Convocation highlights needs, desires of black Catholics
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
The power of God’s love and mercy to cross all boundaries and borders was one of the key messages delivered in the 20th Annual Convocation sponsored by the diocesan Commission for Black Catholic Ministry.
Father Joseph J. Kerrigan celebrated the Mass in Sacred Heart Church, Oct. 10. Deacon Kenneth S. Greene of the Diocese of Kansas City/St. Joseph, Mo., provided the homily and keynote speech at a reception.
The convocation’s theme was “What We Have Seen and Heard.”
In his homily, Deacon Greene said “just as the people of Jesus’ time had a fear of people with leprosy or skin conditions, we are afraid of people who are HIV positive.
“Yet Jesus, despite the (cultural) prohibitions, did not hesitate to interact or even touch, those afflicted,” he noted. “He stretched out his hand, touched him and healed him … Jesus wants to screen us from the fears that condition us to reject others.” “It was the content of [the leper’s] character that caught Jesus’ attention…not the condition of his skin or cultural heritage,” Greene added. “God’s love crosses the boundaries and borders, unmeasured. It is extended to all who call on his name.”
Joseph L. Powell Jr., chairman of Commission for Black Catholic Ministry, said there are about 1,200 black Catholic families in the diocese’s four counties. The largest number, approximately 100 families, is located in St. Matthias Parish, Somerset.
To meet the needs of black Catholics in the diocese, Powell said the Commission for Black Catholic Ministry tries to make it a welcoming environment, communicate concerns, promote worship that reflects black culture, support issues such as school choice and get more young black Catholics to attend the convocation.
Mabel Arinzeh, a member of St. Matthias Parish and a U.S. citizen who was born in Nigeria, said the diocese “would benefit from more African-American Catholics because they bring a lot of culture and life.”
“I just came back from Nigeria two weeks ago and when you go to Mass there it’s so lively and full of singing,” she said.“That’s why I like St. Matthias, because we have one of the most beautiful choirs. Any church where you have a good choir will attract black people because they actually praise God with song. Their worship is in song … and motions.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law