Kate: Here I get diagnosed with Job Syndrome, and I was just this happy little kid amidst all of the difficulties that I faced. But then when I got into school, I completely stopped talking. So I went from being this feisty little kid to not speaking at all. I just wanted to be invisible. Emily: Welcome back and thanks for tuning in for another episode of Open Door Policy. I'm your co-host Emily Mentock. Fr. Patrick: This is your co-host Father Patrick Gonyeau. Emily: How are you today, Father Patrick? Fr. Patrick: Good, Emily! It's a sunny Saturday in Detroit city. As we record this episode, how are you and your husband? Emily: You're doing great. We're both, we're actually both doing well. I thought it was going to rain today, but I'm really excited to see the sunshine. Looking out my window as we're recording this podcast and in my work from home office, I have a beautiful view of the Detroit skyline. So really blessed to be staring out into the sunshine today. Fr. Patrick: I've got a question for you, Emily. Emily: Oh, go ahead. Fr. Patrick: On a beautiful sunny day, and I know that like one day we're going to do an Emily Mentock interview — get ready people just, we're going to mark our calendar soon. It's going to be awesome. But I know that, like, your husband is a big baseball guy. Do you enjoy baseball too? Do you get spring fever for baseball? Emily: I do. You know, I have always grown up a sports fan. I was raised mainly on Notre Dame football. So I would say that's my first love, but I married into a total baseball family. So yes, this is baseball season for us, for sure. We were so happy to see that they, like, increased the number of fans. They had originally said only a thousand fans were going to be able to go into the Comerica Park for the games. And I think it's up to like 8,500 now, which is really exciting. So we are very much looking forward to the start of baseball season. Fr. Patrick: So well, speaking of football, I just had a dream birth in my brain when you said that, I wonder if Ron Pangborn the one and only would be willing to do a road trip to South Bend, Indiana. And could we record an episode of Open Door Policy from the campus of Notre Dame on a football Saturday? Could that happen? Emily: That would be amazing. Fr. Patrick: Do you have connections, Emily? Emily: Oh yeah, definitely. 'Cause, you know, I was working for Notre Dame before I came to the archdiocese. So that would be amazing. And I'll never turn a chance, turn down a chance to go back, especially tailgating on a football Saturday. That would be awesome. Can we do it from the sideline? [laughs] Emily: Well, that might be a stretch, but we'll see what favors I can call in. Fr. Patrick: Oh, that would be amazing. Well, Emily, I'm not exaggerating. I am excited for all of our guests, but man, scale of one to 10. Oh, don't do that, Patrick. We don't know one of our former guests —. Emily: They're all elevens. They're all elevens. Fr. Patrick: Yeah, exactly. And Kate Bryan. Oh, praise God. I'm so glad she's here today. Emily, you want to give the introduction for our awesome daughter of God? Emily: I am super excited to introduce our guest today. She is the founder and CEO of 1 Girl Revolution, which is an amazing podcast and just storytelling channel that hopefully we'll get to hear more about on the podcast today. And we, you know, we like to start with three fun facts about our guests to help the audience get to know them. So about Kate, she was once the queen of the United States, Irish societies slash a Maid of Aaron in Detroit, which is amazing just for the Queen of St. Patrick's Day. Good Irish Americans, a Catholic family and her — another fact about Kate family related is that her great-grandfather suffered from ALS and was visited by Blessed Salonus Casey in Corktown. How amazing is that? So that's just seems like an incredible story. And then another fact, maybe less fun, but I'm sure that Kate, just knowing her personality has a beautiful, positive, optimistic spin about it, is that she actually also has a rare immunodeficiency called Job syndrome, like Job from the Bible. It was super rare and but kind of dealing with that and overcoming it has been a big — has played a big role in her life and her faith and in sort of the calling she's living out now with 1 Girl Revolution. So super excited to dive into date — into today's conversation without further ado. Welcome Kate. Kate: Thank you Emily and Father Patrick for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Emily: We're so excited to be joined by you today, Kate. So how are you doing, how do you normally spend your Saturdays? Are you always recording podcasts? Kate: Always recording podcasts. Now the tables have turned though, 'cause usually I'm the one doing the interviews, so that's really fun, but it's a beautiful day in Corktown. Sunny. I'm excited to go out and go for a walk at some point, but for now I'm just excited to spend time with