senseofcommunity

GENESEE COUNTY
The Flint Journal
Sunday, August 14, 2005
A5
Sense of Community
We are often surrounded by more good than bad, but sometimes
we have to stop, take notice and lend a hand to make where we live a unique and better place.
SENSEOFCOMMUNITY
Elementary school band and orchestra teacher Rosemary Lutz instructs children at Motherly Intercession Inc., headquartered in Flint, using her
love of music to help kids learn to read. She has developed a children's story that helps combine art, music and text into storytelling quilts.
"About ten years ago, the arts were constantly going through cuts
and people were asking how can you make music more viable in schools.
A lot of people don’t understand music, and therefore it's seen as a frill if
they don’t understand it.
"There’s a quote by Bernice E. Cullinan: 'Meaning does not reside in a
text; rather, it is created in the mind of the reader in interaction with the
text.' Based on this rationale, and other research, I believe that text, music
and art are partners in literacy ... not frills.
"I know I’ve been deeply touched by music and the musical experiences
I’ve had. I feel I want to plant the seed in the kids when then are young,
and who knows where those seeds will grow. Music is a great vehicle of
communication for me.
"There’s joy in the journey. I just love music. I want to share my love in
making it. I can’t imagine my life without music."
Rosemary Lutz, 48, of Flint Township, is an
orchestra and band teacher at Seymour Elementary School in Flushing. This summer she got
together with Motherly Intercession Inc. founder
Shirley Cochran and developed a weeklong
program combining music, art and reading for
the organization, which provides a system of
support for those children whose parents are
incarcerated. To encourage literacy, Lutz had the
children integrating text, music and art into an
illustrated story-song quilt as a way of knowing and expressing the world around them.
She used the book she has written, “The Song
Princess,” a fairy tale to tell how the song quilt
might have evolved. She is attempting to get it
published. The new program was an extension
of the group's Love and Literacy Book Club in
which children whose mothers are unavailable
are matched with community volunteers who
read with them two Saturdays a month at the
Flint Public Library.
Point of action
Photo column by Steve Jessmore • The Flint Journal
Send suggestions or ideas to [email protected] • 810.766.6251
If you'd like more information about Motherly
Intercession's Love and Literacy Book Club and
how you may be able to help, call (810) 424-9909.
Written correspondance may be sent to: P.O. Box
311109, Flint, MI 48531.
kindness • community spirit • volunteerism • character • individualism • teaching • leadership • role modeling • selflessness • neighborliness • impact • giving back • random acts of kindness • community spirit • volunteerism • character • individualism • teaching
• role modeling • selflessness • neighborliness • impact • giving back • random acts of kindness • community spirit • volunteerism • character • individualism • teaching • leadership • role modeling • selflessness • neighborliness • impact • giving back
• random acts of kindness • community spirit • volunteerism • character • individualism • teaching • leadership • role modeling • selflessness • neighborliness • impact • giving back • random acts of
• leadership • role modeling • selflessness • neighborliness • impact • giving back • random acts of kindness • community spirit • volunteerism • character • individualism • teaching • leadership
Area Vitals
Marriage
Licenses
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Births
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• Rachel and Matthe• Fitchett, Imlay City (Aiden James)
• Angela (Alexander) and Brad Fortenberry, Montrose Township
(Brayden James)
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• Angela (Whittaker) and Nicholas McRill, Flint (Cameron John)
• Tawanna Dixon and DeAndre Robinson (DeAndre Lamont)
Girls
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• Rebecca (Brooks) and Jon Handa, Flint (Haley Marie)
• Heather (Cox) and Joshua Windeler, Swartz Creek (Ruth
AnnMarie)
Divorces
• Bessolo, Tina - Mark
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•Carpenter, Renea - Dustin
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Clemons
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