Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church
In January, the catechemuns participated in the Rite of Welcoming.
Holy Name of Jesus’ African American Cultural Ministry and Religious Formation Ministry started planning our 2025 Black History Celebrations. We borrowed the theme of America's Black Holocaust Museum: Remembrance, Resistance, Redemption, and Reconciliation.
Each week, we focused on one of the topics and honored one of our parishioners who has been active in our community.
Remembrance - Black History Month inspires a renewed recognition and appreciation of the treasured legacy of the African American community with an eye toward the future. It is the spirit of this commemoration that fuels ongoing advocacy while drawing from the lessons of African American history. Delving into that history has become an important validation of the power of remembrance.
As we remember our past, we asked the congregation to come to church in their Sunday best (ladies' hats, gloves, and pocketbooks (purse), men in suits, ties, hats, and shined shoes. Our ladies showed out. Our first honoree, Clyde Sparrow, founder of First Choice Reality and a community activist, has been a member of our parish for more than 50 years.
The second week’s theme, Resistance: Black Resistance, is and has always been a powerful vehicle for social, political, and environmental change. It has taken many forms over the centuries, both violent and non-violent, and these strategies themselves have served as a model for every other social movement in the country, thus, the legacy and importance of these actions cannot be understated.
We highlighted another distinguished parish member, Dwight Bonds, an educator who has been a parish member for 50 years.
During the third week, our Confirmation students attended Youth Day in Anaheim for the Religious Education Congress, and our catechists attended the RE congress weekend events where we got a chance to take a picture with Father Tony after we enjoyed his workshop (Do you love me? Check yes or no”).
For the third Sunday at mass, we the theme is Redemption: which has always been, a powerful vehicle Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. (Psalms 7:2-6)
We wore African Attire or red, black or green. We highlight another distinguished member of our parish, Dolores Ricks, a 93-year-old social worker/activist who has also been a member for 50 years. Holy Name students presented a living museum of black pioneers in the hall. Our young people's table continued to host the family tree.
Our Gospel Choir Directors, John and Joan Allen, for over 30 years also were honored with the Keeper of the Flame Award. This award is given to a parish member who keeps the African American Catholic Culture alive.
On the fourth Sunday, the theme was Reconciliation, which has much to do with transformation; it’s moving from a place of separation, hurt, and brokenness to a place of healing, wholeness, forgiveness, and reunion. Black History Month and reconciliation refer to the idea that celebrating Black History Month is not just about acknowledging past achievements but repairing the historical injustices faced by Black people, which involves a process of reconciliation between different racial groups in society- essentially, learning from the past to build a more equitable future.
We highlighted two distinguished members of our parish: Ronald Briggs, a veteran and activist, and Frances Awe, an African drummer and educator. Both are 50-year members of our parish. We were blessed to have a guest priest, Father Jeff Harvey, CM.
In the hall each Sunday after mass, we served soul food dinners and educated us on our stories, which are a vital part of American History.
