#BeingCatholic Update is out! http://t.co/V5yYbiZ4hL ? Top stories today via @CatholicsHome @EndPoverty @1missionfamily
Posted on May 24th 2013, 19:09
@MagnificatMag it was a pleasure meeting you as we'll!
Posted on May 23rd 2013, 19:01
RT @asmcentee: "if we reduce the New Evangelization to a program, it's not going to work" AMEN. #disciplescalledtowitness #NCCL2013
Posted on May 23rd 2013, 15:19
Posted on May 23rd 2013, 15:12
@Eillax Amen.
Posted on May 23rd 2013, 14:05
The #HolySpirit must be central to our Catechesis - Dr. Ospino #NCCL2013
Posted on May 23rd 2013, 13:12
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  Building Multi-Racial Worshipping CommunitiesJune 1st, 2012On May 4, 2012, I attended a Racial Justice Summit that was held at the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The keynote presenters were Mr. Michael Emerson and Ms. Michelle Alexander. There were a number of topics that grabbed me on this day: Mass Incarceration; The Fight for Justice and Equality for the Poor; and Collateral Sanctions – Re-Entry of Felons. But, the statements that snatched me from the throes of disillusionment were made by Mr. Emerson. He simply stated, “Cincinnati, Ohio had recently been listed as one of America’s most segregated cities.” And, “Church communities are one of the leading culprits in furthering segregation.” He did suggest at solution, that pastors and pastoral leaders should commit to guiding their churches into becoming multi-racial worshiping communities. A multi-racial worshiping community would be defined as a community in which a given minority makes up 20% of its total population. I’ve heard and read before that Sunday morning is the most segregated time in America. Yet, this time I heard it much clearer than ever before. The venue of the Freedom Center played a major role in my hearing differently. My hearing was opened by the struggle of a people who were seeking freedom, respect, dignity – and God heard their pleas. This week, I began to wrestle with the following questions: What impact would “building” multi-racial worshiping communities have on the Office of African American Catholic Ministries in which I am Director? How would I engage Archdiocesan leaders in this discussion? What issues would need to be addressed at the Church of the Resurrection in which I am Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation? What it means is that in order to do this with integrity, any group of individuals would have to intentionally address the history of the formation of “Black Catholic Parishes.” And, confront pastors and parishes who relegate minorities to less than full members of the parish. We simply have to be willing to engage ourselves in this conversation, so that we can begin anew in our appreciation for one another and our cultures. Racism still exists in America and we must address it in order to be effective in our witness as Christian believers. In the U.S. Catholic Bishops Statement – Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, they wrote, “…Racist attitudes can linger in subtle ways, even when people get to know one another in parish activities, unless we vigorously educate ourselves about our neighbors, learn to appreciate their heritages, encounter their own images of us, and strive to work with them on behalf of common cause.” This is the time for us to call upon the Living God, to pour forth his Spirit into our ‘dry bones’, so that we can live together as equals – as brothers and sisters of the One Lord, Jesus the Christ. 
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Deacon Royce: This is a very interesting topic. It seems to me, though, that the issue is different from what the speaker described. The last census results showed that Cincinnati’s population is a little more than 50% African-American. If you take this as a general picture (people move in and out all the time), you get a population that is about equally African-American and white, with the minority populations being everyone else. So shouldn’t the two equal-sized groups be getting to know each other better and worship side by side, and at the same time working together to be welcoming to the Hispanic, Asian, Indian, and other small but growing minority groups trying to establish themselves in our community?
Gail, the statistics for 2010 census for Cincinnati list the population of White persons as 49.3%, Black persons 44.8% and Hispanic persons 2.8%. Your premise makes sense if we just look at the numbers. But the reality is that people choose to live in segregated communities; to worship in segregated churches, to socialize with people who look like them. There is not much effort toward “getting to know each other better or to worship side by side.” As I look at my home parish [Church of the Resurrection in Bond Hill] our 6:00 Mass would be considered a multi-cultural community; but the 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 Mass would not be considered a multi-cultural community. Again, the threshhold is that the minority members of the community is 20% or greater. It means that in order for us to appreciate the diversity of peoples and culture in our beloved city, we must be intentional about changing how we relate to one another.
I appreciate the challenge put forth to grow multi-racial worshipping communities in our city. We have everything to gain by sharing our gifts across cultures. In addition to the hard questions and issues raised here, there is the struggle to determine how to bring about this change: Have committed parishioners leave their beloved communities to join another as a “minority member”? Seek out and evangelize “minority members” from among the unchurched? Or merge two parishes into one new multi-racial parish? I am eager to see the conversation take place and am willing to engage in it.
Peggy, it is truly a challenge. Evangelization is at the heart of the faith-filled outreach we do in the name of Jesus – sharing the Good News. Cardinal Francis George, OMI, in his Pastoral Letter entitled, “A New Evangelization In A New Millenium: A Call For A New Apologetics” wrote, “The Church best fulfills her mission when she ministers with our Lord’s combination of respect for persons and for the truth that fulfills them. In other words, the Church is both Catholic and apostolic.” http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0376.html
I like the idea of forming committed parishioners who will use their prophetic voices and faithful action to call people to change. One of the ways could be to asked them to begin worshiping in communties as a “minority member.” I am further wedded to your idea to “merge two parishes into one new multi-racial parish. It is one way that we could challenge the Archdiocese to re-think the direction of our pastoral region discussions. The challenge would be to form muti-racial parishes through the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.