Mat it’s going to switch up a little bit today and what we’re going to do is we’re going to have pardon me we’re going to have Deacon Larry do the opening and closing prayer and we will not have a musical interlude so again it’s going to be uh just a little bit
Different but still the same spiritually filled Zoom presentations that we always have that being said I want to just touch on housekeeping briefly we’re going to continue to mute ourselves until the Q&A and out of respect for our guest in one another we’ll just keep ourselves muted um until that time comes
Uh so at this time I would like to introduce Deacon Larry Chapman who is our new representative in the Sacramento dasis we’re trying to keep him but we’ll have to see how that goes but for now he I’m saying that he’s ours I’m saying it’s from our mouths to his ears so
Deacon Larry a pleasant good afternoon thank you in advance and when we can offer the opening prayer whenever you’re ready uh thank you so much Loris of course um let us all um quiet ourselves just for a moment and bow our heads in prayer as we go to the throne of
Grace Almighty and gracious and wonderful God we give you thanks and praise for today we thank you for this blessing of gathering us together here this afternoon um you always find a way to bring your people together in prayer in praise and in Thanksgiving we are so
Grateful for this moment that you have sent your spirit to be with us as we just share some of your uh glorious blessings and Grace that have been extended to us in our lives all of us need to be able to share that more and
More as we struggle in a world full of hatred and and jealousy and Injustice help us oh Lord to focus more on your word because it is your word that brings us closer to you and closer understanding that you have already destined for us a life of Praise a life
Of joy and a life of Happiness we just need to accept it and say yes and we ask all of these wonderful things and all of the people that are gathered here together in the name of your son and our Savior Jesus Christ amen amen in the
Name of the father and the son and the holy spirit amen now Deacon Larry I I for those of you that for those of us that have not been privileged to come across you just as yet can you give a brief introduction of your story of conversion or your story
Of conversion and then what you do in as the Deacon that’s assigned to us now a my story of conversion I did not grow up Catholic for first of all it was my wife Loretta who introduced me to the Catholic faith uh I was in my 30s I think I close to
36 when I was actually called to the Catholic church I had not been going to church we had um two sons and you know my wife Loretta would take the boys to church on Sunday i’ be staying at home watching football games then one Sunday
I was they had gone to church I was there painting our bedroom we had brand new carping laid down I was painting a wall and they and I had set the tray of paint on the dresser um that uh tray of paint fell over onto the
Floor on the carpeting I was so angry oh anger just wed up in me and then all of a sudden a picture of Jesus fell down in front of me and I want to tell you all of my anger went away in an instant and I don’t know what it I
Didn’t know what it was you know I was just I grew up in a in my mother’s church and she always took us to church so I knew about Jesus and who he was and the blessing he was to us but I just never got involved in the church when
That picture fell down in front me everything that I had ever been told came back to me that the mother had always told me and from that day forward I went to church every Sunday at St Paul’s shipwreck church and that’s my conversion story it
Was not and I know people laugh and say well you know they it it just don’t happen that suddenly yes it did I’m sorry for me it did so that was my call to come to the church and be baptized in the Catholic faith and then I just began
To serve there uh in the choir and the Ministers of Christian service the uh rcia program and then I didn’t know anything about becoming a deacon either so uh the just to I got to give credit what credit is Du Father Jim good who is really one of the black top black
Catholic evangelist in the country for years I I had the opportunity to sit and listen to him every Sunday and you know you think those things don’t don’t come to you you remember all of those things and he got me involved in some of everything and so
I did um M uh and then he got called to New York and we had another Pastor come in and then he saw me doing all these things in the church and he said well why don’t you uh uh go to the information uh session on the deac what’s the
Deac so um so he said I should go so lorett and I went and we kind of like what we heard so we prepared ourselves I got the information into them then they said that that I couldn’t apply in San Francisco cuz I lived in Oakland hey at
That time I was 15 TW almost 20 years at St Paul shipwreck so they allowed me to do it and by the grace of God I became a deacon in uh 2006 and so that’s uh it’ll be 18 years this year in the deac and I serve as St Paul the
Shipwreck in any capacity that I can uh I have had involved in the prison ministry for seven years going there I am a knight and I was the grand night at one time at St Paul the sh um I believe my belief is that God calls