you and drink some coffee and hang out. Emily: Yeah. Saturday morning is my later in the morning coffee day. So I'm still sipping on it as we're speaking. So it's just like a real life conversation, right? We're really excited to get into your story and you know, we there's really just — I'm familiar with the work that you're doing now with some of the 1 Girl Revolution stuff. I've been a fan of your work for a long time. But you know, there's a backstory to that. And so we would love for you to kind of just start by introducing your listeners to, what was your life like, you know, that led you to become this joyful missionary disciple? Did you have an encounter with Christ that changed that? Have you been raised Catholic? Would just love to hear more about the sort of the start of your faith journey? Kate: Yeah. So Emily, thank you so much for that beautiful question. And thank you for listening to the podcast. You've been such a great supporter of 1 Girl Revolution and everything that I'm doing there, but my story really starts here in Michigan. My mom was born and raised in Detroit. We lived in Brighton, so I grew up there, but like I said in my three little tidbits about my life, I was born with a really rare immune deficiency called Job Syndrome. And my sister, my youngest sister also has the same immune deficiency. And when we were diagnosed, there were only 25 documented cases in the entire US. Now there's only 300. And it was named Job because Job Syndrome because people with Job Syndrome, like Job in the Bible, were said to suffer greatly. So when we were diagnosed, we were told by University of Michigan that we would be hospitalized six to eight times a year. Kate: You would have all kinds of skin conditions. I had terrible, terrible eczema growing up. My skin was literally raw. As a little kid as a little three or four year old, I would itch all my hair out. So people oftentimes thought I was going through chemo treatment. They'd ask questions. Children of course were always not very nice. When you're going through —. Emily: Kids can be brutal. Kate: So brutal and I think everybody's journey, we all have those stories that we can point back to, you know, bullying or adversity that we faced. But as a little kid, I was this feisty little four year old. And when I was diagnosed with Job Syndrome and my parents would always joke that I was either going to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the dictator of the whole nation. Emily: Oh my gosh. [laughs] Kate: I would like boss my siblings around. I was like the little mom. And so, you know, here I get diagnosed with Job Syndrome and I was just this happy little kid amidst all of the difficulties that I faced. But then when I got into school I completely stopped talking. So I went from being this feisty little kid to not speaking at all. I just wanted to be invisible. And my parents thankfully were pretty clued in to their kids and what was going on. And so they were like, something's wrong. And they realized that I was being bullied by kids at school. And anytime I would raise my hand, people, kids would make comments like, Oh, there's the little rash girl. Or I wouldn't get invited to things cause I looked different. And so that was a big part of my story because throughout all of that, I was born and raised Catholic, but throughout all of the struggles that I've ever faced in my life. Kate: And even now, my faith is such a steadfast part of who I am. I don't oftentimes, you know, I wasn't this little kid that was like going into school, waving my rosary around and being like, let's pray the rosary everybody. But I wanted to always be a joyful witness of God and what God was doing in my life and what he could do and other people's lives. And my grandfather, who I mentioned earlier, who his father was visited by Blessed Salonus Casey. He would always tell us when we were younger, you have a responsibility — the second you leave the house, you have a responsibility to be a good example of your family, your faith, and God, like we have a responsibility to be a good example. So I would just, that's all to say with regards to my faith, I have never really had a big, massive like conversion moment. I think my life has been a series of conversion moments and consistently is. I think we all have these encounters with our faith and should always be learning and growing. But that's a little bit about my faith life. Fr. Patrick: Kate, if I could go to a particular place when you share, you know, you're clearly — we're blessed to be able to see your face right now and to our listeners, I mean, Kate radiates, joy, she radiates the love of God and you can just see it shining off of her face, the light of the world, you know, the love of the Holy Spirit, glowing in her. And literally that's biblical when St. Paul says "be aglow with the Holy Spirit," you know, it really is in a letter to the Romans. So when you speak about your struggle, like