Teacher of Peace Award, August 5, 2005
Presentation to Monsignor Ray East
(Page 2 of 3)
More on his activities:
Msgr. East has worked in the areas of liturgy, youth ministry and evangelization, including the Cursillo movement. Nationally, he is a highly sought-after and regular presenter for Catholic conferences and gatherings such as the Religious Education Congress in Los Angeles, the regional African American Evangelization Conferences, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops annual Social Ministry gathering in D.C., and last week he was in Minnesota as part of a Music Ministry gathering.
Fr. East also is involved in ecumenical and interfaith circles, and is on the board of Sojouners as a way to support that part of the evangelical Christian movement that has taken stands against the war in Iraq and the cause of the Palestinian people
His home diocese of Washington, D.C. is a church of immigrants and many Catholic immigrants come from African countries. Often they do not know where to go for help when they need it, and usually end up being directed to Msgr. East's door. He has become their advocate. Their stories compelled him to gather African Catholics from across ethnic, national and language lines. He helped them form a committee, and their work led to the first ever diocesan-wide convocation in October 2004 in which 1,000 participated from 310 African countries. The significance of this work is not only that it provides a model for how other dioceses around the country could provide a welcoming place for gathering African immigrants, but the bridge-building involved is not unrelated to how Pax Christi was started as a movement for reconciliation in Europe following the Second World War. Many of the African Catholics that Mons. East has brought "to the table" have come from countries where they were on conflicting sides of civil wars. By working and praying together-with the Eucharist at the center-these communities are living out a process of reconciliation that also has import for their home countries. Another fruit of his bridge-building was the participation of these African Catholics in the Rwanda 10 year anniversary services last year, which was a powerful time of commemorating the past and reflecting on the current conflicts.
Msgr. East is a member of the Catholic Task Force on Africa, a network of religious order and other Catholic groups that meets monthly at US Catholic Conference to coordinate work on the Sudan, DR Congo and other conflicts in Africa. In fact, it was Msgr. East who invited and brought Pax Christi USA into that Task Force, for which we are grateful.
He traveled to Haiti at the end of last year and came back to lay the groundwork for sister parishes and a sister diocese relationship with the diocese of Jeremie.
Mons East also has worked passionately to elevate the tragedy of HIV/AIDS, both the catastrophic effect on the world community, and the need for education and healing in the African-American Catholic community locally. Fr. East is on the board of Food and Friends in Washington, a ministry that prepares and delivers food to people living with HIV/AIDS, using a broad network of church and other volunteers. Fr. East is not just on the board. Although he's probably one of the busiest people in the world, he makes the time to get in his car and serve as one of the volunteers delivering those meals.
On top of all his diocesan responsibilities, over a year ago Msgr. East was named as pastor of St. Therese of Avila parish in South-West Washington, a vibrant African American Catholic community deeply engaged in a plethora of ministries. (One of his parishioners is with us today, Donna Grimes, as she is also a member of the National Council of Pax Christi USA. Donna, please thank the parishioners for letting us have Fr. East this weekend--and could you stand up to be acknowledged).
In St. Therese of Avila parish--there too, Fr. East immerses himself in the life of the surrounding neighborhood. As he described, "I live in a bloody community, where people get shot on my block. We do vigils, but we are tired of doing vigils."
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