Archbishop Lyke’s vision of ministry with and for youth and young adults in word and deed continues as this past February Harambee intensified its challenge for the organization’s church, community and school participants by raising the bar by which youth excellence is measured. Their premise was simple: identify the youth and young adult leadership and service awardees; intensify their learning experience; and, thereby, intensify their positive outcomes. Give young people the chance to feel history, rather than to just hear it; and you give them the chance to discern the difference between half-told truths, and what is the rich Biblical, Cultural, and Historical legacy and Heritage of People of Color.
So, a group of over 50 trailblazing youth and young adults – including recipients of the Mother Lange award for outstanding service by youths– accepted Harambee’s challenge. These exceptional young people took part in a program of enlightenment that started with a liturgy and then a field trip to Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theater, and culminated in an ambitious bus journey that would take them from Baltimore to New York (NY) to Philadelphia (PA) to Washington (DC) and back to Baltimore – in the whirlwind span of 60 hours.
Adding even further enlightenment value to the Freedom Ride experience was the series of workshops that were presented at stops in each of the 3 cities visited and aboard the bus. Those stops included presentations and prayer opportunities at the MLK monument, on Wall street, liturgy at St. Charles Borremeo in Harlem, Lady Liberty, the African Memorial Burial ground and Seneca Village in Manhattan, on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Rocky Steps), the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall to name a few. The workshops on the bus featured video broadcast /film documentaries that explored the role(s) of African and aboriginal people in history. Each broadcast was immediately followed by live, interactive “reaction & discussion” sessions in which participants’ shared their feedback.
The graciousness of the parish family of St. Charles Borromeo in Harlem and the hospitality felt at the St. Vincent DePaul Young Adult center in Philadelphia is already working to make its Freedom Ride an annual event. A 15 year-old, who attends St. Frances Academy, says of her experience, “… it was really educational. It helped me see some of the challenges my ancestors went through. Plus, it was fun to meet people from other churches and schools (places)”.
A Chaperone, who attends St. Peter Claver Parish says, “I learned things about our history that I didn’t even know,” quickly adding that, “I’m the one who’s been truly blessed, to be among the group of young people that we had on this trip”. And finally, a 16 year old sophomore at Cristo Rey High offered that, “… it taught us a lot about our ancestors that you wouldn’t necessarily find in a history book; things they wouldn’t teach you in a school.”
Harambee’s Fall Retreat and the experience for all involved is yet another powerful witness to what collaborative ministry can do for and with our youth and young adults.