being bullied and stuff, if I could ask two questions, would you be comfortable taking us to like one of the most painful memories of that? Like that? Yeah, that was the worst. And then one of the moments that, you know, while there is a series of conversion points, one of the moments where there was a breakthrough for you that, you know, that led you to this life of where you want to be a joyful witness of the Lord, in all circumstances. I'm thinking there were a couple of pretty tough moments and then some significant breakthroughs. Maybe it was something your mom said to you one day after a difficult day at school, but just one of the, one of the tough moments and one of the breakthrough moments, if, if I could ask that. Kate: Yeah, that's beautiful. What a beautiful question. I think one of the most, the first thing that comes to mind with regards to one of the most difficult moments is when I was in probably first or second grade. All these girls at school were talking about somebody's birthday party. They were all excited and everybody was invited. And I specifically was told that I wasn't invited because I had rash. And I think that that burn that I felt at that moment, because I felt so ousted and I think everybody can relate to that, and in a way I think like Jesus can definitely relate to that being ousted like that. And I'm not saying that I'm like, that I'm like Christ in that way. But I think we all have those experiences. And especially as we're, as we're walking into Holy Week, I think it's important for us to reflect back on those moments, how we felt in those moments. Kate: But one thing kind of to your second question. I remember after that moment — my mom is like this Irish, feisty, fiery woman. And she's like mama bear, you know? The second that somebody like hurts her baby, she is going to get in there. And, you know, she wanted to call all the kids' parents. She wanted to show up at their house and be like, "I can't believe that you were saying that to my child." And you know, "She has eczema." And that's what my mom wanted to do. She didn't do that, but she ended up saying, she was like, "Look, that kids that are saying those kinds of things that comes from insecurity on their part. That comes from — there's a brokenness there. They see you as this joyful little kid amidst all of this struggle and there's a jealousy." And we have a responsibility — and I was taught this from a very young age. Kate: We have a responsibility to see our fellow humans as our brothers and sisters, and to sit with them and meet them where they're at. And so to see, even in that moment where I was so hurt and there are so many experiences that I could point to, too, that were similar, I always to find empathy and love in those moments. And it's really difficult sometimes because you don't want to love the person who has hurt you so deeply. But I think that that's just — those experiences as a young child have led me to where I am now. And now I always want to know, like, why somebody believes what they believe. And why they don't, you know? If they don't, if they fell away from the faith, for instance, like why? Why did they? And I want to know that, and I want to know it from a place of love or, you know, now what I'm doing with 1 Girl Revolution, what makes it — what makes these women and girls want to do good in the world? Some of these stories, some of these women have a faith life, others don't. And so just to see those kinds of things. We all have experiences in our life that lead us on this journey, and I think that it's important for us to recognize the good and the bad, but to me, goodness, has always come through the most difficult, heartbreaking moments. Fr. Patrick: Praise God. Thank you so much, Kate. Wow. Emily: Beautiful and vulnerable. Thanks so much for sharing that. Kate, I think you're right. I think that we all — I can't think of a single person who wouldn't have had that moment in their life where they felt totally vulnerable. Totally hurt. And I just love your advice to carry that into Holy Week, or just really in any times you're feeling suffering to remember that it doesn't mean that our suffering is anywhere near compared to what, you know, the Lord suffered on the cross, but just to remember that he does know our suffering, both from the hurt of friends turning on you and then of course also the physical suffering of his passion. So thanks for so much for sharing that. You mentioned how these experiences have shaped you into who you are now, whether it was feeling silenced as a child or by learning to always want to know why people are the way they are, why are they choosing making the choices? Why are they even choosing to make the impact that they're having in the world? The positive side of it as well. And you have just that beautiful, inquisitive mind to want to know people and love them and meet them where they are, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with