Dedicated to improving the lives of Black Catholics across the United States
Calendar of Events
We Have Been Called: Wisdom From Black Catholic History
Webinar presented by Paula Manchester
X A V I E R
INSTITUTE FOR BLACK CATHOLIC STUDIES
presents the schedule of classes for Summer 2018
Click the button
for a downloadable brochure
This webinar will focus on the need for honesty in admitting our complicity in the sin of racism within our Catholic community. We will contextualize our remarks with the mandates found in the Gospel and in our Catholic Social Teachings. We invite our listeners to discover that racism cannot be "fixed", but rather we are all called to be transformed into a Beloved Community where all are cherished.
This webinar will be recorded and will be available for viewing on the NBCC website.
The Unity Explosion Conference will open with the celebration of the Eucharist at St. Joseph’s (Downtown) Church on Thursday, June 7, at 7 p.m. The conference will offer special tracks for everyone, including our next generations of tiny tots, youth, and young adults. To learn more, contact Carol White at (210) 532-5358 or by e-mail cfwhite1982@gmail.com.
Register here: https://www.archsa.org/unity-explosion-2018-registration
Founded in 2011 as a ministry of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines), Immaculate Conception Province, the Catholic Apostolate Center develops resources that the faithful, particularly those in ministry, can use to aid in their own evangelization efforts. The Center responds to the current needs of the Church through developing, in collaboration with dioceses and other institutions and organizations, formation programs for the New Evangelization.
For more information, visit their website at https://www.catholicapostolatecenter.org
Holy Spirit, drive away from him all forms of sickness and disease, restore strength to his body and joy to his spirit, so that in his renewed health, he may bless and serve you, now and forevermore. In Jesus name, Amen.
June
Saturday, June 2nd 2:00-8:00 PM
The Celebration of Saints of Africa
St. Camillus Catholic Church, 1600 St Camillus Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20903The ACA cordially invites you to attend the Celebration of Saints of Africa. The theme of the gathering is: Becoming Missionary Disciples ("Share the Journey" of Migrants and Refugees - Pope Francis). Come celebrate with Mass, youth forum, rosary procession, choir concert, and socials. Our celebrant is Most Reg. Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodriguez. To RSVP, contact Rev. Fr. Jean-Marie Kabango-Lenge, OFM 301-434-8400 ext. 407; Louis Kimakon 301-332-4435; Sandra Coles Bell 301-853-4500; Rev. Sr. (Dr.) Joanna Okereke, HHCI 832-692-6922; Dr. Seikor Bundu 240-994-6774; John B.N. Mubiru 703-732-4821. Hosted by: The St. Camillus Francophone and African Diaspora Catholic Community.
Monday, June 4 through Sunday, July 29th
Unbound E-Course: Heart of the Father
Heart of the Father is pleased to announce the release of our new E-course: Unbound Basic Training!
WHAT IS IT?
This E-course will equip you with the knowledge and experience you need to minister to others using Unbound ministry. Register here
Tuesday, June 19 through Saturday, June 23
Archbishop James P. Lyke Conference
SAVE THE DATE. Archbishop James P. Lyke Conference June 19-23, 2018. Rivers Institute: June 19-20. New Orleans, LA - Xavier University.
WALK TOGETHER CHILDREN - Celebrating Black Catholic Leadership.
Fore more information: www.lykeconference.com
THE 2017 CONGRESS 12
PASTORAL PLAN OF ACTION
The Pastoral Plan of Action was developed by delegates who were appointed by bishops from every diocese in the United States. These women and men brought the concerns and needs of their local communities, and worked together to develop a list of pastoral priorities. These priorities led to a Preamble, which was presented and affirmed by the Assembly at the close of Congress XII. It was the intention of the delegates that every individual, parish, community, and diocese use the Preamble to guide their unique pastoral planning with Black Catholics for the next five years.
Scholarship submission deadline is Friday, April 20, 2018
Go to www.xula.edu and click the Institute for Black Catholic Studies link to access the Scholarship form. The form may be submitted electronically.
Mr. Ralph McCloud
Director, Catholic Campaign for
Human Development (CCHD),
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops
RALPH McCLOUD is the current
Director of the Catholic
Campaign for Human
Development (CCHD), an anti-
poverty program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Prior to that, he supervised the Departments of Family Life, Peace and Justice, African-American Ministry, Ministry to the Incarcerated, Ministry to People with Disabilities, Hospital Ministry and Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Ft. Worth, Texas.
Civically, Ralph chaired the County Homeless Commission and was named Tarrant County’s First Racial Reconciliation Award Winner by the Tarrant County Community of Churches, received the State of Texas Courage Award from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and he received the Catholic Charities USA’s Martin Luther King Keep the Dream Alive Award in 2010. In 2017, he was awarded the Bishop John Joseph Keane Medallion from the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America.
