Urban America as Missionary Territory?

[lucybeebee]

I live in Atlanta, GA in a mostly black middle class area. Oftentimes to get from point A to point B, I have to go through a series of very bad neighborhoods where the moral and economic life has almost completly collasped; I was shocked to read in some CDC statistics that the illegitimacy rate among blacks in Atlanta is 80%. The major service providers, aside from the government, are Protestant churches particularly of the Methodist and Baptist variety. The closest Catholic churches are probably about 15 minutes away. Why aren’t America’s inner cities being considered missionary territory by Catholics? It is obvious that the black underclass has been terribly affected by the collaspe in morality that has occurred in the last 40 years, but there is very little Catholic presence in these blighted areas (at least in Atlanta, it could be different in other places). What can be done to effectively evangelize this population which so sorely needs the Catholic Church?

 

[GregoryPalamas]

We’ve forgotten how to evangelize as laity. Since we have a shortage of priests and since some of our bishops have not disciplined a few wayward priests and consequently have nearly bankrupted some diocese, we have not the resources, we think, to evangelize those in greatest need.

I like to work on solutions rather than dwell on problems. I think from your post you believe the same. So, let’s both put go to prayer and put on our thinking caps and invite others to join us. I suspect some solutions may come from these efforts. More later.

Let’s keep this extremely important thread alive.

CDL

 

[GregoryPalamas]

We’ve forgotten how to evangelize as laity. Since we have a shortage of priests and since some of our bishops have not disciplined a few wayward priests and consequently have nearly bankrupted some diocese, we have not the resources, we think, to evangelize those in greatest need.

I like to work on solutions rather than dwell on problems. I think from your post you believe the same. So, let’s both put go to prayer and put on our thinking caps and invite others to join us. I suspect some solutions may come from these efforts. More later.

Let’s keep this extremely important thread alive.

CDL

 

[Maxply]

Lucy BB: absolutely true! Evangelization needs to be done everywhere, but especially in the most hurt and broken areas. I have always seen Catholics as a bit embarrassed about being open in their faith.

 

[jc-servant]

I’m a Black Catholic who converted as a single adult. My suggestion is that if you want to evangelize in the Black community in Atlanta, then get plugged into Black Catholic resources and learn about the history of Blacks in the universal church so that you have something to show ours is not solely a European church. I would caution you that just showing up to preach at people rarely makes converts, but helping in their community and being the face of Jesus to them will win hearts! My best friends from college were good Catholic women (Black, White and Filipino) who evangelized me by regularly going to mass and quietly living their lives as good Catholics and 19 years after the seed was planted I entered RCIA.

There may already be parish or diocesan programs in place that you can plug into if you want to help in a certain community. I live in the Dallas metro and my suburban parish is very culturally diverse due to our proximity to the airport and international businesses. It has helped us to reach out not only to less afluent Latino and Black Catholic areas in Dallas but also to Mexico, Honduras, Vietnam and most recently Nigeria. Some of our activities target Catholics and others just a general community.

Outreach programs can be as simple as our singles group doing after school tutoring and occasional fun parties in the apartment clubhouse where there are a number of single mothers or as elaborate as 100’s of our high school teens plus chaperones and translators going to Mexico to build chapels and a convent during the summer every year. They do a vacation Bible school type of thing in the evenings for local children after building all day. Our teens also take a fiesta with our carnival games and loads of candy to a less afluent parish for Easter every year.

When the hurricane victims arrived in Dallas our parish found out that furniture and supplies were not provided even when they got funds for housing, so informally our parish CRHP teams and other adopted families (Catholic or not) and outfitted homes from furniture to toliet tissue. Some parishioners gathered up evacuee families and brought them to our parish carnival for free to take their minds off their troubles for a few hours and to help them feel a part of a community again. We ended up with families who came to mass just because people in our parish had been kind to them in their hour of need. It only takes one enthusiastic person with a vision to start energizing an entire wave of activity because I have seen it at my parish over and over again.

I’m including a link or two to get you started. The 1st link is for my friend’s historically Black parish in St. Louis that started as a Redemptorist mission in 1867!

stalphonsusrock.org/

blackcatholicchicago.org/

washtimes.com/metro/20060209-111124-6446r.htm

nbccongress.org/black-catholic-monthly/

 

[GregoryPalamas]

Peri,

Thank you so much for these very practical suggestions and for your testimony of Christ’s love bringing you home. Our parish has made a few efforts in evangelizing in Chicago but our eventual dream is to start a mission. Your suggestions are very helpful.

Pray for us.

CDL