the work you're doing now through 1 Girl Revolution. So can you tell us, like, how did that start? What sparked the idea for this podcast, and maybe also for our listeners to hear how far it's come? What are some exciting things you're doing for 1 Girl Revolution right now? Kate: Yeah, so the 1 Girl Revolution story is very Detroit-centric, and I would even say that it's very Archdiocese of Detroit-centric, which is really cool. And a lot of people don't know this story. I mean, I feel like I tell it a little bit, but people don't know the story, but I had lived a bunch of — I had moved away from Michigan, lived a bunch of different places within Dublin, Ireland for a couple of years, lived in DC for seven years. And then I moved back. I just felt like I was supposed to be back in Detroit and to be closer to family and all that. But I left, I was working in PR and media and really loved my job and my career there in DC, but I decided to move back and I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do. Kate: I'm going to figure it out. And I'd always had this idea, 1 Girl Revolution, and I didn't really know what it was, what it was supposed to be. I thought maybe it would be like a school program or like some sort of girl club. I don't know, you know, something where you can bring people together and tell stories. And I moved back to Detroit about two and a half years ago. And I was reading this book about the city of Detroit and in the book it talked about the flag. So Detroit's flag has two phrases that many people may or may not know. Father Gabriel Richard was actually the one who wrote the two phrases and they're in Latin. And I had never really thought about the Detroit flag that much, but reading this book and it starts talking about the two phrases, which translate to "We hope for better things," and "It will rise from the ashes." Kate: Meaning Detroit, of course, but the moment I read that I was like, I know what 1 Girl Revolution is supposed to be. It had been — that had been a phrase that had been in my heart for a really long time, but I didn't know what it was supposed to be in at that moment, when I read those two phrases, I was like, women are the most resilient, incredible, fascinating beings. And I don't feel like they're represented enough in the media and in the world and their voices aren't heard. And so I decided to just start this platform, and it started out as a podcast and I didn't really know what I was doing. I had never done a podcast before. I had prepped people to do interviews, but I had never actually done interviews. And so two and a half years ago, I launched the podcast and we've now we're up to 106 episodes. Kate: So it's crazy that it's just continued to grow. All different ages, all different backgrounds you know, from a five-year-old who makes coloring books for children in hospitals, all the way up to a grandmother who serves poor children in need during summer breaks and spring breaks when kids aren't going to school to be fed. So all of these different backgrounds, all these different stories across the country. And it was only recently that I was reflecting on my own story. 'Cause I'm always curious, like for the, for everybody's story, you know, where does this idea come from? Or like, what's kind of the root of whatever you're doing or whatever you're passionate about? And for me, I just, I always told that story of the Detroit flag. And I was like, that's where it started. But then recently I really started reflecting on my early life. Kate: And like I shared about Job Syndrome and how I went from being this feisty kid to having no voice and wanting to be invisible and not wanting to be seen or heard. I just pretty much became this wilted flower. And I started reflecting on that and I was like, I know what it feels like to be silenced. I know what it feels like to not be seen. I know what it feels like to be ignored, to be uninvited, you know, not to be welcome in different places. And I think that that's actually the story of One Girl Revolution. I think that's why I have this on my heart to tell these — to really just give these women, the platform to tell their stories. I don't want if anybody's listening to the podcast, like I don't, I'm not the type of guest, you know, or the type of host where I'm asking a million questions. Kate: I just want them to kind of have the space to tell their stories in the way that they want. Emily: Yeah, it's very guest-centric podcast. Kate: Mhm. Which that's intentional. I just think that it needs to be a space where people can just tell their stories in the way that they want. And it's been really beautiful, 'cause a lot of the women, some of the women have never told those stories before. Some have never told them in this way, a lot of times, you know, we're all watching TV and you see an interview with somebody and they cut five seconds. You know, you have five seconds to tell your story and tell everything