You to where he wants you to be and then he gives you everything that you need to grow and make a difference and to help others to see that light and so the light in you must shine for the others to see the light in themselves so that’s
Kind of been what my ministri Ministries have been all about and I’ve gone to the Institute of black Catholic studies to learn more about how I can serve the black Catholic Community I went to I and down there of course I learned preaching from father Maurice nut who I
Consider uh him and father Jim good are just the two top uh preachers that I’ve ever heard so I’ve I’ve been around those that are anointed and I love learned and I grew and I keep working on it I had to stay humble I learned to do that uh I’m only
I’m only one person trying to do God’s work among many people trying to do God’s work and it’s because of all of you that I get called to do what I do and that’s the blessing the blessing is to serve a deacon is called to serve so I go wherever I’m needed
And that’s kind of I and my my I’m blessed to have my wife Loretta uh of 50 years um walking with me the whole time through the diony program through all of the things that we’ve done working together in rcia youth ministry um you know raising four children so uh just just uh
I’m I’m just overwhelmed by how God has used me to when I to do the kind of things that he’s called me to and there’s so many other things that I could talk about uh but I’m not a saint I fall and I have to get back up
Again you know I have my issues in life but um you know he he shows me things um that help me to get past our uh you know sinfulness so always look to him always look to the good side of life because those other things are
Always there in front of you as well and look and listen listen number one to what people have to say to you um people tell us things that a lot of times we not listening and we don’t hear them uh but being a good listener is something I found out that helps me
Do the ministry work so I don’t want to take a whole lot more time about me because it’s really about the church and about all of the people in the church and all of the work that is being done I’m a member of the National Association of black Catholic
Deacons of been in organization since I have been ordained uh so much uh that the black deacons are doing in all of the parishes around the country um and I’m a member of the National Association of uh Catholic clergy caucus which is the uh leadership body of priests deacons uh Bishops uh Brothers
So I I try to find myself wanting to stay involved with and learn from all of these uh individuals who have pledged and given their life to serve the people to serve the Lord first and serve the people you learn from them there’s some that been there doing this for years and
They’ll tell you about how you can get through certain things and but we have to learn to share you know we have to come and tell the story story uh about how we got over and it is about getting over God Graces us with gifts that allow us to do
All of the things that we can do and I know all of you have those same stories in your life but at the level of being a deacon or a priest or a bishop or a sister or a brother brother there’s a a special
Calling uh to serve the people in a in a different way uh and and it’s something that we have to grow into you just don’t learn to do it overnight uh we make mistakes and then we uh we fall down but we get back up again and that’s the whole journey we
Have to talk to people about the journey and so the but they know our journey is not easy but it calls for a commitment to serve God first and serve his people so um that’s kind of what we do that’s what I have grown to do as a deacon so
When I was called and asked to come to Sacramento for I did not hesitate because that’s who I am that’s why God called me to become a deacon so I just want to serve wherever I can okay um that’s enough about that’s enough about me no you’re not getting
Off the hook that easy Deacon I’m moving on I’m moving on now you you mentioned that some of the key points in what you do involve listening humility communication putting God first and answering the call now in addition to that can can you please explain one or two situations that you find most
Challenging being a deacon yes the first most challenging issue confronting deacons is how you serve with your fellow servants in the church what is your relationship ship with say priests and Bishops other other deacons there there’s you know it’s it’s it’s uh you have the normal things that
People have to deal with the normal things of personalities uh egos all of those things exist you know in the deaconate and as we do in normal life but the question is how do we navigate that in a way which allows us to do our ministry
And not not feel lesser than you know what I’m saying uh our calling is from God it is not you know the blessing of everybody else that makes that happen always tell folks God called me to the deac uh the church facilitated that taking place and I happen to be a deacon
