I was in an antiques store in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, when I saw this mysterious platter (serving plate?) with a quote from “Ellwood Kieser C.S.P.” from Christmas of 1988. It reads, “I Am Called not To be Successful But to be faithful.” I wonder what the significance of this is? And who is Ellwood Kieser?
Ellwood “Bud” Kieser (1929-2000) was a Catholic priest who took on some unusual (for a priest) activities in Hollywood in the 1960s and 1970s. He produced a long-running TV show called “Insight,” a religiously-themed weekly series that featured writers, directors, and actors. He also produced movies, including “Romero” (1989), and “Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story” (1996). As to why a priest was making tv shows and movies, he replied that Jesus was a storyteller using those stories to challenge and motivate people, and therefore he also wanted to tell stories via tv and film with the same purpose.
So what’s up with this plate? I’m guessing it’s someone who wanted to honor Ellwood Kieser by sharing a favorite quote, rather than something that Kieser made himself. But who knows? It’s interesting to note, however, that the quote “I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful” (and similar variants) is usually attributed to Mother Teresa, not Ellwood Bud Kieser. Which, in this case, makes this platter even more mysterious.
The “Christmas 1988” date adds a clue, which is open to interpretation: maybe Bud Kieser did make this plate at one of those “paint a dish” places and his name and this date underneath indicates that he made it, rather than suggesting it’s his own quote?
At any rate, I didn’t buy this platter, but rather just took a photograph as I was curious to find out more later about this quote and person. One last note – Ellwood Kieser was not only an unusual priest who spent his time in Hollywood, but he was also a tall priest – 6′ 7″ tall! I wonder if he liked or played basketball?