Kwanzaa Mass?

[NorthTexan88]

I am visiting Chicago in a few weeks an looking for parishes to visit. I came across St. Nikolas in Evanston and saw they offered a kwanzaa mass. I usually gauge a place by what te website shows. Can someone explain this to me and if it is abuse?

 

[Aelred_Minor]

This strikes me as very strange, as Kwanzaa originated essentially as an alternative to Christmas for those people of African ancestry who considered Christmas a European thing. I know it has since become much more innocent and many families observe both Christmas and Kwanzaa, but still it strikes me as inappropriate to have this kind of ethnic focus to the mass. The focus of the liturgy is supposed to be on God, not on ourselves.

 

[DavidFilmer]

The Church routinely does Masses which are offered on behalf of certain groups (such as a Baccalaureate Mass to honor graduates) or individuals (such as a Mass of Thanksgiving following a priest’s Ordination). There’s nothing inherently abusive about this.

But, like anything, it can be abusive if not done properly. For example, it would be abusive for a “Kwanzaa Mass” to substitute an African folk tale in place of one of the readings. But the priest is free to use such folk tales as oratorical devices in his homily (presuming they are not contrary to the Gospel).

 

[markomalley]

This strikes me as very strange, as Kwanzaa originated essentially as an alternative to Christmas for those people of African ancestry who considered Christmas a European thing. I know it has since become much more innocent and many families observe both Christmas and Kwanzaa, but still it strikes me as inappropriate to have this kind of ethnic focus to the mass. The focus of the liturgy is supposed to be on God, not on ourselves.

First, Kwanzaa was created to reaffirm and restore our rootedness in African culture. It is, therefore, an expression of recovery and reconstruction of African culture which was being conducted in the general context of the Black Liberation Movement of the '60’s and in the specific context of The Organization Us, the founding organization of Kwanzaa and the authoritative keeper of its tradition.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach, author and scholar-activist who stresses the indispensable need to preserve, continually revitalize and promote African American culture.

Source: “the official Kwanzaa Site”

 

[Dale_M]

Can someone explain this to me and if it is abuse?

I am unfamiliar with combining Mass with Kwanzaa observance, but it has been an annual observance for more than a decade. Here is what the parish bulletin says:

Kwanzaa is a seven-day (December 26 – January 1) African American festival based on African agricultural celebrations and collective principles which contribute to the unity, enrichment,and continued development of the African and African American communities.At St. Nicholas we combine that celebration with the Feast of the Holy Family in the week after Christmas. Evanston Area Black Catholics will host the thirteenth Kwanzaa here at St. Nick’s on Saturday December 31 at 4:00 pm Mass.

nickchurch.org/documents/512011.122511.web.pdf

 

[BillyHW]

Kwanzaa: violent 60s radical invented fake holiday

Held each year from December 26 until January 2, Kwanzaa is increasingly seen as an appropriate multicultural alternative to Christmas, a holiday considered too religious and “Eurocentric” for public schools.

But there is one not-so-insignificant problem with Kwanzaa. While many teachers believe it is an ancient African harvest festival, it was not born in pre-colonial West Africa, but in 1960s southern California. It is the brainchild of African-American radical activist, academic and convicted felon Ron Karenga.

In 1969, two rival radical groups were battling for control of the UCLA black studies program: the Black Panthers and the lesser-known US, or United Slaves, led by Mr. Karenga. Both groups sauntered around campus carrying loaded guns. Perhaps inevitably, violence erupted. As David Horowitz recalls in Radical Son, Black Panther John Higgins was “murdered—along with Al ‘Bunchy’ Carter—on the UCLA campus by members of Ron Karenga’s organization.” After the killing, the FBI infiltrated both groups, and the United Slaves turned to fighting “enemies within.”

The result: two female members were tortured by their “comrades” in May, 1970. Both alledge Mr. Karenga ordered and participated in their assaults.

examiner.com/conservative-politics-in-national/kwanzaa-violent-60s-radical-invented-fake-holiday