By Paul McMullen
pmcmullen@CatholicReview.org
Ray Kelly, Director of Community Relations for the No Boundaries Coalition and a member of the pastoral council at St. Peter Claver, Baltimore, visits with the Catholic Review.
CR: What and where are your Catholic roots?
Kelly: I’ve researched my lineage to the Barnes Tobacco Plantation in St. Mary’s County. After my grandfather left the Navy, my grandparents moved to Baltimore in 1959 and made St. Peter Claver the family parish. I was baptized there in 1973. My wife, Melissa, grew up Baptist in Virginia, but joined the church when she came to Baltimore. The parish, and my ministering there, created an environment that made her feel welcome.
CR: describe a time when you most relied on your faith.
Kelly: In 2006, my oldest son, Trevor, was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma (a primary bone cancer). Not only did I question God, I succumbed to weakness and self-pity, even relapsed. Taking a short-cut to maintain my business and supplement the income not obtained while he was undergoing chemotherapy, I started selling (drugs). After seven clean years, I started using again, lost my house and my business, and found myself incarcerated and indicted in a murder conspiracy.
I was convicted of accessory after the fact for contacting my cousin and informing him that the police were looking for him – they say I gave him a head start. I accepted the plea (deal) to move on. The path I was on could only lead to prison and death.
Through grace and the Catholic Church, I was awarded a scholarship to Father Martin’s Ashley, the renowned recovery facility founded by a Catholic priest. That was my fifth or sixth “second chance.” I recognized that it may be my last. I’ve been clean since 2008. It was only through the faith and support of my church family, reminding me of the power of grace, that I was able to get into recovery and set me on the path I walk today.
Trevor, by the way, turns 21 this year. He is cancer-free.
CR: What is the genesis of your social justice efforts?
Kelly: My social justice resolve comes from my own personal life experiences. As I became more involved in outreach and advocacy, and through listening campaigns with the (No Boundaries) Coalition, it became apparent that the programming and resources available were just Band-Aids. The only way to truly rebuild our community would be to change the oppressive policies and structure that not only created the very situation that created this racial inequality, but sustains it today.
CR: What is the role of the Catholic Church in the No Boundaries Coalition?
Kelly: A lot of the work the coalition does in the Sandtown community is directly connected to the church. I’ve spent many years with St. Peter Claver … youth ministry, coaching, evangelizing, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul … much of our outreach engages our residents. Events like Harpers Helpers, our food pantry, provide direct engagement with the immediate community. That is not to mention the trust the church has built in our community in the past 130 years and its standing as a sanctuary in West Baltimore.
CR: favorite saint?
Kelly: I consider St. Dismas my patron, not in the context of the “Good Thief,” but as a symbol that it’s never too late for second chances.
Also see:
