SSPJ Diversity Team

A unique aspect of Saints Philip and James Church is the rich diversity of our parish, in a number of different ways:

• Diverse ethnic backgrounds, including many parishioners from Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, South America, and a number of island nations, together with long-time local parishioners from Baltimore and from other states across the U.S.
• A wide range of age groups, including university students, working professionals, families with young children, and elderly parishioners.
• Diversity is reflected in a number of parishioners who are handicapped in various ways, and play an active role in parish life.
• An economically diverse parish, since SSPJ is located at the crossroads between the affluent Guilford and Roland Park suburbs, the Hopkins student community, the eclectic Charles Village community, and the neighbourhoods that border the parish south of 28th St, as well as many parishioners who live in the counties around Baltimore.
• A wide range of lifestyles is reflected in the presence of a significant ministry within the Gay and Lesbian community.

The mission of the Diversity Group is to continue to nourish, encourage and enhance our rich diversity, in all aspects of parish life:

Liturgical:

• Recognize parishioners for whom English is a second language, by inviting them to read prayers of the faithful in their native tongues on Pentecost and ethnic feast days. Also encourage participation by parishioners representing other aspects of our diversity.
• Encourage ushers and greeters to wear native costumes or national dress on special occasions.
• Include African-American, Hispanic and other ethnic music in our liturgies.

Ministry:

• Recruit diverse parishioners to serve on our Social Outreach Committee as a sign of our welcome to everyone.
• Recruit diverse parishioners to participate in our Health Ministry as a sign of our regard for all.
• Recruit diverse minorities to serve in other volunteer ministries as needed.
• Hold joint formal and informal gatherings of lectors, ushers, greeters, acolytes and eucharistic ministers to enhance familiarity and collegiality.

Community:

• Implement and maintain an annual ethnic feast and cultural arts activity.
• Encourage parishioners from other countries to make or provide native arts and crafts to sell at our festivals.
• Encourage single Catholics to participate more fully in parish life.
• Adopt and distribute a symbol of our diversity to all parishioners.

Diversity Team Activities

Annual Pentecost Sunday:

Continue maintaining this annual celebration of our diversity on Pentecost Sunday:

• Recruit diverse parishioners to read prayers of the faithful, and encourage those rom oher countries to read the prayers in their native tongue and dress in national costume. ther diverse parishioners are recruited to help serve as ushers and lectors for the Mass.
• Recruit parishioners of different diverse backgrounds to contribute to a pot-luck food estival after the service, inviting all parishioners to join. Typically this food festival onsists of traditional cuisine from Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America, as well as local Baltimore dishes and foods from various regions in other states across the U.S.

Monthly After-Mass Socials:

Continue to coordinate after-Mass socials that take place during one weekend each month, after the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday and 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. Masses on Sunday. This consists of cookies and drinks after each Mass, preferably on the sidewalk outside the Church, to provide a friendly atmosphere for parishioners to interact and get to know one another better. The responsibility for hosting the event each month rotates among the different Parish Teams, including the Diversity Team, which is in addition responsible for overall coordination and implementation.

Diversity Sub-Groups:

The aim of these groups would be to help parishioners of various ethnic backgrounds to meet other parishioners of a similar background, to facilitate and encourage fellowship. The coordinators of each sub-group would also be encouraged to find ways for the different ethnic groups to interact with each other and with the rest of the parish in ways that lead to mutual growth.

Outreach Groups in Large Apartment Buildings in the Area:

One aspect of the diversity of the SSPJ parish is the fact that quite a few parishioners live in some of the large apartment buildings in the neighbourhood. An exmple of one of these is the “3900 N. Charles” community. A goal of the Diversity Group would be to solicit one or more of the parishioners who live in this apartment complex, to help form the nucleus of a fellowship group reaching out to the other parishioners who live there. The fellowship could be as simple as stopping by other parishioners’ apartments to say hi, or giving rides to Mass on Sunday, or could grow into activities such as Bible Studies or pot-luck dinners. If this is successful, it could help serve as a model for similar fellowship activities in some of the other large buildings in the area (eg, Hopkins House, the Broadview, etc).

The 4th Annual Pentecost Sunday celebration at SS. Philip and James will take place on Sunday, 8th June, 2003. Pentecost at SSPJ has become the day to recognize the parish’s diversity on a beautiful Spring day. Fellow parishioners take part in the Mass, reciting the Prayers of the Faithful in different languages from the altar, some attired in traditional ethnic dress. Mass participants, from celebrant to greeters, will also be in place to display the Church’s diversity.

A multi-cultural food festival featuring diverse dishes prepared by fellow parishioners also took place after Mass, on the lanws outside the church. Many of our parishioners brought special dishes that reflect their heritage - from Thai curry to deviled eggs!

Below - Photos from last year's Pentecost, on 19 May, 2002