In the Catholic church so I you know I find ways to fail toate both of those things I don’t always agree with what everyone else says I don’t always agree with everything in the church even but I don’t try to belittle anyone’s understanding I don’t try to belittle anyone’s position or anyone’s
Perception of what things are so that’s the first thing second thing is um you can’t be everywhere you can’t be all things for all people and one of the things they taught us in the diic training is don’t don’t overextend yourself so you’re not doing anything at all
Effectively you want to be in and never be afraid to say no because sometimes you just can’t do something so the time element you know you do the best that you can do um but be honest with people if you can’t do something you let people know that you can’t do it
Um we are called or we’re looked upon in the leadership role in the church as being uh the ultimate level of compassion forgiveness fairness and so people expect those qualities in us and so we we we always have to be aware of what we say how we say it and who we
Say it to um so that’s that that’s hard when you’re living in a world where you have your church life and then you have all these other things you have to earn a living you know what I’m saying you’re in the workplace um with a whole different set of rules
So I always tell folks I don’t bring work to the church I bring the church to work and bringing the church to work I’m putting the priority uh in my life of what is most important most important because God provides everything that I need if I serve him
Truly I truly believe that so those are the two two most important things that I think I have to deal with number one how do you deal with relationships with the hierarchy in the church and with your fellow uh religious ordained and second thing how do you find yourself able
To uh possess all of the qualities that people expect of you and maintain that through all of the relationships that you encountered uh in your ministry that kind of answer that makes sense it was great it was you get you you’re bat in a thousand already I don’t
Know about Batman I do you’re hitting it out of the hitting it out of the park Deacon so I’m gonna move on to our next topic and again I try to recap after to make sure that we’ve understood what you said at least I’ve understood and that um being yourself keeping things in
Perspective putting God first knowing you’ll never be last being a good Steward of time talent and treasure and that’s a a great Segway into the next excuse me my next point and it’s about blessings and mentoring where do you feel that your mentoring is most effective mentor I think that as mentoring a
U to be a good good Mentor you would have had to been mentored in your experiences to know just what that means and how to do that well I have been mentored by just some of the best black Catholic people around men and women we have the blessings from and let going
Say this the blessings from the black Catholic women are invaluable that people don’t always realize I’ve been under the wing of several you know um a Fran Sullivan Gertrude Morris um just sister B Jeff that kind of just taken me under their wing and nurtured
Me um and they mentored me through a lot of different things and even my wife Loretta is a she was a mentor because she was in my ear telling me all these things that you need to be aware of this you you know what I’m saying so so
There’s a level of mentorship there so that calls for again the whole point of listening uh to the needs that people people tell you kind of what they need so you can mentor people if you’re paying attention um I have done a lot of work with youth so in my youth Ministries
I’ve had an opportunity to be a role model for a lot of Youth and Young adults beginning with my own children of course um but what that means is you got to find a way to um lift them up to show them the gifts that they had they look at your
Gifts and they say well think you’re able to do all these great and wonderful things wow that’s great but I always tell them the same Gody that that bless me is blessing you so you need to start looking at what your gifts are and then you need to start using them
You know all of us have gifts some have gifts that are higher level that are just so profound that it’s just a tragedy if you don’t do something with it so you’re encourage you know and sometimes you have to get to the point where you show them you know you tell
Them and you tell them that you told them and then you show them here’s how you here’s how you might want to approach it you know um you Mentor by taking people and involving them in everything that you’re involved in encourage them to come with you like a
Lot of times when I go and do a lot of ministry work I encourage people to come with me out when I was in ministering in San Quinton prison um there were some people that I encouraged to come with me to uh um spend some time with the
Inmates because they needed to have some contact with people outside and and the people came uh one time I was blessed enough to bring the choir our church choir with us into San quiton to minister and you know that was some uh eye open wi experiences for them
Because a lot of people don’t know what it’s like being in the prison or who the people are in the prison I told them the people in the prison no different than you and I people made a mistake you know so it’s a it’s teaching it’s not just preaching it’s teaching
