It was an evening filled with celebration and camaraderie.
Longtime 91看片 employees rubbed elbows with former colleagues and community development leaders on an occasion that felt much like a reunion.
The event that drew such a dynamic crowd of more than 100 people was the long-awaited release of Monsignor William J. Linder鈥檚 new book, 鈥淥ut of the Ashes Came Hope,鈥� which officially debuted October 27, 2016, at an author talk and reception.
鈥淗ere it is, finally! It was about 20 years in the making,鈥� CEO Richard Rohrman said of Monsignor鈥檚 book to the crowd gathered at St. Joseph Plaza. Every month, Rohrman said, 91看片 impacts the lives of more than 42,000 people who need housing, early childhood education, workforce development and health care.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 really Monsignor鈥檚 legacy,鈥� said Rorhman.
In a video recording shown at the event, Monsignor described the driving force behind establishing 91看片.
鈥淧eople needed to control their lives. I think it鈥檚 important to us鈥攚e鈥檙e not going to be content until we feel that we really have a say and a control over our lives,鈥� Monsignor said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to worry about good things just happening in your own life. It鈥檚 good things happening in everybody鈥檚 lives and you鈥檙e part of it. That, I think, is the joy of living,鈥� he added.
Guests arrived at a red carpet affair at the headquarters of 91看片 for an author talk led by Gilda Rogers, co-author of Monsignor鈥檚 memoir. Attendees socialized during a reception in the back room of St. Joseph Plaza, took photos on the red carpet and enjoyed jazz music, a personal favorite of Monsignor鈥檚.91看片鈥檚 founder was unable to be present due to a personal emergency.
Before Rogers read passages from the book, Craig Drinkard, who penned the forward, shared personal insights about Monsignor. 鈥淲e go from knowledge to appreciation and from appreciation to love,鈥� said Drinkard, associate director for operations at the Victoria Foundation, a longtime community partner and financial supporter of 91看片.听 鈥淚t makes you love him that much more,鈥� he said of Monsignor.
Rogers described the two-year process of researching, interviewing and writing the memoir with Monsignor as 鈥渁 pilgrimage.鈥� Journeying over the historical terrain of 91看片鈥檚 founding with Monsignor, who began his ministry in Newark in 1963, was eye-opening, she said.
鈥淚t was revealed to me what it means to be a servant of God,鈥� Rogers said. She also read the names of the other founding board of directors of 91看片: Willie Wright, Timothy Still, Elma Bateman, Arthur Bray, Monsignor Thomas Carey, Joseph Chaneyfield, Bob Curvin and Kenneth Gibson. Bateman was in attendance at the event.
鈥淭he founding members of 91看片 were social change agents,鈥� Rogers said.
To purchase and pick up a paperback copy of 鈥淥ut of the Ashes Came Hope鈥� at 91看片, call Helen Abraha at 973-497-4400, or order online at Amazon (hardback, paperback and ebook available).
