African Ministry to concentrate on evangelization

By Tanya Connor  | The Catholic Free Press

Starting an African Catholic community at St. Cecilia Parish in Leominster is a top priority for the diocesan African Ministry during its Year of Evangelization, according to Father Enoch K. Kyeremateng, chaplain.
The year began Dec. 1, the first Sunday of Advent, with the start of the new liturgical year, he said. The theme is “Go ye therefore and proclaim the good news” (Mt 28:19a).
Pope Francis has said that if the Church does not evangelize, it will decay, he said.
“So, guided by these words, and the mission of the Diocese of Worcester to spread the Good News, we as an African Ministry have decided, with prayers and reflection, to embark on this theme, first of all to evangelize ourselves, and also Africans who have left the Church,” Father Kyeremateng said.
The ministry looked for a parish in Leominster that already has African members to start a community there and received support from Father Robert D. Bruso, St. Cecilia’s pastor, he said. Father Bruso confirmed the plans.
“Our concentration is on the Catholics who have left the Catholic Church,” Father Kyeremateng said.
Africans in the United States want to worship with singing and dancing as they did in Africa, he said. To do that, some drive from Leominster to St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester. But some find that too far, so they establish and attend non-Catholic African churches closer to home.
“We will bring them back,” as happened when African immigrants learned about the Ghanaian community at St. Joan of Arc and the African community at St. Peter Parish/St. Andrew the Apostle Mission in Worcester, Father Kyeremateng said.
Like at these parishes and at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Fitchburg, the African community at St. Cecilia’s will have an African Mass but be part of the whole parish, Father Kyeremateng said.
He and St. Cecilia parishioners David and Theresa Muma will go to Africans’ homes to meet them.
Fliers are to be distributed around town announcing the community’s first meeting in March at St. Cecilia’s parish center, and first Mass, planned for April in the church, Father Kyeremateng said.
The African Masses are to be celebrated monthly in English on Sunday afternoons, and an African language can be added later, he said.
For its Year of Evangelization, the African Ministry is also planning other outreaches – both internally and externally, Father Kyeremateng said.
“We have to evangelize ourselves, living the life of holiness,” he said. He said Pope Francis said evangelization starts with one’s own relationship with Jesus.
So the African Ministry is forming small Christian communities, or clusters, and a Bible Society.     
The clusters are to help adults and children get to know their neighbors who are also Africans, Father Kyeremateng said. Starting in January, they are to gather frequently in homes to pray, socialize and reflect on Scripture readings for the coming Sunday. Each cluster is to choose a saint to emulate.
There are 17 clusters from St. Joan of Arc, 15 from St. Peter’s/St. Andrew’s and two from St. Anthony’s, Father Kyeremateng said. St. Paul Cathedral, which does not have an official African community, may form a cluster later, he said.
The Bible Society is to be an official association in the African Ministry for Scripture study and sharing, Father Kyeremateng said. Interested people can sign up for it. The hope is to inaugurate it the first Sunday of Lent and make it a permanent monthly gathering, held at St. Andrew’s.
“At the end of every year, we want to leave … something to remember, something to bring us together,” Father Kyeremateng said. This year the Bible Society is to fulfill that function.
He said previous years left their marks and traditions: the cookout from the Year of the Family, and the children’s choir album and summer Bible school from the Year for Youth and Children.
In addition to the new community in Leominster, plans for external evangelization include continuing to sing at other parishes, serve at the Mustard Seed soup kitchen, and produce a radio program, Father Kyeremateng said.
Evangelization is on Bishop McManus’ heart and is part of the focus of the Legacy of Hope diocesan capital campaign, he said. So the Africans will offer to bring their choirs to sing at eight or 10 parishes in the diocese, like they already did, with enthusiastic responses, at Immaculate Conception in Worcester.
“We evangelize through music,” through the words of the songs, Father Kyeremateng said. “We also have to … invite everyone … to evangelize.” Singing is a way of doing that.
The African Ministry is to continue its program in English and Twi on Unity Radio (103.9 FM) from 8-10 p.m. each Tuesday, he said. It can be viewed on YouTube through Unity TV Worcester and on Facebook through Unity Radio Worcester.
On it he gives teachings, and reflections about the Scripture readings for the following Sunday, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed, he said. Listeners call in with questions and comments. Simeon Asamoah is the host, and catechists Anthony Owusu Boateng and Kwabena Odame-Darkwa help with the program.
“We have clarified many things,” like people’s questions about Catholic practices, Father Kyeremateng said.
The African Ministry is also seeking to evangelize through community service, more regularly serving meals at the Mustard Seed, he said. They have sometimes done that, and once St. Andrew’s choir sang during the meal and at the Mass he celebrates there, he said.
“The homeless – they also need to know Christ,” not just receive physical food, he said of Mustard Seed diners.
Another plan for the Year of Evangelization is honoring retired priests.
“You can’t do good evangelization without recognizing the efforts of those who started – the pioneers, the leaders,” Father Kyeremateng said. “We are going to have one day of celebration” at Southgate at Shrewsbury where some retired priests live. “We will have Mass with them and then entertain them – to recognize the efforts, the roles, they played in evangelization. … They have left a good legacy.
“The day is also an assurance of hope that this generation will do our best, like they have done, and also pass it (the faith) to the next generation.”