GREENSBORO — Parishioners of St. Mary’s Church commemorated Black History Month with a special reflection and celebration Feb. 17-18.
The celebration, organized by the parish’s Black Catholic Committee, was themed “Keeping Hope Alive.” St. Mary’s Church was founded in 1928 as a parish for black Catholics, but today the Greensboro parish includes people from a variety of economic, social and spiritual experiences, as well as diverse ethnicities.
The weekend celebration was led by Vincentian Father Charles Strollo, pastor, and guest celebrant Josephite Father Anthony M. Bozeman, pastor of St. Raymond and St. Leo the Great Parish in New Orleans.
Pictured: Vincentian Father Charles Strollo, pastor, and Father Josephite Father Anthony M. Bozeman, pastor of St. Raymond and St. Leo the Great Parish in New Orleans, celebrate Mass Feb. 18 at St. Mary’s Church. Assisting at Mass is Deacon Emmanuel Ukattah. (Photos provided by Ann Graves)
Father Bozeman emphasized the celebration’s theme, “Keeping Hope Alive,” throughout his talks and in a roundtable discussion that he led Feb. 17. He also delivered the homily at Mass Feb. 18, to a standing-room-only crowd of faithful.
Father Bozeman challenged St. Mary’s parishioners to turn negatives into positives as Jesus did when He turned His death on the cross into eternal salvation for all mankind.
He also challenged parishioners to remember that God did not bring people this far to let them down.
“Racism is a sin and we will always have setbacks,” he said. But we must remember that God is always in charge, he added.
Father Bozeman pointed out that black history is American history – a history that belongs to all Americans. America would not be what it is today without the toil, sacrifices and contributions of black Americans, he said.
He challenged black parishioners to know their history and to proudly share it with other Americans. He also reminded blacks of their kinship to Africa, and that the oldest known human skeletal remains were found in Africa. He also spoke of Crispus Attucks, a black Catholic who was the first solider to die in the American Revolutionary War.
“We must always know who we are and whose we are,” he said, in order to fight the negatives of racism.
His words were both reviving and inspiring, parishioners said.
After Mass families enjoyed a potluck supper featuring foods from parishioners’ multicultural traditions.
— Ann Graves, Special to the Catholic News Herald. Ann Graves is the chairperson of the Black Catholic Committee of St. Mary’s Church in Greensboro.