Sustaining Catholic Education in and for the Black Community
By Lois J. Carson, Sr. Roberta Fulton, S.S.M.N., Dorothy Gupton, Veronica Morgan-Lee, Freida D. McCray, Mary Crowley McDonald, Kathleen A. Merritt, Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, O.P., Ph.D., Brother Gary Sawyer, ECSA, Deacon Marvin Threatt, PhD.
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Kathleen A. Merritt is the Director of Ethnic Ministries for the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina. She facilitates workshops and training initiatives on diversity in schools, parishes, and missions across the state of South Carolina. This Greenville, South Carolina, native earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of South Carolina and a Master's degree in Clinical Counseling from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in Psychology at The Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ms. Merritt currently serves on the board of advisors for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees; Evangelization Chair for the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators; Facilitator for the NBCC Leadership Commission on Catholic Education; and Board Chair for the Greenville Mental Health Center, South Carolina Department of Mental Health. She is a member of the South Carolina Council of Catholic Women and Knights of Peter Claver, Ladies Auxiliary. In 1999, she was inducted in The Order of the Jessamine in recognition of her outstanding contributions to her local community. She was the 2002 recipient of the Baha'is Human Rights Award for her outstanding work in teaching sensitivity and diversity appreciation to over 1000 youth in South Carolina. She is a national presenter and conducts workshops in subject areas focusing on youth and young adults, creating welcoming parishes, and healthy relationships.
Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, O.P., Ph.D., a member of the Adrian Dominican Congregation since 1959, is the Director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies and the Katharine Drexel Professor of Systematic Theology at Xavier University of Louisiana. Previously, she held academic positions at The Catholic Theological Union, Loyola University in Chicago, and the University of Dayton.
She has served as a theologian, author, educator, pastoral minister, lecturer, liturgist, spiritual director, social worker, and administrator. Sr. Phelps inaugurated or participated in the creation of several black Catholic programs: The National Black Catholic Sisters' Conference, The Institute for Black Catholic Studies, the Augustus Tolton Lay Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union, and the Black Catholic Theological Symposium.
Sr. Phelps received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan; a Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a Master of Arts in Theology from Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota. She received a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of America, with a specialization in Ecclesiology. She has participated seminars throughout the United States as well as in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, Canada, and Italy.
Sr. Phelps is the editor of Black and Catholic: The Challenge and Gift of Black Folk. She co-edited the documentary,
Stamped with the Image of God: African Americans as God's Image in Black. She has published over 50 articles in theological and ministerial journals on a variety of topics pertinent to the mission of the Church.
She has served on the boards of the National Blacks Sisters Conference; the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA); and the Center for Research in the Apostolate. She was the first co-chair of the CTSA's Committee for Under-represented Ethnic-Racial Groups. She is a member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Missiology, the American Academy of Religion, the Society for the Study of Black Religion, and the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians. She served as the Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium from 1991 to 2001. Currently, she serves on the academic committee of the Board of Trustees for Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan.
Brother Gary Sawyer, ECSA, resides in Denver, Colorado, where he engages in the ministry of Catholic education as an elementary school teacher in the only predominantly African American school in the Archdiocese, and director of religious education in the two predominantly African American parishes in the Archdiocese of Denver.
Brother Gary holds an Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Development and Administration, a Bachelor's degree in Human Growth and Development, and a Master's degree in Education with specialization in Administration and Supervision. Brother Sawyer is a graduate of the Imani Catechists Certification program through the Institute of Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Deacon Marvin Threatt, PhD., was ordained in 1983 to the permanent deaconate for the diocese of San Diego. He has served as principal of Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles and is presently a principal of Sojourner Truth Learning Academy in San Diego. Deacon Threatt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from George Washington University, a Master's degree in Education from the University of San Diego, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Honolulu, Hawaii.
A noted lecturer and motivational speaker, Deacon Threatt has conducted retreats, workshops, and leadership training seminars throughout the country. He is especially noted for his work in education at the elementary and secondary level, youth and young adult ministry, as well as contemporary spirituality and worship. The title of Deacon Threat's talk for adults and teens is “The Role of Faith in the Family Value System.” After hearing Deacon Threatt speak, your teenagers will be on their feet – and so will you.
We, the writers of this book, sincerely thank you for your interest in sustaining Catholic education in and for the Black community.
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