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The archdiocesan Office of Black Ministry is sponsoring a full weekend of activities to start Black History Month, concluding with its annual Black History Month Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Sunday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m.
Bishop Guy Sansaricq of the Diocese of Brooklyn will be the Mass celebrant, and Father Andrew C. Smith Jr., pastor of Holy Angels Catholic parish in Chicago, will be the guest homilist for the Mass, which will be offered on a day recognized as the National Day of Prayer for the African-American and African family.
"This year, our archdiocesan celebration will be a little more extended and somewhat historic, in the nature of the collaboration that we are engaged in. Our archdiocesan celebration will span the entire first weekend of February, and the somewhat historic nature of this year's celebration is that we will be collaborating with and acknowledging the "Divine 9," said Brother Tyrone Davis, C.F.C., executive director for the Office of Black Ministry, in a statement.
The Divine 9 are the black fraternities and sororities, many dating back to the early 1900s, and all have black Catholics within their memberships.
The archdiocesan weekend, planned by 55 committee members from the archdiocese and neighboring dioceses, will begin Feb. 1 at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in Manhattan with the private screening of the documentary film, "Emanuel," on the shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C. A reception will follow as well as a panel discussion moderated by David Ushery of WNBC News 4 New York.
On Feb. 2, the Office of Black Ministry is partnering with organizations to assist the less fortunate on the day of service, involving 200 members and their families in addition to some Pierre Toussaint Scholars and some high school students.
Coats, hats and gloves are being collected for distribution to the homeless at a Midnight Run. Volunteers will bring meals to the homebound through Meals on Wheels, work in the dining room at Part of the Solution (POTS) in the Bronx and partner with Rise Against Hunger to pack food at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.
Information: (646) 794-2681, email obm@archny.org, visit www.obmny.org
