Diocesan Black Catholic Evangelization Conference. July 23, 2016 ~ Article and Photos by EJCooley

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Evangelization - a six-syllable word of Greek origin.  The meaning is derived from its prefix "en" combined with another word - angel and -zation, its suffix.  En means "good".  The word angel in biblical tradition described those spirits who announced a message.  The word angel in Greek means "help is on the way".  The suffix -zation denotes action.  Thus the term evangelization means "the act of delivering the good message that help is on its way".

The morning started with a continental breakfast at the Hilton Hotel/Short Pump.  Prayer service was led by Msgr. Mark Lane, Vicar General, the choir was from the Basilica of St. Mary, Norfolk, VA, followed by a Welcome from Pam Harris, Office for Black Catholics.  Our General Session was led by Deacon Art Miller, Archdiocese of Hartford, a powerful orator.

Following the General Session, participants chose one of four sessions to attend.  Therese Wilson-Favors was the speaker of the session I attended.  Her message, "Jesus Says...Come and See, Then Go and Tell".  Therese invited her participants to follow Jesus to discover and affirm ways to evangelize.

Each session was held close to one hour.  We then broke for lunch.  Immediately following lunch, we again chose a session to attend.  Bro. Gerard Jordan led "Embracing Black Spirituality".  Bro Gerard encouraged us to take a more active role in the church and asked the question... "What does God ask of us?"

The keynote speaker for this conference and Homilist was Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Diocese of Belleville, Illinois.  Participants were from several dioceses:  Arlington, VA, Richmond, VA, North Carolina, Washington, DC and Maryland.  The participating Dioceses were diverse as well as the attendees!


~ Photos by EJCooley