News Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April, 2007
CONTACT: 
Pam Hurley, Kellogg Foundation
269.969.2142

Kathy Grosso to Deliver “This I Believe” Testimony
During Upcoming Annual Prayer Breakfast

Battle Creek, Mich.  – Kathy Grosso, executive director of the Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools, has been in the audience of Battle Creek’s Prayer Breakfast for years. On May 8, however, Grosso will be on stage, participating in the breakfast by delivering the traditional “This I Believe Testimony.”

The 26th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast will be held Tuesday, May 8, 2007 from 7:25 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. Breakfast tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased by calling 269.969.2120.

“We invited Kathy to speak because we know faith is integral to her life and work,” said Erick Stewart, co-chair for the 26th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast. “We are excited to hear Kathy speak about how her faith has grown and changed throughout her lifetime and how it impacts her today.”

Kathy Grosso has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and has been the executive director of the Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools for five years. She is a native of Livonia and moved to Battle Creek in 1986. Grosso says her faith “is the foundation for everything I do” and she hopes to convey that during the Prayer Breakfast. She serves as secretary to the Educator's Task Force, secretary of the Charitable Union board of directors, Steering Committee chair for the Community Literacy Collaborative and she is on the executive committee for the Project Time/Teaching American History Project.

Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee is the keynote speaker for this year’s 26th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast on May 8, 2007. Joyner-Kersee will talk about how her faith helped her overcome many adversities and eventually earn the title of “World’s Fastest Woman.” The theme of this year’s Prayer Breakfast is “Running Life’s Race with Faith and Grace.”

Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of the greatest female athletes in history, winning a silver medal in the heptathlon in the 1984 Olympics and gold medals in the 1988 and 1992 Games. She also won a gold medal in the long jump in 1988 and a bronze at the 1992 Olympics. Joyner-Kersee is the heptathlon world record-holder and American record-holder in the long jump.

Following the Prayer Breakfast, high school students, coaches and athletic directors are invited to meet Joyner-Kersee and ask her questions. The meeting will be in the Miller Room, 9:15 - 10:00 a.m. Anyone interested in attending should call 269.969.2120.

 “In addition to Jackie and Kathy, we have many other community leaders participating in the Prayer Breakfast,” said Stephanie Stewart, co-chair of this year’s event. “Our goal was to involve as many people from different religions and backgrounds as possible. We want to learn from each other and celebrate what brings us together – faith and trust in a higher power.”

Other participants in this year’s Prayer Breakfast include Lynn Ward Gray, Beth Franklin, Dr. Doug Campbell, John Hallacy, Matt Lynn and Dr. Philip Ptacin. The Battle Creek Academy Band and Sojourner Truth Choir will also perform. The Battle Creek Academy Band is comprised of 51 students in grades 8-12. The band is directed by Michele Stark and its goal is to create music worthy of praise to God. The Sojourner Truth Choir is directed by Pauline Norris and is part of the Music Center of South Central Michigan’s Inner-city Music Proving Arts Can Teach program at Ann J. Kellogg School. The choir consists of students ages 7 and up from the city of Battle Creek.

Since its beginning in 1982 by Dr. Russell Mawby and Dr. Paul Gieser, the Community Prayer Breakfast has encouraged all participants to speak and pray in a way that is true to their personal beliefs.  It is asked that those attending use this opportunity to listen to individuals whose beliefs might be different from their own to gain understanding and an appreciation of the participant’s faith.

Every year, the Prayer Breakfast is organized by volunteers who are dedicated to bringing the community together in a shared demonstration of faith. It provides an opportunity for the community to draw closer to God and to each other. Approximately 1,200 people attend the Prayer Breakfast every year, including more than 300 youth.

While the ticket cost has remained at $10 per person for the entire 26 years of the Prayer Breakfast, the actual cost per person has nearly doubled.  Those wishing to make a tax-deductible contribution to help underwrite the event costs and pay for area high school students to attend at no cost, may send a check payable to BCCF/Community Prayer Breakfast to:  The Community Prayer Breakfast, PO Box 4363, Battle Creek, MI  49016-4363. Those who donate $200 or more will receive two tickets to a reception in honor of Jackie Joyner-Kersee at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation the evening prior to the breakfast.

 

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