African American Affairs E-Newsletter
  Advent/November 2018 
STAY CONNECTED:
November is Black Catholic History Month. It's an opportunity to underscore the Church's teaching about the dignity that God imbued in each of us. 

"The fact that we were created in the image of God should remind us that each person is a living expression of God that must be respected and preserved and never dishonored." 
             -  Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, August 31, 2017

Advent is Coming - November 4! 

Turn back the clocks and pull out your purple dresses, ties and sweaters. Get ready to welcome Christ into our hearts in an intentional way as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, our hope and our strength. Out of countless prayer and reflection resources, here are 3 Advent Resources generated by Black Catholics:

* How Should We Live? Reflections for Advent and Christmas 2018 , written by Pearlette Springer and Michelle Sherman, published by Pax Christi USA. To order, visit www.paxchristiusa.org or call Rachel Schmidt at 202-635-5819.
 
* Looking for Signs of the Coming of Christ , a series of 4-minute YouTube videos presented by Evangelist Michael P. Howard of Eat the Scroll Ministry over 4 weeks.
 
* Signs of the Son of Man , a FREE webinar presented by Evangelist Michael P. Howard of Eat the Scroll Ministry for Sadlier Publications starts on Thursday, November 29th.
Update on Activities of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism 



Update on Activities of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism - The National Association of Black Catholic Administrators warmly received the Associate Director of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, Ms. Danielle Brown, to speak at their annual meeting in September. Attendees were updated on the activities of the ad hoc Committee, including planning and attending listening session on race across the United States. Ms. Brown also spoke about the importance of exposing black communities to healing ministries, solid catechesis, and the theology of ontology (Theology of the Body) in opposition to the culture of death within black communities.


In anticipation of the Pastoral Letter, committee staff is working with Education and Outreach within the Justice Peace and Human Development Department to finalize study guides, bulletin inserts, homily helps, catechetical resources for grades K-12, as well as policy background documents. The background documents will illuminate some of the major themes of the letter. 

The Committee is still seeking people willing to share their stories about encounters with racism.

 
Staff has entertained invitations to participate in several interreligious dialogs and community conversations including the Black Catholic Theological Symposium (BCST) and the quarterly "Dialogue on Faith and Race" hosted by the Peace and Justice Studies Program and the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America. The committee looks forward to locating more dioceses willing to host listening sessions on race and to unfolding the message of the Pastor Letter Against Racism with the lay faithful and all people of good will. Danielle can be reached at [email protected].

Encountering Christ in Harmony: A Pastoral Response to Our Asian and Pacific Island Brothers and Sisters
 

As you collaborate with others in our culturally diverse Church, here's a great resource - approved by a nearly unanimous vote by of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Read the full text of this message on the USCCB website. This pastoral response will guide the Catholic Church in the United States in addressing the pastoral needs of Asian and Pacific Island communities and provide a framework for dioceses and parishes for creating their pastoral plans or actions specific to their circumstances.
Support the African Catholic Association 
 








Support the African Catholic Association in your (arch)diocese. Ministry for African Americans, Africans, Afro-Caribbeans and Afro-Latinos - Black Catholic Ministry - overlaps and intersects.  

Sometimes this happens smoothly and organically. At other times, it comes with more difficulty. Although we may come from different cultures, those of us living in the diaspora are counted as the 6th Region of Africa. 

More importantly, we are one people in Jesus Christ. To learn more, contact the nearest chapter of NAACUS, the National Association of African Catholics in the U.S. President, Mrs. Sally Stovall, can be reached via email at [email protected] . Also connect with Afro-Caribbean and Haitian Communities in your diocese.

Caribbean Immigrants in the UK 
 
Caribbean Immigrants in the UK (aka Windrush Generation) are being criminalized, forced into poverty and deported. Many are being evicted and denied access to the National Health System which by law is free and open to all citizens of the Commonwealth. 

The Windrush Generation arrived in Britain as children and teenagers between 1948 and 1973. However, lately, racist practices and policies are infesting British society, much as they are here in the U.S.  Racism is a global cancer.  Are you hearing Afro-Caribbeans in your area talking about this?

What's the Temperature of Campus Ministry on HBCU's today? 
 
smiling_male_graduate.jpg


 

Last month I put out the call for OBMs/Coordinators to make contact with campus ministers at HBCU's in your diocese. I am working with the Campus Minister at Norfolk State University to ensure that young Catholics have space to gather, grow in faith and be who God intended them to be. If you wish to work with camps ministry in your diocese, contact Ricardo Givens at [email protected].

CCHD Sponsors Creating on the Margins, a Multi-Media Arts Contest for Grades 7-12 

CCHD Sponsors Creating on the Margins, a Multi-Media Arts Contest for grades 7-12. Share this with Youth Ministers, Catholic School teachers, Directors of parish religious education programs, catechists and parents who are home-schooling their children. The contest teaches youth about Catholic Social Teaching and ways to address both immediate needs and long-term solutions.

 
Dr. Beverly Carroll Received the Sr. Antona Ebo Award 
 



Dr. Beverly Carroll received the Sr. Antona Ebo Award from the National Black Sisters Conference during the 4th National Gathering of Black Catholic Women on July 28, 2018 in New Orleans, LA.


African American Affairs Events
 

Find information on event s at the USCCB  African American Affairs Events web page. 


Building Intercultural Competence for Ministers (BICM) Modules Training -February 13-15, 2019, Baltimore, MD
 
Building Intercultural Competence for Ministers (BICM)  is back!  The workshop provides an opportunity for ministers to attain a foundational level of competence in intercultural relations and communications. It is also designed to orient trainers to methodology, strategies, and activities suited to teach the content of the program.  To learn more about the workshop go here

Contact Yolanda Taylor-Burwell, CMP with questions about the content or the training at  [email protected].

For questions about registration, contact t he staff at the Mid-Atlantic Congress call 1-410-988-2926 or go here  



US Conference of Catholic Bishops - 
Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church (SCDC)
Donna Toliver Grimes, Assistant Director 
Subcommittee on African American Affairs
| 3211 4th Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017 | 
 | Email: [email protected] | Telephone: 202-541-3178 | Website 

STAY CONNECTED: