Diocese of Cleveland
Four hundred plus people gathered for the second annual Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom on June 19,2024 at Glenview Park in Cleveland, Ohio. The event was sponsored by The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and coordinated by the diocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministries in partnership with Catholic Charities who provided special give-away bags for everyone, along with meaningful information about the services they offer for Northeast Ohio communities. Other community booths included Public Utilities, Cleveland Public Water, Water Pollution Control, Cleveland Public Power and the Fire and Police Departments. Sponsoring parishes included: St. Adalbert/Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Holy Spirit in Garfield Heights, St. Agnes/Our Lady of Fatima, St. Aloysius/St. Agatha, Our Lady of Peace, and St. Dominic.
In addition to the African American parishes and Catholic Charites, we are grateful to the Knights of Columbus, the Knights of Peter Claver as well as the Diocesan Gospel Choir and a combined group of liturgical dancers including those of St. Aloysius School. They all provide a broadening of the cultural aspects of worship in the Black community.”
The liturgy was inspired with music by the Diocesan Gospel Choir and Praise Dancers from the community including St. Aloysius School. In addition, the dynamic homily of Fr. James Watson, Pastor of St. Agnes/Our Lady of Fatima Church, gave all in attendance a future challenge. His message focused on the goodness of being able to celebrate freedom, especially the ultimate freedom in Christ Jesus to love God and one another. All were challenged to let go of the negative things that enslave us.
