By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer
Dozens of men, women and children made their way to the Cathedral of the Assumption, in downtown Louisville, Jan. 14, a cold and rainy Saturday, to help celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The 32nd Archdiocesan Community-Wide Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration took place a day before Dr. King’s 88th birthday.
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz presided and Deacon Kenneth R. Bell, who serves at St. Martin de Porres and St. Augustine churches, served as the guest speaker. He reflected on the day’s theme: “Where Do We Look for Hope? We Look To You.”
Deacon Bell began by describing what hope looks like to him.
“Hope is that in 2017 the city will have fewer homicides than in 2016. Hope is the cry for justice across the land. Hope is the call for equality and an end to racism,” said Deacon Bell, drawing cries of agreement from the congregation.
Hope, he continued, is that one day Dr. King’s dream that “we’ll all be able to sit down together as brothers and sisters and children of a loving God,” will become a reality.
The question that burns, said Deacon Bell, is “where did the hope go?”
“Where is the hope and faith in the God that delivered us from slavery? Where is the hope and faith in the God who loves the black man, the white man and the brown man?” he asked.
Hope, Deacon Bell told his listeners, can “always be found in great men like Dr. King who never stopped believing that one day we’d all be able to stand together — poor, rich, gay, heterosexual, Democrat, Republican, those from the East End and those from the West End, white and black.” Hope, he said, can be found in those “who speak out against inequalities they encounter.”
Standing up for what is right, however, is not easy Deacon Bell said to his listeners. Sometimes, he said, people find “comfort” in sitting back and watching “the world go by with all its inequalities and injustices.”
And then there are those who are fine with the way things are, he said. “Sometimes I’d rather pretend that because of the color of my skin versus the color of your skin that there’s nothing I can say or do about what’s happening to you.”
But regardless of race, it’s the responsibility of each person to make a difference in the lives of others, said Deacon Bell.
“Sometimes we have to look at the man in the mirror and ask what can I do?” Though the many injustices in the world are discouraging, “we must continue to speak out, to march, to say no to injustices and to reach a hand out to the disenfranchised,” said Deacon Bell. It is what “we should do as Christians. It is what Jesus Christ expects from us.”
In this spirit of taking action, Archbishop Kurtz convened a “Task Force to Promote Peace in Our Communities” last summer when he served as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He formed the task force in response to an outbreak of violence across the country after repeated shootings of black men by police.
Archbishop Kurtz said when he announced the task force, that there needed to be “ways of nurturing an open, honest and civil dialogue on issues of race relations, restorative justice, mental health, economic opportunity and addressing the question of pervasive gun violence.”
In a report released Jan. 5, the task force stated that the “Catholic Church has a tremendous responsibility to bring people together in prayer and dialogue, to begin anew the vital work of fostering healing and lasting peace,” said a report by Catholic News Service.
During the bishops’ fall assembly in Baltimore, Md., the task force chaired, by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta, Ga., presented the USCCB with five areas to focus on:
- Prayer: Masses, rosaries and prayer services during the year.
- Local dialogues: Conversations on race hosted by parishes or dioceses.
- Parish and diocesan training: Intercultural competence training for staff and parishioners.
- Opportunities for encounter: Providing forums for people to examine local challenges firsthand.
- Support of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which funds groups that address concerns about race, poverty and violence.
In the report, Archbishop Gregory said “the church is at her absolute best when she is a bold and prophetic voice for the power of the love upon which our faith is based, the love of Jesus Christ.”
Deacon Bell left his listeners Jan. 14 with a similar message, reminding those who’d gathered that “through our baptismal call, through our confession that Jesus Christ is Lord and savior we are called to be light in an otherwise dark and dreary world.”
Deacon Bell said that it is very easy to ignore injustices, because “it doesn’t affect us directly.” Sometimes he noted “we don’t even bother to pray” for the people who are in need that we come across from day to day. The first step in taking a stance against injustices and inequalities “starts with taking notice,” he said.
Dr. Liz Young, a member of Christ the King Church who attended the celebration, said Deacon Bell’s speech was “very timely,” especially “his use of expressions like hope,” said Young. She particularly liked that Deacon Bell called attention to the need for each person to act.
“We can volunteer to help get people prepared for jobs. The public schools need readers and people to help out. Let this be the day you do something to encourage someone,” she said.
Joey Decker, who attended the event, said Deacon Bell’s message resonated with him.
“We need hope in our city,” said Decker. “It’s important to offer an encouraging word, a smile and a prayer for each other.” More importantly, noted Decker who is one of only a few white parishioners at St. Augustine Church on West Broadway “we need to continue to look beyond skin color and celebrate what unites us — that we’re brothers and sisters in Christ and we’re called to live as one.”
