www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Fertile Fields

Shlomo Lkhoolkhoon,

I made the title obtuse so that people will read and think about what has been written.

One place where we Eastern Catholics (specifically those members of the Ge'ez Catholic Church) can do evangelization is amongst African-Americans. In the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007 by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, only 5% are Catholic, whereas the general population is 24%

Each of our Churches have a great opprotunity to find new members. We Antiochene Catholics can appeal to African-Americans by pointing out that we use the language that Jesus spoke in our liturgies. The Byzantines can piggy-back on the fact that in sub-Saharan Africa the Byzantine Liturgy is being used by more and more Africans. The Armenians can show how they take the best of all of us. The Alexandrians can show they truly are "that old time religion".

All of us have treasures to share, and we should look at how we can do such to this community.

Fush BaShlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Yuhannon

Interesting post and one with much food for thought. But, though the title for the post is made deliberately 'obtuse' "so that people will read and think about what has been written," I still think I would prefer that the word 'fertile' was not misspelled. Call me a crank....

Fr David Straut

I would think that the most effective effort among African-Americans might well come from the Ethiopian Church.

Fr. Serge

Bless, Father,

I remember that you have made this observation a few times in the past and, each time, I've intended to offer comments.

Unlike you, I'm unconvinced that the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholics or Orthodox offer a ready solution to evangelization among Black Americans. In speaking with (US-born) black friends and colleagues who have experienced Ethiopian and Eritrean liturgical services, they found the experience (in the words of one male friend) "too unlike" both the stereotypical style of worship associated with American Blacks involved in Baptist, Pentecostal, and Evangelical denominations and the more conservative style of those who are congregants of Methodist-Episcopal, Anglican, and (in his case) Lutheran churches. His take on it was that it was "too different" from both the westernized and the more traditional forms of worship common to those of sub-Saharan African ancestry. Other phrases that came up in the conversation were "much more/too foreign", "a diffent style of African worship, one with which we have no history."

Another commented on the strong ethnicity associated with the Ethiopians and Eritreans - and noted that it was a stumbling block that American Blacks felt even in dealing with African immigrants from countries where English is widely spoken. The lady suggested that most Black Americans are too distant from their own roots to readily "fit in" with African Black immigrants in a setting as intimate as worship. She also opined that the communities were themselves too recently arrived to be comfortable assimilating outsiders into such an environment. She perceived them as welcoming of visitors, but not really prepared to have visitors become more than that.

I'd be interested to hear how the Black American members of our forum who are faithful of Byzantine parishes see the situation. (I don't know if we have any Black American Orthodox members at present but, if so, I'd like to hear their take on it as well.)

Many years,

Neil

Suggestion: try attending the services in one or another Ethiopian Church. The priest(s) in North America are stretched very thin indeed trying to serve the communities and faithful who want them.

Fr. Serge

I think my bishop:

[Linked Image]

And his predecessor:

[Linked Image]

Might disagree with you.

In my opinion it takes a very socially active stranger friendly parish to get the attention of AfricanAmericans. The AfricanAmerican communities I know of have active social and youth outreach in an effort to keep their youth out of danger.

As much as I dislike to say this the Russian & Greek communities have not been active in the communities. They have tended to be insular and not very stranger friendly.

In our ROCOR Cathedral of St John the Baptist, my friend Fr John Johnson serves as a priest. He is an African American.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

It is admittedly not common to find African Americans in Russian parishes. Our liturgical language can certainly be a barrier, not to mention prejudices among people. But I am so glad that there are an increasing number of African Americans among the laity and the clergy of our Church.

Fr David Straut

Is that Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Ill., and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta?

I suppose a liturgical language, whether it be Greek, Old Church Slavonic, Latin, Ge'ez, Classical Armenian, or any other, can be a barrier to many people. But I don't see why it should pose a particular barrier to black people?

I just cannot see why people from a non-slavic background would feel it necessary or even appropriate to use a language that they have no understanding of to pray to God. It is a barrier to me anyway.

I was absolutely delighted to attend my first ROCOR Diocesan Conference a few days ago that was finally conducted in the English language: a language, as our Metropolitan said (God bless and keep him for many years!) everyone there understood. The same could not be said for Russian. It only took 90 years, but they finally realised that we are called the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for a reason. Alleluia! (My apologies to our Latin brethren who can't say or hear that word during Lent! )

Fr David Straut

P.S. The services at the Conference were still almost entirely in Slavonic, but there was some English, which is encouraging.

The Catholic Church in the U.S. has also a minority share of African-Americans. (Unlike in Africa, particularly in the sub-Saharan regions, where the Catholic Church now counts approximately 150 million faithful!)

Only about 2.5 million out of 36 million African-Americans (as of May 30, 2006) are Catholics, although by any measure, this number is "large." Majority are Protestants distributed among myriads of sects and a considerable number are now members of the emergent Islam.

There are 16 African-American Catholic Bishops as of today with 6 having their own dioceses, 4 as auxiliary Bishops, and 6 retired. 8 are deceased.

A glance at the demographics of African-American Catholics in the United States:

http://www.usccb.org/saac/AfricanAmericanCatholicsintheUS.pdf

Amado