about who you are. No person could do that. No person could tell their story in five or 10 seconds, but this is like, okay, tell your story. And I've had — the majority of episodes are maybe 40 minutes, but today, or last night I just launched another episode and it was a hundred — or it was an hour and a half. Kate: I couldn't edit it. It's so powerful and beautiful. And so I really just give these women the space to tell their stories and try to help them along. But yeah, to answer your kind of second question, Emily, there's so much — 1 Girl has come so far. We have all those episodes of the podcast, over a hundred episodes, which I never could have fathomed. We started doing some video elements. And so I've partnered with Behold, a production company out of Chicago, and we have done — we've released one short documentary called The Girl Inside and it features the voices and stories of incarcerated women from Cook County Jail, which is the largest single site jail in the US, and you know, forgotten about population. That's one thing that I really care about with 1 Girl is, like, to find these stories of women and their stories who are often forgotten or ignored. Kate: But we actually are in we're in post-production for the second documentary, which will feature a Detroit born woman who runs a restaurant out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And she hires people that no one else will hire. So she'll hire pregnant women, kids who were struggling and need community and need a little bit of money to get by, she'll hire people coming out of jail and prison. And she's created this incredible restaurant that over the past year, since COVID hit, they haven't served a single customer. They've solely been feeding those in need every single day. They're feeding hundreds of people. Thankfully, she's gotten a lot of support from the community and a couple of grants that have supported that, but she shifted her restaurant from being a restaurant to actually feeding those in need. So a lot of cool things are on the horizon for 1 Girl. Fr. Patrick: Praise God. Oh, Kate, I'm tracking on something here — I think I'm tracking. Your parents. God bless them. And yeah, she shook her head yes. Woo. Okay, good. I'd've been in a weird spot if "well, actually..." Kate: They're amazing. My parents are amazing and their stories are — they've come through hell and back as well. You know, so they — Fr. Patrick: I did think earlier, Emily, we gotta, we gotta find Kate's parents at some point! Emily: [laughs] Fr. Patrick: So here's — I've got a question, but I got to set it up for a second that, you know thinking back to that memory that you shared as a child and you know, how the Lord in Hebrews chapter four tells us we do not have a high priest who's unaccustomed with weakness, but who's similarly tempted in every way. Like, that Jesus really does relate to every single suffering we've been through. And like you've clearly got that, that the Lord meets us in that. And then Romans 8:28 that, you've witnessed this, God makes all things work for the good of those who love him. And so he meets us in this weakness and this suffering and this difficult Job Syndrome that as a child, you had particular sufferings. I think everybody's heart melts when we hear those and that your mom and your dad, your feisty, awesome mom — Speaker 2: If I could say that correctly, they were pouring into you. They were pouring into you. And when I think of John seven, when Jesus says "Come to me, all you are thirsty. And from within you will flow life-giving waters," is Jesus saying, "I want to pour into you." And I feel like you wake up Kate, like, you're just like, I want to pour into these women that they can know that, you know, like, the glory of God in their life, how marvelous that they're made in God's image and likeness and the grand plans that God has for them. And I wanted to ask you from your ministry with 1 Girl Revolution, is there a particular story that you've heard of somebody who circled back around or wrote you a letter sent you an email and said your podcast, what God has done has touched my heart deeply? Because you are seeking — I just think of your parents, how they poured into you and you have this heart to pour into others and, has the Lord shown you a particular fruit? Maybe somebody comes to mind. You're like, that's one of my favorite glory stories. Back to you, Kate. Kate: A couple of stories, quick stories that kind of came to mind when you were speaking. There is one woman, Rebecca Bender, actually another is Harmony Desprillo. Both of them were survivors of human trafficking, and now they've created ministries where they're helping other women, and men too, but specifically women, transition out of trafficking situations or abusive situations. So those are two that come to mind. And then another one of my favorite stories in this — many of the women that I've interviewed have become dear, dear friends, which