraiser for Viator House, which, as a non-profit, provides wrap-around services in a residential program for young men seeking asylum in the US. In addition to a silent auction and paddle raise, the event affirms key partners with Heart and Hope Awards, including this year’s recognition of longtime volunteer Liz Andrews, and offers Viator House’s trademark education and advocacy.
Ronnie Malley mixed reflective stories with live performance on his oud, a stringed instrument a bit similar to a lute.
VHH Board Member Philile Mabuza shared “We Are All Immigrants,” a reflection on her own immigration to the US, including when she met Br. Michael Gosch, CSV, VHH Director of Programs and Housing, who helped settle her family: “Each one of us has a story. Some of our stories will be told; some will never be heard. The journey of an immigrant is a journey of strength, resilience, and hope, responding to the pressure and instinct to go and do something better without knowing for sure what it is,” Philile said. “Any small act you make for Viator House is a seed sprouting to life. It will change this society, and it will change us.”
Following her speech, Palestinian-American musician and composer Ronnie Malley performed. He sang and played his oud, a Middle Eastern instrument and precursor to the lute. His presentation mixed songs, such as a medley of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim hymns, with stories from cultural and musical history and from his family’s life in Chicago. “Palestinians, Lebanese, and Syrians have been in Chicago since at least the 1893 World’s Fair,” Ronnie explained. “My grandfather would say things like ‘keep home in your heart,’ and he didn’t just mean Palestine – he meant America as well.”
Many Viatorians joined the evening, in support of this ministry and its Viatorian leaders, Fr. Corey and Br. Michael.
VHH Development Director Ben Gray emceed the event, including a special video message from VHH participants in their own words, and led the paddle raise. “We want to help everyone understand that we’re all immigrants,” Ben said, in thanks for the donations. “We shouldn’t see immigrants and asylum seekers as others; they are us.”
The night was possible thanks in part to the hospitality and generosity of The Society of the Danube Swabians, who hosted at their facility; with their history of dispossession, expulsion, and diaspora, they are fittingly close friends and partners to Viator House. For the menu, Viatorian friend “Chef B” prepared a wonderfully diverse range of appetizers and main dishes for the guests.
Thanks to all these attendees, donors, and partners, VHH has now hosted 122 young men from 29 nations since opening in 2017. This year’s dinner is on track to equal or exceed that of years past as this essential ministry continues. If you couldn’t attend Taste of Viator House, you can always donate online.