Local family remains active in national Catholic organization

By JoAnn Amman, Globe intern
June 15, 2006

The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary is an organization that has been around for nearly 100 years. It began in 1909 in Alabama and was founded on the life of St. Peter Claver. St. Peter Claver is known as the slave of the slaves because of the work that he did with the slaves in the 1600s. He is said to have baptized over 300,000 slaves during his lifetime.

The group has several objectives for their organization, which include: to participate collectively in various parish and community activities, support the local pastor of the parish and bishop of the diocese, make contributions to worthwhile causes, award scholarships, to develop youth and to provide social and intellectual fellowship for its members as well as proper guidance and participation in the ever changing structure of our social and economic life.

While there are no groups in the Siouxland area, Marilyn Baker and her three daughters opted to remain active members in the organization after moving to Sioux City about a year ago. They are members of a group based in Kansas City, where they are still able to attend the monthly meetings and keep in contact with their family and also friends that they have met through the group. The Junior Daughter court has about six members currently and the Ladies Auxiliary has between 25-30 active members.

"The Claver Organization allows me and my children the opportunity to fulfill the mission that Christ has given us as Catholics which is to go out to the whole of the human race," she explained. "We do that as Clavers as we unite with our local courts monthly, and at our district and national conventions yearly as one body, and then we go back into our communities and we practice what we preach by helping an elderly person with their yard work, feeding the poor at our local homeless shelters or volunteering our time at a food pantry. This is what St. Peter Claver founded the organization on - acts of service - and this is what our Jr. Daughters and Jr. Knights are being asked to aspire to. It is our duty to continue this legacy of aiding our poor of body and spirit."

Marilyn Baker explained that the organization offers something for the entire family. With each age group, there is a different section of the organization that they can belong to for both males and females. The Junior Knights and Junior Daughters are for Catholic youth between the ages of seven to 18, and the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary for adults.

"Our organization has taught us how to start life. We also have learned a lot about elections and other things," said Ashley Baker. "We have different conferences to attend where we elect leaders for the group."

The Bakers have a history of being members of the Ladies Auxiliary and Junior Daughters organization. Marilyn's mother has been a lifelong member and Marilyn has been a member since she was 13. Many other family members are still active in the organization as well.

"Even though we have a long way to travel, I wanted my girls to stay involved because it is so family oriented for us. This way we get to see our relatives; my mother, sisters, and other family," said Marilyn Baker.

Marilyn is an Assistant Junior Daughter Counselor, which means that she attends the meetings along with her daughters, and is there to support the girls throughout the meeting, which is ran by the Junior Daughters themselves.

In order to become a member of either organization you must be Catholic and also have made your First Communion. Also, there is an initiation process for the group that you must do when you wish to become a member.

"To be initiated we have to listen to a speech about St. Peter Claver, and then answer questions about what was read," said Ashley. "Also, you have to be like the three angels - obedience, trustworthiness and loyalty."

The organization teaches the girls about peace and community service and also how to run a meeting or run for office, especially for those interested in running for an office within the organization. Some examples of a community service projects they do are working at homeless shelters and organizing an Easter Egg Hunt.

The girls have a large fundraiser to help lower the costs of the conventions that they attend. They have been able to raise enough money to pay for the hotel, travel and registration fees. Usually, the fundraiser is a brunch for Mother's Day or Easter.

The Bakers most recently attended a district conference, which was held in Oklahoma City. Members came from eight states. New elections were held to elect new leaders in the group, and also at the conference for the first time they held initiation. Erica Baker, 8, was initiated. Usually the initiations are done within each individual court.

At the conference, each member of the Kansas City court received a merit award for spirituality. They also won first place in the poster contest, which will allow them to compete on a national level. The poster was made for the theme of the convention, which was peace and justice. The girls from the court also sang for the talent show and received a participation award. A member of the court ran for the office of Mistress at Arms and won, which means she will hold the title for two years. She will be acknowledged at the national convention, which will be held next year in Los Angeles.

A favorite part of the conference for both Amber and Ashley Baker was learning about the Oklahoma City bombing and meeting new people.

"The organization is a lot of fun and we both plan on staying in it when we get older," Amber said.

Amber and Ashley Baker will be freshmen this fall at Bishop Heelan High School. Erica will be in third grade at Mater Dei Grade School.

"The conferences are a larger level of their smaller group, the girls are learning leadership and how to conduct themselves in a business type environment, especially those that are entering high school or graduating and getting ready for college," said Marilyn. "It also teaches them to how speak up for themselves when they have a strong point or belief about something."

Marilyn also has a son who would like to be active in the Junior Knights program, but the lack of numbers has prevented the formation of a group in the Kansas City area.