Black church leaders join Bishop for ecumenical prayer service

Leaders of African-American churches in Paterson and Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney spoke with one clear voice of hope at a Black History Month ecumenical pray­er service on Feb. 5. Together, they celebrated their shared Christian faith and renewed their commitment to fight for racial justice.

The first of its kind in Pater­son, the interfaith service was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the mother church of the Catholic Diocese of Paterson. While celebrating their unity in Christ, they also spoke about honoring the history of the African American struggle for equality.

The late-afternoon event featured impassioned messages from three Protestant pastors: Rev. Randall Lassiter of Calvary Baptist Church; Rev. Douglas Maven of First AME Zion Church; and Rev. Kevin D. R. Clayton of St. Luke’s Baptist Church.

Bishop Sweeney, who devised the idea for the service, closed it with a reflection.

“What a blessing to be here together, my sisters and brothers. We are God’s children,” Bishop Sweeney said. “God can do all things. He can bring peace, harmony, and justice. We have to do our part. This is just the beginning. Let us be instruments of God’s peace.”

The music ministries of the Protestant churches filled St. John’s with gospel songs. The Effusion Dance Collective also performed.

Paterson was the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last formal public appearance before his assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn. He spoke on March 27 before 2,000 people at the Community Baptist Church of Love.

From the cathedral’s ambo on Feb. 5, Lassiter said, “America doesn’t see things as they really are.”

“America has an overt system of racism. America needs to get its eyes checked to see clearly. We need God’s vision so we can bring people into the house of the Lord,” Lassiter said.

Next, Maven urged believers to “hold our nation to its Godly values and practices. We have not yet reached the Promised Land. The victory is still to be won.”

The last African-American pastor to speak that night was Clayton, also president of the Paterson branch of the NAACP.

He said, “God is always present and always at work. We move forward by taking the risk of faith.”

Attendees included members of the African-American congregations; parishioners from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist; priests, deacons, religious and laity from around the diocese; and Pater­son officials, including Mayor Andre Sayegh and the leadership of the Pater­son Police Department. A collection was taken up to support the United Negro College Fund.

Early in the service, Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects, noted that the Cathedral and the Paterson United Pastors Council organized the event.

“The more we rejoice together in Christ, the more powerful we will be in building up God’s kingdom right here in our beloved city of Paterson … allowing people of every color, race, an creed to taste heavenly joy in a broken world,” Msgr. Sylva said.