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cultural diversity
Fr. Allen Deck highlights the importance of cultural diversity and its important
connection to National Migration Week.
2010 Cultural Diversity Convocation
In May 2010, the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church convened a two-day gathering of Catholic leadership from among the many cultures and races that constitute U.S. Church membership today. The Catholic Cultural Diversity Network Convocation created an atmosphere of dialogue and collegiality by providing opportunities for leaders to exchange hopes, dreams and challenges. In the spirit of Encuentro 2000, the Convocation opened minds and hearts to the evangelizing potential of the Church's rich and growing diversity.
In pursuit of the Catholic Bishops' priority on recognition of cultural diversity in the Church and to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the successful Encuentro 2000 in Los Angeles at the dawn of the Third Millennium, this Convocation offered an historic opportunity to renew and move forward with the project of catholicity and unity in diversity celebrated then.
For more information on the Convocation, please visit their website at /ccdnc
To access material that will prove useful in helping Catholics understand the importance of cultural diversity in the Church, please check out the following resource:
Cultural Diversity Brochure
English:
Embracing the Multicultural Face of God
Rocognizing Cultural Diversity in the Church
Spanish:
Abrazando la cara multicultural de Dios
Reconociendo Diversidad Cultural en la Iglesia
Las Posadas Project Information
Cultural Diversity Music
Please note that copying or distributing this music beyond this website is prohibited.
Throughout the Catholic world, religious expression takes on a variety of forms, even while each of these expressions convey a common Faith. The experiences, the environment and the history of a people help to shape the way in which they understand and relate to the teachings of the Church. All the while, Catholics everywhere are members of one church and express the same basic fundamentals, all be it at times in different ways. This diversity in unity could not be more apparent than in the wide range of religious music that helps to feed the spiritual life of the Catholic faithful across the world. Thanks to the St. Camillus Choir of St. Camillus Church in Washington DC, we have an opportunity to share with you some examples of religious music that is used in diverse settings, but always with a shared purpose: the celebration of our Faith.
Plenty Good Room gives us an example of an African American Spiritual. This style of music is deeply rooted in the African-American experience and extends as far back as the Seventeenth Century, when many Africans were brought to the Americas as slaves. These spirituals often functioned as a sign of resistance against their oppressive conditions, forced on to them by their slave masters and a broader society that too often looked at them as less than human.
Granito de Mostaza has its roots in Central America and has remained popular in Hispanic Charismatic circles for many years. The song is based the Gospel of Mark 4:30-32, which reads, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
The song Lo Yisa Goy is sung primarily in Hebrew. This reference to the Hebrew language reminds us not only of the Jewish roots that Christian is forever indebted to, but also of the fact that Jesus was a Jew. This heritage is something that we should be careful neither to overlook nor forget.
Bwana Awabariki is a traditional song from East Africa that is sung in Swahili. While it may be difficult for many of us unfamiliar with the language to understand the words, the emotion with which it is sung imbues the listener with a sense of faithfulness and joy. The song is, according to St. Camillus Choir director Tracy McDonnell, rooted partially in Psalm 128, which celebrates family life.