First if you teach people then you can preach to them cuz you’ve already told them what you’re going to tell them again so my Approach is Mentor by doing Mentor by humbling yourself to be down at the level where the people are you have to be there with them and
Whatever they’re doing to be able to let them see that there is another way there is another level of growth in them that they haven’t seen yet and then show them how to get there no don’t tell them you show them you walk with them so mentoring is about
Walking with people you know we on this journey together you know I may be over here but the pathway I’m looking across at you I see you and you see me so let’s let’s walk this together that make Sense thank you before I um move on to the Q&A is there anything else you want to add Deacon um I think I just basically tried to give you an idea of my perspectives but it’s all the yeah I I don’t have anything else I think that’s pretty
Much all right Church well at this time we want to open it up if you have any questions for deacon Mar um Deacon Larry you your your your bio was impressive and you didn’t hit on a lot of your volunteerism outside of uh the church and I know you’re associated with
Some of various affiliations will you share with the audience some of the things that you do um outside the church okay um well let me let me start with the Al and free Omega boys club which is an organization I don’t know if uh many of you know that
Organization keeps young people from being incarcerated keeps them off the street and sends them to college and I’m not talking about those that would be going anyway some of these young people you know were dealing drugs and doing all kinds of things but I got to tell you what the work that
They do there is spiritually first because it takes a person like that to be able to and the executive director uh was co- directors uh was my fraternity brother Dr Joseph Marshall um he’s from Southern California but he kind of grew up in an he understood he was a teacher so
Uh him and uh the co-founder Jack Jack or kind they founded the organization because they were frustrated with young people going to school and then next thing you know they’re in jail so you allow your life experiences to uh guide you towards what it is that you
Should be doing so the organization a great organization that’s one organization I’m uh again I mentioned that I’m a a member of mego scii Fraternity Incorporated been there for for some time at the Brotherhood um I’m uh a board member of epiphany Center which is run by the daughters of Cher
With uh Daughters of Charity of St F Paul they uh an organization that um takes in women women and children um and provide services to them many of the women were homeless on the street with children even so they do very very good work and so I thought that was something worthwhile
Um I’m with I’m a member of the ntion uh the Bayer Association of black social workers I’ve been with that organization some some years ago and then I kind of went away for a while but I’m back just focused on the needs of the black community and black
People do great work and very professional organization um and let’s see I think that’s primarily the three organizations that I kind of spend a lot of time with and doing a lot of work lot of volunteer work and I I just get great joy out of
That you know you can give up your time talent and treasure many many different ways and I think you have to figure that out um just recently got involved with the college I went to mist College uh we’re having our 50th class reunion this year so doing some
Volunteer work to help them to engage the the uh the students to come back and celebrate other than that I’ve done the other things I’ve done I’ve Coast girls and boys basketball at the uh Elementary level from third grade to 8th grade I’m a back basketball player myself spent a lot of
Time but my children were growing up I was involved in being one of the soccer coaches being one of the baseball coaches and being one of the basketball coaches um see I can’t think of too much else that’s that that fills up the calendar quite a bit
So I can’t fit too much more in there and and um but that’s those are the things that I I spend my time outside of church thank you well Deacon chadman uh I’m Brenda Grant and I’m from St amedia church here in San Francisco and I I don’t really have much
Of a question but I want to say that I concur with ve most of the things I’ve seen your dedication you and your wife Loretta’s dedication to St Paul of the ship shre you had one of the most outstanding mentors in Father good that FS St Paul of the Shipwreck church every
Sunday with his stimulating sermons so uh I just want to say that I don’t know why that you’re not here in San Francisco helping us out [Laughter] but I’m sorry but I am when I’m at oh you are when you’re okay okay I’m pretty much anytime that someone
Asks me I usually if I if I’m available I do that and um I’ve been over your church yes I know I know and love your church yeah yeah but you know but things are changing there people uh father the Pettingill let me tell you something aside
