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NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC
APOSTOLATE FOR LIFE |
News Release.........News Release.........
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2002
On Sunday February 3, 2002 we will observe the 13th annual National Day of Prayer for the African American Family. This day marks the Black Catholic kick off for Black History Month. The Prayer Day’s theme is "Jesus our Rock" taken from Psalm 71, which reflects the Black families determination to place Jesus at the center of all life.
Franciscan Father James Goode founded the National Day of Prayer for the African American Family in 1989 "as a day…set aside for us to give thanks to God for our family, to acknowledge the spiritual and cultural heritage received from our ancestors and to place our cares in the arms of Jesus."
Families on the National Day of Prayer for the African American Family are asked to:
Worship and pray together at the Eucharistic Liturgy; celebrate a meal together and share family stories; make a family resolution no matter how big or small; unite as a family to uphold the sacredness of life and develop ways of ending all forms of violence in the family and community.
Beverly A. Carroll, Executive Director of the USCCB: Secretariat for African American Catholics is urging churches and national organizations to participate in the National Day of Prayer for the African American Family, "Now more than ever our families need prayer as they experience recession, terrorism, and now war."
Sponsors for the Day of Prayer include: USCCB: Secretariat for African American Catholics, National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life, National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, National Black Sisters’ Conference, National Association of Black Catholic Administrators, National Black Catholic Congress, Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary, Josephite Pastoral Center and the Order of Friars Minor Province of the Immaculate Conception.
According to Fr. James Goode, OFM, President, National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life, "If we begin Black History Month in prayer as a family, then we are proclaiming to our children and generations to follow that Jesus is at the center of our lives and prayer is our source of strength as a people."
For more information on the National Day of Prayer for the African American Family contact: Beverly A. Carroll Secretariat for African American Catholics (202) 541- 3177.