Black Catholic Ministry
The Black Catholic Ministry held its meeting on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at Blessed Sacrament parish in Tampa. The group meets quarterly to review and discuss what is going on in the local diocese, share information about upcoming events, and plan for activities that it will host. The effort of the ministry is to help connect people of African descent to one another, to connect our parishes in fellowship, to help inform the Church on matters that impact Black Catholics, and to bring awareness of the history and contributions of peoples of African descent to the Catholic Church, particularly in the United States. The July meeting included an update of diocesan initiatives on race, including the recent listening session on racism with Bishop Gregory Parkes, which included Bishop Shelton Fabre of the Ad Hoc Committee on Racism. The listening session was followed by a workshop on racism, and a series of civil dialogues on racism, held at various parishes in the diocese. Another initiative that was addressed at the meeting was the plan for upcoming workshops on Building Intercultural Competencies for Ministers, which will be introduced to the diocese in the coming months. A diverse team of presenters will be trained to conduct the workshops. Members of the Black Catholic Ministry were encouraged to participate in the workshops when they occur. Meeting time was set aside for the group to view the recording of the recent webinar “How to Disrupt Racism” by Donna Grimes, Assistant Director for African American Affairs, USCCB. The ministry is currently working on plans to host a day of reflection on the six persons of color whose causes for canonization are in progress.