From father good and father Maurice nut in the diaconate program it was father Dave Pettingill that taught us htics he taught us how to preach and he would not let us achieve the diaconate without learning how to preach so he began that Foundation for us and father Dave pedo was the St imedia
Church yes he had some stimulating sermons yes yes he had all the basic stuff down we would go we would go to church when we knew he was preaching absolutely but see to take that and and put wrapping in some black culture is what I learned to do
It’s the Institute for Black Catholic studies at Xavier University um with under father uh Maurice nut and others who taught us preaching there so you look at all of the things and I when you’re saying Brenda that I’ve done quite a few things in San Francisco but you know things are
Changing a little bit and so it’s not need to change a lot more well probably so but I’m just saying that in order to be received you got to be welcomed you know you got you got to be welcomed into into a community um first and it’s just like I
Can’t tell people I’m I want to go over there no people welcome you into their community and it it it’s always happened there at St media so um I am so grateful for your community for inviting Loretta in up on many occasions so thank you for that welcome
So will there be more changes within the church um yes what they are I I really have no idea I think uh everyone’s beginning to read about some of the things that that are happening in the hierarchy in the church you know there’s there’s a lot of
Division Brewing up in up in those areas and where that going to end up we really don’t know but and I you have a tendency not to want to judge anything but see God is in control folks I gotta help people out you can set yourself up in a position or
Anything that you want but God is in control and the final perspective that we’re going to take as as Catholics are with what is right what is right and what is just and what is fair is going to be determined by God not by man so all the talking and whatever that’s going
On you know it’s it’s just perspective it’s it’s human perspective of Godly things and we’re just not able to discern those things to a certain extent at least in my opinion you can throw it out there but you got to let it’s just like you cooking cooking a good meal sometimes
You got to let those things simmer before you put it on a table you need to let it uh run its course around with people who have experiences related to it before you come out and say what it’s really going to be if you have not circulated then you you don’t know what
Everybody thinks about it and we have Scholars everywhere in our church right yeah but it seems the concentration of a few seem to be making all of the decisions for the for the masses and that and sometimes it ends up not sounding right I don’t know
Whether uh you can can get it to sound right or you know what I’m saying uh and so it confuses people there’s a lot of confusion I think in our church right now people don’t know what to think I mean the word is is what it is
And and we can read and we can understand that but how we use that to live our lives and and in the world that we live in now it’s just different and that seems to be fluctuating as we go and that’s what confusing people in our communities I my perception it may be
Wrong but well we seem to we seem to have an Archbishop here in San Francisco that’s disagreeing with the Pope so uh it leaves people real confused as to what what is actually going on there’s a lot of inner inner whatever conflict going on within the church
Itself uh we had a town house house meeting where they asked us how could we get more people to come back to the church I think that um my personal opinion is that the church needs to stop looking outside of the church as to why people aren’t coming and look within the
Church as to all of the things the negative things that’s going on within the church and maybe that will bring more people back once they get their act together I think you’re absolutely right the other thing is people only leave a church if you’re not church if you cease to be church if
You’re not the church that people uh believe that you were because you some things are not not the same you’re changing some things some very very basic things church is the people why aren’t people coming coming together well we’re fighting people are fighting and disagreeing at at all different levels
In the church and but the precepts of the church are set and they are meaningful and we have to go back to the basic things that brought us together as a community of Believers in the first place what the first people in the church believe that they should be about
Helping one another right about Community about uh uh helping those that are that are sick and and shut in and and you know what we we we’ve gotten away from some of that and so we’re we’re more in into the the what I consider to be the the things which people
Allow people to lifts up above someone else and we have to remain humble and and being humble means you are with the poor people you’re with the people most in need and you’re serving the people most in need if we’re if a church is not doing that is no one’s going to walk