is beautiful. So I don't know what the future holds for 1 Girl Revolution, but I feel like it's, there's an army being created. And there are so many connections on a daily basis that I'm starting to encounter, especially when, you know, having over a hundred women that I've interviewed and being able to connect them and creating this network. Kate: But one is my friend Jada and she, one of the first women that I ever interviewed and her story is another dark and difficult one. She actually was addicted to drugs, addicted to heroin out in Los Angeles for 10 years. And I got connected to her because I literally cold called this rehab facility out in Southern California. And I don't even know how I found it. A lot of times the stories that I find, sometimes people send them to me, but this one I was Googling and I was looking for a woman-founded a woman-founded rehab facility. And I stumbled upon this rehab facility in Southern California called New Directions for Women. And it was founded by women, it's run for women, and — or, run by women — and it's for women. So women — it's the only one of the only rehab facilities in the country where women can actually live there with their children. Kate: So that's a part of their rehab, which is beautiful to me. And so I cold called them and I was like, "Hey, I'm starting this podcast." I didn't even have a website up. I didn't — I had nothing like people could have, I don't know. People could have like Googled and been like, yeah, this girl is joking. But I called and randomly got connected to one of the women that worked there and she was like, "Love what you're doing. Come here, come out here one day." And I had friends that lived out there, so I like go out to California. And it was the first one of the first couple of interviews that I did and this amazing woman stacked the day full of all these interviews. And the first interview that I did on that day, I walked into this room and it was Jada. And Jada's sitting there. Kate: And she's absolutely stunning. One of the most beautiful women that I've ever met. And I sit down and she's like, "I've never told my story before." And I'm like, Oh my gosh. Like the pressure of that as somebody who's interviewing somebody, who's never, like, I want to make sure that I do this story justice. And we sit down and she starts telling me how she was addicted to heroin for 10 years and all the toll that it took on her body. It destroyed so many of her relationships, her family. But her family still would call her and like show up where she was. She was like homeless for a period of time living on the streets in LA. And then there was a "suddenly" moment where she was like, I have — I'm either going to die out here or I have to get my life on track. Kate: And so she checked into rehab and while she was in rehab, she tells the story, how she looked in the mirror and she was like, "I didn't recognize myself." Here she is this beautiful 27-year-old who looks so aged from drugs and alcohol. And she was like, I have to do something to like change my lifestyle while in rehab. And she did, but then I want to help other people who are going through something similar. And so this amazing woman gets out of rehab, goes back to school to become an esthetician. So she does like facials and beauty and makeup and stuff. And she ended up starting an organization called Beauty from Ashes where she does spa treatments and makeup and whatever people want for who are going through rehab. So survivors of trauma, survivors of addiction, survivors of human trafficking. And she was like, I want them — in that moment where she saw herself and she was like, I don't recognize myself. A lot of times, all of us have those experiences when you've gone through a trauma, you don't recognize the person that you were created to be. And so Jada is one of the greatest lights. And I'm so grateful to have her as a friend. And yeah, she's amazing. So everybody should check out, check out Jada's story too. Fr. Patrick: Definitely. I'm going to pitch it to Emily, but I'm getting my mind blown that like when Jada does this, and what happened for her, like that's an amazing glory story. And it's like God, through Jada's hands in some way with like the, you know, the, the restoration, the spa treatment and stuff like God, like, you're my beautiful daughter. You're not people, you know, like that have been beat up physically by their own addiction and whatnot. And like that beautification thing that she does, the father just restoring daughters a sense of like their beauty in his presence. So, gosh, that's awesome. Emily, what's on your mind. Emily: No, that's so beautiful. And I think it's in some of those stories that you've shared, Kate, and even in your own story, there's the way things kind of come full circle or the way that the connections that you, you kind of pick up on in different stories and then you see them come back. And I think one part that you