Recently, Ralph presented keynote addresses on racism to the National St. Vincent de Paul Gathering on Poverty and Race, and the Washington Catholic Cornerstone Conference for Catholics in the State of Washington. He has conducted workshops for various Catholic Charities staffs and seminarians in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and in the Diocese of Charlotte.
H E L P R E S C U E V O C A T I O N S
Give the gift of a new priest, sister, or brother to the Catholic Church!
Why Pray the Rosary?
Posted by Edward Sri on 4/11/18
The National Black Catholic Congress | 320 Cathedral St. Baltimore, MD 21201 | 410-547-8496
© 2018 The National Black Catholic Congress, All Rights Reserved
Many great popes, saints, and Christian leaders have exhorted us to pray the rosary. It’s a powerful prayer, they say, one that can change your life, strengthen the family, bring peace to the world, convert entire nations, and win the salvation of souls.
But does the average person experience the rosary this way?
Many Catholics, unfortunately, have the impression that the rosary is not relevant for them. It might be a sacred prayer for very religious people—priests, religious sisters, and exceptional Catholics—but not for “an ordinary lay person like me.” Even some devout Catholics admit that they are a bit intimidated by this prayer. They have tremendous respect for the rosary, know it’s important, but feel bad that they don’t love it more. Many view it as the marathon of Catholic devotions. “I know it’s an important prayer, but it takes fifteen to twenty minutes. I’m too busy. I don’t have time for that.” “It’s too hard to stay focused for that much time. I prefer shorter prayers.”
Some have questions about the rosary: Does all this attention to Mary distract us from a relationship with God? Read more...
Please join us as we pray for healing for His Excellency, George Murry,
Bishop of Youngstown,
recently diagnosed with acute Leukemia.
Join our mailing list:
Black Catholic News Click photo
Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice
From EJI - Equal Justice Initiative
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice will acknowledge an era of racial terror in the United States when thousands of African Americans were lynched and publicly tortured, sometimes in the presence of thousands of people. Full story...
SAVE THE DATE:
Unity Explosion
Wed Jun 6th 9:00am - Sun 10th 9:00am
Pray. Listen. Learn. Think. Act.
Evangelization and Liturgy Conference, Catholics of African Descent.
The Historic Menger Hotel, 204 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205
Use of NBCC Copyrighted Material
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Hosted by:
2018
CBS 60 Minutes Special Interview of Bryan Stevenson by Oprah Winfrey
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: What If He Were Still Alive Today?
(April 4, 1968-April 4, 2018, Fifty Years Later)
Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA
SR. PATRICIA CHAPPELL,
SNDdeN is a member of the
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
Sr. Patricia holds a Master’s
degree in Social Work from the
Catholic University of America
and received her accreditation
from the Academy of Certified Social Workers Incorporated. She is a licensed social worker in the District of Columbia.
She served as President of the National Black Sisters’ Conference (NBSC) from 1995-2001, and under her leadership, the NBSC sponsored the first National Gathering for Black Catholic Women in July 2011. Sister served on the Provincial Leadership Team of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in the former Connecticut Province, and was the first African American to serve in this capacity. In 2011, Sister became the first African American Executive Director of Pax Christi, USA, the National Catholic Nonviolent Peace and Justice Movement in Washington, DC.
Sr. Patricia was trained by Crossroads in anti-racism training and organizing and serves as the national co-chair on her community’s anti-racism team. She has been providing anti-racism training to religious communities, parishes, non-profit organizations, and peace and justice teams throughout the U.S.
Employment Opportunities
Webinar Presenters:
Bishop Roy Edward Campbell, Jr.
Auxiliary Bishop for the
Archdiocese of Washington DC
BISHOP ROY CAMPBELL was
ordained to the priesthood in 2007
by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, and was
assigned as parochial vicar of Saint
Augustine parish. In 2008, he was
appointed pastor of Assumption
Catholic Church in southeast
Washington, and two years later,
he was given his current assignment
as pastor of Saint Joseph Catholic
Church in Largo, Maryland. Pope
Francis named him Auxiliary Bishop
of Washington, DC in 2017.
Bishop Campbell’s Coat of Arms displays his chosen motto: “Do whatever He tells you.” These words were spoken by the Blessed Virgin Mary to the workers at the Feast of Cana, directing them to do as her beloved Son, Jesus, requested. As Christians, these instructions remind us that Jesus “guides our lives by all that He teaches and all that is maintained by His Holy Church.”
Following this call to serve, Bishop Campbell is the Co-Chair of the statewide Joint Taskforce on Racism for the Maryland Catholic Conference, and Chair of the Committee on Racism for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. Recently, Bishop Campbell represented the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at the A.C.T. To End Racism rally launched by the National Council of Churches, and held in the U.S. Capitol on April 4, 2018.
Is the single life a vocation? Maybe we're asking the wrong question.