Through the door if you have no programs for poor people if you have no programs for families that are struggling uh to feed their kids and send their kids to school and clothe their kids you’re not going to have people in the church because there’s nothing for them they
Don’t believe that you can do the things that you say you can do now if that changes and it may we may have done that in the past but if it changes and we stop doing it people gonna walk away there’s no reason for them to be
There so I always tell folks people gather around things that are good for for them and good to them and that they believe in now people are not coming to church they they’re going somewhere right where people they’re at home they’re home watching uh sitcoms and uh Sports programs it’s like I
Started out I I wasn’t coming to church because I didn’t think there was anything for me but when I found that that it was I ate it up so I tell folks are you struggling is your life a struggle right now choose Christ try Christ and maybe your life will
Change so you’re going to try some different things that not working out for you and that’s what the church has to tell folks you know Jesus Christ the son of God is the game Cher for you you need to give him a chance and if you haven’t tried him give him a
Chance let him see what he can do for you in your life many people that that don’t tell the testimony he is the reason for the season and everything else that goes on in a lot of people’s lives so we we got to make we got to make
That the issue that we talk as Church to people about you know if we’re not saying it who’s gon to say it and if you’re saying it in the church that doesn’t help a lot of people because they’re not in the church you got to go outside those four
Walls and you talking about well why I end up in Sacramento because the people ask me to I want to go out and tell people that Christ is good you know and the Christ in the Catholic church is good as the Christ in any other church we got to go outside the four
Walls so the people know so they can come in I always say that during the epidemic and everything else that should have drove people back to church but but I don’t think I I think it’s going to take something greater than that you know scripture says God did those things
Before but he promised he w’t G to do that again so now it’s on you and me we have to convince people that God is the answer to all of their problems he sent his son Jesus to Walk on this Earth to show us that it can be
Done so now it’s on you and me right Brenda I don’t I don’t criticize people I know everybody you know people when you get up too high you know you don’t see things the same you fighting a different kind of battle when you’re when you’re looking for status you you’re fighting a whole
Different battle when people are down here just trying trying to eat you know what I’m saying we’re trying to live we’re trying to help our families you know help our elders as we’re getting older you know there’s a a lot of older people in the church that can’t come to
Church so how are they going to get the word we have to go go out we have to go out and give it to them right so anyway there’s just some things that that we can do there’s always something that we can do thank you so much I’m sorry no no go
Right ahead I was just gonna say how many people are willing to do that on a Saturday you can go visit some parishioners on a Saturday just to see how they doing I mean do we do that as a church Anymore we’ve gotten away from those things that made us church family is a very very important concept church family is the same concept I treat you like I want to be treated when I have something you have something when you need something I’m going to try to get it for
You just basic elements you guys and I want us I want our Catholic Church to get back to the basics very basic things that made us how did we grow so strong in the earlier years the basic things thank you thank you Brenda for your question and of course Deacon for your
Poignant response does anyone else have a question because we’re getting ready to wrap it up in just a few minutes I have a few more things but I wna uh Carl go ahead you’re G to be my last one Carl go ahead Carl I think you’re muted Carl
You’re still muted yes thank thank you Deacon thank you Deacon uh thank you Lois I’m I apologize but Deacon you mentioned your your ministry with um people who are incarcerated and and Y young people and at risk and and I love the Omega Boys Club I used to listen to
Their radio program when I was in San Diego in Los Angeles and loved listening to coach Wilbert jiggets and and yes Miss Margaret Morris and co uh and and and of course uh Dr Marshall but um my question is in relation to um what your thoughts are on the use
Of Catholic and Christian hipop in your ministry particularly as it relates to reaching those um and evangelizing to those uh uh populations what that’s a good question you familiar with fat MK uh not a whole lot uh but I I’m to be educated in some of that Carl but let me say
This there are um young people have a different language than that first of all and don’t think it’s not real they a language all their own they have a way of understanding things that’s different than those of us so I had to realize that I’m in my