mentioned already also in your story was, you know, you grew up and you kind of moved away from Michigan, but now you're back as well. Or just like the story of your family's resilience and the way that your parents have raised you. And part of that, I'm sure, was playing out in like being Queen of the Irish American community for that year. And now, you know, you're back in Corktown. So maybe, can you share a little bit about how your own experience with that full circle of coming back and how the faith community that you were raised in? Speaker 3: And I mean, I'm new to Detroit and I know about the Corktown kind of Irish Americans, and now also the Hispanic community that there, just a beautiful faith community around the Ste. Anne's Basilica. How, what about that kind of full circle, part of your story? That when you left and then came back and the roots that you're sort of re-growing there now. Kate: Yeah. And that's a beautiful way to think about life. I always think about when I was younger, you know, when you were like 18, all you want to do is like, get out of your hometown and like never look back and go and live in some magical whimsical place. And I did some of that, but then it's funny to like look back and be like, Oh my gosh, I came full circle. And now I really have my roots set here in Detroit. Kate: And now getting to learn as an adult, getting to learn more about even my family being here. Like I didn't even realize up until recently that my grandfather lived not very far from where I now live. And that that's where Blessed Solanus went and visited my great-grandfather. And so it's really powerful to find out things about your own life and your own family journey. But it's been great to be back in Detroit. I obviously grew up coming down to the Gaelic League, the Irish American club in Detroit, right in Corktown, Corktown's the oldest neighborhood in Detroit. So I have a lot of roots here and my siblings and I would all do Irish dancing growing up. And then the Maid of Erin was one of the, where you got to be the Queen of the St Patrick's Day Parade. Kate: Those were things that all of our, like, cousins would do. So it was just kind of, it's very nostalgic for all of us to be involved in Irish stuff here, but now to be an adult and still being a part of all of that. But then also building out into the faith community here, Ste. Anne's is amazing. I love everybody over there. A lot of our friends and family even have moved down to Corktown and all of us go to Mass there. So it's become this really cool spot where we'll — even last Sunday, we all met up at mass at Ste. Anne's and then went over to the Gaelic League and then got brunch and then like hung out for a Sunday, which to me is very nostalgic. 'Cause even when I lived in Ireland, that was so much a part of people's life. Nobody did any — nobody worked on Sundays in Ireland, everything was closed except for restaurants and pubs and churches. So people go on a Sunday, they go to Mass and then they'd go to a pub and they'd either watch like a match that was going on, you know, some sort of sporting event, or just listen to music and hang out. And so that's been a really cool part of being in Corktown that that same attitude exists here. Fr. Patrick: Let's just say it together. There's no town like Motown. Kate: [laughs] It's true. It's the best city in the world. Fr. Patrick: Maybe Ron can cue us some Jackson 5. Alright, one more question. So, oh, side note, Kate, if you ever sleep in on Sunday, I want to tell you, you might've heard of it already, but every Sunday night in Corktown at Most Holy Trinity at 7:00 PM, there's a Mass. Fr. Ryan Adams is my dear friend and we celebrate, I just love being there on the altar with him. And we celebrate a Mass every Sunday night there 7:00 PM in English, and then after Mass there's always a prayer for healing. We have prayer ministers that have been trained through the Encounter School of Ministry and there's been a lot of healing over the last six months. But if you ever sleep in, there's a great evening Mass right down the road from you. You might've already slipped in. I don't know, but it's — Kate: Okay. I haven't, but I heard about it. I've heard about it for awhile and I know, yeah, Father Ryan is awesome. So I've heard so much about it and my friends have gone there. And also my home parish, I was brought up in at St. Pat's in Brighton where Fr. Matthias is and were Encounter Ministries is now based. So yeah, that's, that's totally my jam. 7:00 PM Mass, I'll have to start coming. Fr. Patrick: Praise you Jesus. And side note friends — oh gosh, here comes an advertisement, but I got to ask this next question. Since it was mentioned, sometimes people are like, well, what is Encounter ministries? Encounter Ministries is a beautiful ministry, blessed by Bishop Boyea out of Lansing Diocese stationed at St. Patrick's in Brighton. And the mission of Encounter Ministries is to really allow