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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  Neighborhood experienced being 'Christ to one another'

by John Karski, Special to The Michigan Catholic
Published November 6, 2009

John Karski

Editor's note: All parties involved have given permission for this story to be told and for the photograph to be used.

Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you ...?" is the beginning of the first verse of the "Servant Song" that was sung as the body of 15-year-old Jaquan Tillman was carried out of St. Raymond Church on Sept. 22.

Jaquan Tillman was a passenger of a van that was stolen a week earlier.

The vehicle was taken for "fun." A bad decision changed the lives of three young people forever. This one act physically and emotionally affected two others that were in the van with Jaquan.

John Karski Community members share their grief as they gather in the parking lot of St. Raymond Church, Detroit, for the candlelight vigil following the death of 15-year-old Jaquan Tillman.

The neighborhood that surrounds St. Raymond Church in northeast Detroit is a very close-knit community with many young people. This community had to come to grips with their sea of mixed emotions and questions regarding what happened that Sunday, for life as they knew it had changed.

Since the youth were friends of both Jaquan (who was a passenger) and the driver, they began the difficult task of understanding the reason for this senseless death.

The deceased young man's parents felt there was a need to reach out to neighborhood youth about the consequences of making bad decisions. They wanted something positive to come from his death. That Monday, the family came to the parish house where I am the office manager, and they asked me if they could use the church parking lot for a candlelight service later in the week.

The Tillman family met the next day with Fr. Bob Kotlarz, pastor of St. Raymond Church, Sr. Pat Altermatt, parish nurse and me. As we became more aware of their needs, we offered the church building for the funeral as well as the parking lot for the candlelight service. The church is just up the street from their home and would be large enough to hold the more than 400 people who attended the funeral. The family embraced the opportunity to use both the parking lot and the church. They were very moved by the outpouring of love and support that they received from the parish community of St. Raymond.

On Thursday of that week, approximately 200 youths and adults attended an hour gathering of prayer, tears, laughter, music, releasing of balloons and finally lighting of candles as the church bell tolled 15 times (his age). The young man who was driving the van and his mother were in attendance.

They had the opportunity to publicly share their remorse and grief over this horrible ordeal. The evening was the start of some closure to a community in need of healing.

Since Fr. Bob was to be away for the priest convocation the following week, I, along with our parish staff, had the opportunity to work closely with the family. As the days unfolded before the funeral, I felt the Holy Spirit's hand in all of this.

When the day of the Christian funeral arrived the following Tuesday, it was officiated by the family's long time minister from Alabama. The two-hour emotionally packed funeral service included members of various faiths: Protestant, Muslim, and Catholic. Our parish ushers and staff were on hand to welcome and assist. I was honored to be asked to proclaim a Scripture reading at the service and since I am also the minister of music, play the final song as the body and family departed the church.

It was a wonderful experience to have hundreds of our neighborhood brothers and sisters (many whom are not Catholic and never have been in our church) come together to pray, bring comfort, and experience what it means to be Christ to one another.

Because of the death of this young man, St. Raymond Parish and the entire neighborhood community experienced in a special way the mission Christ has commanded all of us to be: servants to each other through compassionate love and service. This was a powerful experience for all of us; it was evangelization at its best!

John Karski is the office manager and music director at St. Raymond Parish, Detroit.