70s so am I gonna speak to a a a 20 year old or 25 year old the same way that I speak to people my age no I I don’t believe the genre is uh an issue um if you don’t connect it to the negativity that’s also associated with some of of those
Things people always want to associate hipop with uh negative things and it’s not always that it’s it’s it’s a way of communicating so you got to first of all disconnect that thinking about it just being negative if that’s the media by which you can reach young people with positive things then spin it
Positive and see if it reaches them to a certain extent they are smart enough to understand nowadays that to hear a uh the music that they’re listening to to all the way with God in it or Jesus in it it’s not a bad thing we can’t just get caught up
Into that all hipop is bad so and and we’re guilty of that sometimes and I’m not just saying it takes a while for us to you know really make that transition whatever language we need to take on to be able to reach young people we need to do it
Now CU we’re at risk of losing them in our church I don’t see any young uh black Catholic people in our churches per se like I used to but I don’t know where they are I don’t know whether they’re just not going to church it used to be
Parents used to bring their young children to church and I think that if the parents are not going to church then neither are the kids right so how are they going to be churched the closing Catholic schools how are you going to learn the faith so there’s a serious disconnect
Somewhere where we have failed to understand the vehicle by which people and young adults and children were brought into the Catholic faith those things have been severed by uh issues related to economics you know where do you spend your money in the church better spend your money in those Vehicles which
Engage people with the church now when you break those things then how were people going to hear about the church they don’t go on social media to find out about the Catholic Church they’re going to find out about some other stuff you know there’s too much out
There now we’ve tried to as a church bring our stuff through social media but can can you can you figure out being in that wave of of confusion they can’t hear you message we have to speak in the language which they hear now and how do you do that you better talk to
Them what can the church do for you question I asked what could a church do for you that’s not that you don’t have right now you know how can we get in the game how can we get in the game of life or your life how can we get in the game of
Your life to help you live it better you tell us what what it is that we need to do and so we can work on it and people say well we don’t have to do all that you know we’re the Catholic Church you should be running to us
Anyway doesn’t work like that we’re in a different age I’m sorry too many choices out there too many things to uh distract young people into things that are not good for them and we had those things but there weren’t as many when we were growing up but now there’s everything out there and
All kinds of media how can we get them to listen to us speak in their language just like you’re going to a foreign country if you’re not speaking the language anybody gonna listen to you right y’ y’all been in a foreign country if you not speaking their language are
People going to pay attention you do no no you might as well be talking to yourself until we Rec there’s some people in our country in a black Catholic uh um Community trying to send that message out there like that you know Dr anel Augustine is trying to tell
People that if you want to minister to young people you got to change the way that you’re doing it he’s been trying to tell us that for a long time now I don’t know if everyone is listening uh there are others as well but I think that the time frame the
Window of opportunity for us is closing for us to reach them before it gets to critical mass and critical masses that pretty soon we’re going to be irrelevant to our uh young black Catholic youth I don’t want us to get to that point so just like you say Carl I I try
To look at ways in which I can uh participate in the lives of young black Catholics what are they doing now what are some of the things that they’re doing or what are some of the things that they want to do let’s see what we can do with
That I hope that answers your question thank you and I I’m in total agreement with you Deacon you know but I need people like you see you’re already aware what what we need to do we need people like you if you if you’re not doing it think about
It because you you you got the message you got that message I’ve been mentored by people like Ron Harbor and mor and yes the twins father Ken Hamilton oh my gosh Ken father Ken Hamilton the twins yes sister even all all of the above but what good is it do to be
Mentored and not uh be a mentor pass we got to pass it along yeah I know I know you’re doing that or or in the process of doing it I’m I’m trying to in one one of the vehicles is I just started as a cultural diversity Forum chair for the National Association of
Pastoral musicians oh so I’m going to be reaching out and uh I will be reaching out to you over shipwreck too okay get involved with that organization um but one of the things is is is wanting to um trying to advocate for more um relevant liturgies to young people yes