everyday disciples to grow in their ability to live in the Holy Spirit and allow the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to flood the world and really to help disciples do the works of Jesus to show the world Jesus. And I think you're doing that amazing. Kate, and I want to ask you, my final question would be what's your big dream right now? What is the big dream stirring on Kate Bryan's heart? Kate: That is a very great question. Anybody who knows me knows that I am very much a big dreamer, but I'm also a big person about action too. So I think we can dream all day long, but we have to do the work to put things in motion. My big dream is that 1 Girl Revolution continues to elevate and empower everyone, not just women and girls, to tell their stories and to see their purpose and to see that they were created just like our fingerprints. We are as unique as our fingerprint, and our purpose is that unique. And so in any little way or big way, I hope that my life can be testament to that. And I hope that 1 Girl Revolution can encourage that and inspire that. I have big dreams for 1 Girl that I want to do more short documentaries and films with telling the stories of everyday women and girls that are changing the world through their lives. Kate: I want the podcast to continue. I'm actually working on a couple of things here based in Detroit, which I will keep you all updated on, but there could be some really cool community elements that are percolating with regards to 1 Girl and encouraging community outreach and people to do service in the city of Detroit. And so there's a lot of great things happening, but my biggest dream is that 1 Girl Revolution just continues to play the role that it has been and encouraging people to do good and to see their value and their purpose. Emily: Thank you so much, Kate. Real quick. How can people find 1 Girl Revolution? I mean, they can always Google it, but we would love for you to share with our listeners how they can find it more information about how to support it. Where can they listen and find some of these incredible stories, whether it's Jada or some of the other ones you've mentioned on this podcast? Kate: Yeah. Thanks Emily. People can find all of our information 1girlrevolution.com. So the number one girl, revolution.com. We're on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @onegirlrevo. So the number one, girl, r-e-v-o, we're on YouTube, at 1 Girl Revolution. I mean, people can Google it. The podcast is up everywhere, Apple podcast, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts and you can just search 1 Girl Revolution. And I am the one girl that's checking all of those accounts, so if anybody has stories or they have commentary or anything that they want to share, I would love to hear from people so people can reach out to us on social media or send us an email through the website, but it would great to connect with everybody who's listening. Emily: That's awesome. Thanks so much, Kate. And thanks for, you know, just sharing about not only your own story, but also just using this to show the power of storytelling just in the way that you've shared about your life, the way you've shared about the other women who you've encountered and who you're witnessing to. And it's such a beautiful, joyful way. So we're so grateful for you to come on this podcast, hear about the story behind 1 Girl Revolution, and I think that just the way that you're living it out is so inspiring and really just the core of that mission, what the name about is so powerful as well, that it's any one person can make a difference, whether it's in the life of one other person or through many others. And I think that's just a beautiful lesson for the listeners of Open Door Policy to take with them today. So thank you so much for your joy and for sharing your story. We are very grateful. Fr. Patrick: Yeah. And one more gratitude point. If you visit katembryan.com, k-a-t-e-m-b-r-y-a-n. Kate is a captivating storyteller and speaker and writer. And if you'd like to bring her to an event at your parish or to a conference, check out that website, k-a-t-e-m-b-r-y-a-n.com and Kate could come visit you. Kate: Thanks for that. Shout out. I never ever, I never ever pitched that, but yeah, people can totally, I'd love to come and speak and yeah, it's been such a joy spending this morning with you both. And thank you for using this podcast, your podcast to highlight the stories of people. And their amazing stories. Fr. Patrick: We love what Jesus is doing through you. Amen, Emily? Emily: Amen. Thank you. Thanks for listening to another episode of open door policy, where we hear stories of different joyful missionary disciples in Southeast Michigan and how they encounter grow and witness and their love for Christ. You can find more episodes@unleashthegospel.org slash podcasts, or find us on Spotify, Google, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you next time.