Church volunteers share the Catholic faith during Indiana Black Expo

Holy Cross Brother Roy Smith, left, and his sister, Sister Demetria Smith, a member of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, talk with Karlynn Jordan, right, of Indianapolis at the Church’s “Faith and Family” booth on July 17 during the Indiana Black Expo’s 40th annual “Summer Celebration” at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)

By Mary Ann Wyand

Taking Jesus to the streets—or, in this case, to the convention—is one of the creative ways that the archdiocesan Office of Multicultural Ministry is reaching out to share the Gospel, welcome unchurched people and invite them to learn about the Catholic faith.

Staffing an exhibit booth at the Indiana Black Expo’s 40th annual “Summer Celebration” on July 16-18 in Indianapolis also gave Father Kenneth Taylor, director of the Multicultural Ministry Office, and volunteers from several parishes literally thousands of opportunities to talk with people about the lives and ministries of Venerable Henriette Delille and Father Augustus Tolton, African-Americans whose causes are being promoted for sainthood in the Catholic Church.

Sister Henriette Delille was born a free woman of color in New Orleans in 1812, and is the first U.S.-born African-American whose cause for canonization has been opened by the Church.

By 1836, Sister Henriette had inspired a small group of women to assist slaves who were sick and dying as well as catechize people of African descent brought to this country. The Sisters of the Holy Family trace their origin in 1842 to Sister Henriette, who was known as “the humble servant of slaves.”

Father Augustus Tolton was born in 1854 and was “a poor slave boy” until his mother escaped from slavery with her children in Missouri. He was the first identified priest of African descent whose descendants were brought here as slaves.

Their stories are inspirational reminders that ordinary people can achieve lives of holiness, said Father Taylor, who also is the pastor of Holy Angels Parish in Indianapolis, on July 17 at the Church’s “Faith and Family” booth during Black Expo at the Indiana Convention Center.

“Our main purpose for being here is to let the black community know that the Catholic Church is here for them,” Father Taylor said. “If somebody has questions, we can say, ‘From a Catholic perspective, here is what we can offer you—our worship, our spirituality and our tradition of service,’ … which a lot of the black community is not aware of.”

About 30,000 people visit the exhibit halls during the weekend, he said, so it’s very important to have a Catholic presence at this large cultural event.

During the early years of Black Expo, Father Taylor said, the Church’s evangelization booth was staffed by members of the Archdiocesan Black Catholics Concerned organization.

“When Archbishop [Daniel M.] Buechlein created the Multicultural Ministry Office in 1996, we took over sponsoring the booth at Black Expo,” he said. “As black Catholics, we’ve been here [sharing the faith] as long as the Expo has been held here. This is an archdiocesan event so we have people from a variety of parishes that take turns staffing the booth.”

Holy Cross Brother Roy Smith, who helped staff the booth on July 17, said Black Expo is “a wonderful opportunity to share our faith, and how we were nurtured in the faith by our parents and certainly a portion of the black community.”

Brother Roy also enjoyed talking with people about Indianapolis-area African-Americans who are involved in their parish as well as in the community.

“They’re difference-makers and have been acknowledged by the Catholic community,” he said, “so this is an opportunity for the community at large to realize the contributions that [African-American] Catholics make here.

“But the main thing is to make people feel welcome in the Catholic Church,” Brother Roy said. “We have some brochures with church locations, and that’s an opportunity, if they’re interested, for them to connect with that parish or with one of us. … I tell them to talk to people who do have God in their life about what a difference it makes to them. I share my faith story and say, ‘This is my experience, and my hope is that you will benefit from it.’ ”

Sister Demetria Smith, Brother Roy’s sister, is a member of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa and is the former mission educator for the archdiocesan Mission Office.

She currently ministers as a part-time receptionist at the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center, and enjoys helping staff the Church’s Black Expo booth each year.

“I ask people, ‘Do they know the Word? Do they read the Bible?’ ” Sister Demetria said. “That’s important. It is very clearly written in the Bible that there is a God, and that God should be in their life. Faith helps makes sense to them about what is happening in the world today.”

Karlynn Jordan, a Baptist from Indianapolis, stopped at the booth to talk about God and look at Church brochures.

“God is universal,” Jordan said. “He’s all. He’s everything. It’s important to have faith, and to share that here.”

Fred Cox grew up in Holy Angels Parish during the 1960s and was married at Holy Angels Church.

“The whole notion of Black Expo is bringing people together,” Cox said when he stopped at the booth. “What Churches do is bring people together. Having faith groups here is real important.” †