That speak to young people and that aren’t just um watered down versions of us gray-haired liturgies uh come on now find I find one of the biggest obstacles is US gray hairs not wanting to let go can’t you recall sitting on the other side what Mo folks going to let us do
Something yeah yeah we’ve been there so let us learn the lesson from our own experiences at what time do they get to make the choices do they they get to plan the liturgies and how can they learn how to plan the litery if we don’t involve them
Right hey I’m right there with you okay they’re with you I’m ready to let go and let them you know yes okay well let’s let’s talk let’s talk that up to them and see how many would want to do it uh we need to fight their interest in planning a
Liturgy and the M which is music and everything okay see how they would do it okay I I want you to I want you to do that and and let me know how that comes out all right alrighty I want to thank you Carl Brenda and whoever else I can’t remember
The other individual thank you Ruben I saw yours in the comment section as well now before we uh wrap it up totally for the day I of course I want to thank again Deacon Larry phenomenal our hearts are full and I for one I’m extremely grateful I I’m excited for you to be
Here you’re going to stay we’re not we’re sorry sister Brenda we’re just not g to share them just yet you can take a number well we’ll get back to you no just kidding just kidding but yeah I wanted to thank you I also wanted to say
As a group I want to let you all know what’s upcoming in the next couple of months we’re going to be talking about uh black priest in the midwest we’re going to uh again engage with the oade sisters and we’re also going to talk about sister Willamina of course we’re
You’re all welcome we’re going to uh notify you in plenty of time that you know the winds and the Wares and the Y fors and because we want you here we can’t do it without you we appreciate we really do sincerely appreciate you all coming on the call we know you have busy
Lives and sometime we don’t even get enough go on rest but we do want to let you know that your time we know how valuable your time is and that you choose it to spend with us and with that Deacon I would like you to please offer
Our closing prayer I’m sorry one more thing sister Andrea I want to thank you for the audio and the visual because without you we’d just be on the phone because I’m still working on trying to get better with that so thank you for we close and know Deacon I’m gonna
Turn it over to you for the closing prayer thank you I think I think Brenda had something one thing before you close just one thing but all means I went to see the movie origin go to see it it is it’s quite quite revealing origin okay Ava duan’s
Movie oh okay good we’ll do that thank you Brenda okay oh wow um I don’t know about all of you but uh I’m I’m full I’m I’m full from the discussion I’m full from the possibilities as we uh break open what is going on in our communities but see that can only be
God putting things in us and opening things within us that we feel and that we want to share so um as we bow our heads in prayer to close out this session Almighty and gracious God there is none like you in all things and and in everything you send your spirit to be
With us you send your spirit to instill in us all of the questions that we have about what we believe uh you know how we worship how we serve who we serve and and all of the issues that come up of about how well we’re doing and doing that uh there’s always going
To be room for growth because you said that we your work in US is just beginning and we know that there is no end all of our Lives you will be working within us to open up within us the possibilities of a world uh fulfilled with love and understanding and forgiveness and
Charity help us Lord in our next steps as we each think about the things that we’ve talked about today help us to discern those things which you’re calling us to each of us has had a calling to from this discussion in some way or some form and uh with someone or with some
Ones who need us Lord we ask that you connect us in the way that you do in all things that that we believe in help us Lord to make a difference in the world that we hear in the world that we see and the world that of those around us
Who have no one to speak on their behalf yet they cry out they cry out sometimes in Anger they cry out sometimes in disbelief uh help them believe Lord that you sent your only son Jesus into the world that we may have life and then we may have life more
Abundantly we must continue to work towards the New World created by the coming of Christ and this one and we are Disciples of Christ that have dedicated Our Lives to work towards that here continue to give us the strength continue to give us the vision and continue to have us work together as
A community as a black Catholic Community as a Catholic community and meeting those things that are good for the PE people that we serve and we ask all of these things in the name of your only son Jesus Christ who gave his life so we may have life more
Abundantly amen amen father son holy spirit amen amen thank you everyone have
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