Photo by Michael Alexander

ATLANTA—Some 250 members of the black Catholic community from around the Southeast joined efforts in Atlanta in early April for a day of prayer.

Father David Jones, pastor of St. Benedict the African Church, Chicago, and the liaison for the Black Catholic Initiative to the archbishop of Chicago, addressed a group of some 250 people at St. Paul of the Cross Church, Atlanta, about adhering to the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Pastoral Plan. He stated that following the master (Christ) is complying with the Pastoral Plan. He challenged the congregation to know it, live it and pass it on. Photo By Michael Alexander

Called “Faith in Action II,” the event at St. Paul of the Cross Church, Atlanta, broadened the reach of black Catholics to draw more people in the conversation about the community’s spiritual riches. In addition to Georgia, participants came from three states.

It was the second such event in less than a year. In September 2015, more than 100 men and women brainstormed on energizing the archdiocese’s black Catholic community. Talks in small groups touched on ways to draw young adults more deeply into parish life, how to weave the history of black Catholics into religious education programs, and ways to devise more family-friendly activities.

This time the meeting had an academic program, with participants attending workshops on black Catholic theology, liturgy from an Afrocentric perspective and the history of black Catholics.

Father Roy Lee, one of the organizers, said people left the event energized and wanting a full day of workshops and prayer. Already, plans are being made for a November event.

The workshop was inspired by the framework of the 2015 archdiocesan Pastoral Plan. The black Catholic community wants to create a vision that both inspires and encourages the members to live their faith now and into the future, he said. Father Lee said the group’s purpose is to identify strategies and solutions to evangelize black Catholics across the Southeast, in addition to passing on the faith down generations.

Lyndon Batiste, standing, the high school youth minister at Blessed Sacrament Church, Atlanta, was the workshop speaker for the youth track during the April 9 sequel to Faith In Action, the brainstorming session that originally took place last September within the archdiocese’s black Catholic community. Batiste’s workshop entitled “Confirmed In the Spirit” focused on turning youth from spectators to participators in the faith. Photo By Michael Alexander

In the archdiocese black Catholics represent a variety of backgrounds and languages. They include immigrants from many African countries, African-Americans and African-Caribbean people. The black Catholic ministry distributes its publication, “Parish Connection,” in 17 parishes. Black Catholics comprise about 6.5 percent of the archdiocese, according to the archdiocesan Office of Planning and Research.

One of the day’s successes was the open microphone session where people could unburden themselves about fears and concerns, Father Lee said. Elders expressed sadness about how their children and grandchildren had left the church, he said. Others felt the growing number of Hispanic Catholics was drawing the attention from church leadership and pushing aside concerns about smaller cultures in the church, he said.

“There is pain there that was expressed,” he said.

Speakers at the event included Father David Jones, the liaison for the Black Catholic Initiative to the archbishop of Chicago. He is the pastor of St. Benedict the African Church in the Chicago Archdiocese. The slogan for the Chicago initiative is “unique gift of blackness.” Participants also heard from speakers Dr. Marcus Cox, Dr. Diana Hayes, Kenneth Louis and Lyndon Baptiste.

The event was organized by the Atlanta Black Catholic Clergy and assisted by the Office of Intercultural and Ethnic Diversity and other organizations.