By Mary Rezac | Catholic News Agency
Denver, Colo., Dec 27, 2017 / (CNA/EWTN News).- From a young age, Catholics are taught to pray about and discern their vocations – whether they're called to marriage, to the religious life, to the priesthood, or consecrated single life.
This can leave the lay single person feeling that they are in a vocational limbo of sorts, and it's become a topic of much heated and emotional debate in the Catholic blogosphere: have these people missed their vocation? Is the lay single state, chosen or by default, a vocation?
Fr. Ben Hasse is a vocations director for the Diocese of Marquette, Mich. He said addressing the topic of singleness in the Church can be difficult because of the emotions surrounding the issue. Full story...
Bishop Shelton Fabre has been appointed the Chair of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism
The Josephites are seeking an experienced (5-8 yrs.) major gift officer, Director, Assistant
Director of Development or experienced fundraiser consultant who can build a “best in class”
fundraising operation. Individuals should be entrepreneurial and possess strong marketing,
organization and communication skills, plus knowledge of fund development software and tracking
systems. The ideal candidate must be collaborative, results oriented, highly self-motivated, and
driven to succeed. They must be passionate about fund development, accountable, performance
based, resourceful and be comfortable working with diverse stakeholders. It is essential that
candidates embrace the mission of the Josephites and be of high integrity and hold the values of
the Josephite community. Click on the image at right to download a description of the position.
"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Reflection By
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Bishop of Belleville
April 4, 2018
Read full reflection here...
We welcome you to submit your upcoming events!
We would love to include your parish activities, upcoming organizational conferences, or arch/diocesan events. Please email your information to: nbcc@nbccongress.org and feel free to attach a pdf of your flier, advertisement, or logo for us to include.
NBCC Webinar on Racism will be presented on Wednesday, May 23 from 3:00-4:00PM EDT
Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens is seeking a Director of Development. Catholic
Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens is a not-for-profit organization that provides financial grants
and other assistance to institutions and ministries of the Diocese of Brooklyn in support of the
Church’s mission and administers the endowments and other funds entrusted to it. The foundation
is guided by principles of prudent stewardship while assuring that all investments are consistent with
Catholic teachings. The mission of Futures in Education is to ensure that the gift of an excellent
Catholic education continues to be a viable option for current and future generations of deserving
students in Brooklyn and Queens by providing tuition assistance and program support to the neediest
of students and academies.
To continue to fulfill these important missions, Catholic Foundation seeks a passionate Director of Development (DoD) with a proven track-record to lead fundraising from individuals, corporations, and foundations. With the goal of increasing and diversifying philanthropic support, the DoD will report to the Executive Director, John Notaro and work collaboratively and closely with the Vicar for Development of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, the Board of Directors of Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens and the Board of Trustees of Futures in Education.
The ideal candidate will possess leadership abilities, including effective motivation, mentoring and team building: the talent to leverage team members’ existing capacity and strengthen performance while maintaining best practices, camaraderie, and shared accountability. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated track record in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, stewarding and securing philanthropic support in an environment where the prospective donor constituency is not immediately obvious. S/he will have experience preparing philanthropic briefings and writing proposals. Preferably, the successful candidate will have built a planned giving program. Please send confidential inquiries and applications directly to Freeman Philanthropic Services, LLC via e-mail at CFBQ@glfreeman.com.
The Month of May and the Devotion to Mary
"In the hierarchy of holiness it is precisely the 'woman', Mary of Nazareth, who is the 'figure' of the Church. She 'precedes' everyone on the path to holiness; in her person 'the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle'".— JOHN PAUL II Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988
"The month of May, with its profusion of blooms was adopted by the Church in the eighteenth century as a celebration of the flowering of Mary's maidenly spirituality. With its origins in Isaiah's prophecy of the Virgin birth of the Messiah under the figure of the Blossoming Rod or Root of Jesse, the flower symbolism of Mary was extended by the Church Fathers, and in the liturgy, by applying to her the flower figures of the Sapiential Books-Canticles, Wisdom, Proverbs and Sirach.
LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE AT EVERY AGE
Living your best life - it is the mantra for the 21st century. Experts tell us that living your best life is a proactive pursuit. We must be willing to take action, make choices and own our existence, but what exactly does "living your best life" mean? How do you go about it, and is it something that changes over time?
A Center for Disease Control report revealed that Black women are living longer than ever before, and many experts believe it is because many of us are making a concerted effort to live healthier and better throughout our years. During its 40th Annual Symposium, The Black Women's Agenda, Inc. hosted a Living Your Best Life at Every Age workshop featuring a panel of accomplished, influential Black women ranging in age from 20-74. Together with more than over 600 workshop participants, they shared personal stories about their journey to fulfillment, and tips for getting the most out of life as we age.Twenties & Thirties
In our 20s and 30s, most of us are still trying to figure out who and what we want to be when we grow up. We savor our independence, but learn that "adulting" is hard: there are bills to pay, careers to pursue and other obligations to meet that are not necessarily the way we want to spend our time. Read more...