Racism is a sin and BLACK LIVES MATTER!
The vandalism of our Black Lives Matter banner and Xavier University’s campus serve as a painful reminder of the hateful and bigoted actions that take place every day and make people of color feel less safe in our communities. XU’s response confirms that hate has no home at Xavier, but events like this can make us feel jarred, scared, angry and saddened.
While people can commit cowardly acts, like cutting up a sign or vandalizing property, they cannot change the simple, gospel truth that:
Racism is a sin and BLACK LIVES MATTER!
Banners can and will be replaced, but lives are being lost every day. As a community of faith, as the body of Christ, when one part of the body suffers, the entire body suffers. And so, we use this despicable event to ask ourselves: What does God call us to do?
While people can commit cowardly acts, like cutting up a sign or vandalizing property, they cannot change the simple, gospel truth that:
Racism is a sin and BLACK LIVES MATTER!
Banners can and will be replaced, but lives are being lost every day. As a community of faith, as the body of Christ, when one part of the body suffers, the entire body suffers. And so, we use this despicable event to ask ourselves: What does God call us to do?
Pray
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We invite you all to lament and unite ourselves with those parts of Christ’s body that suffer, with all our sisters and brothers who have suffered or died at the hands of racism and bigotry. Let us together beg God for mercy, for love and for reconciliation:
Lord Jesus, help us all to recognize the racism which denies dignity to those who are different than us, Lord, have mercy. Christ Jesus, you came to call us to conversion, heal and call out prejudice in ourselves and others, Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, you invite us to hope and offer us the courage to break our silence and apathy in the face of racial intolerance and bigotry. Lord Have Mercy |
A garden of signs were placed where our Chapel's banner had been on display.
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Get Involved
There is much work to be done, in our church, in our community, in our neighborhood, in our city and in our country.
Bellarmine Parish held our winter parish retreat on January 30. It was entitled Stretching Toward Anti-Racism: Lament to Conversion. It was a powerful and prayerful experience for many of us here in the community, and we encourage those who missed it to watch it online.
It was a beginning. It was an invitation, not an answer, it was an opening, not the conclusion. We weren’t there to leave comfortable and safe, like we accomplished something or fixed something. Instead we were being sent out and called to conversion.
Bellarmine Parish held our winter parish retreat on January 30. It was entitled Stretching Toward Anti-Racism: Lament to Conversion. It was a powerful and prayerful experience for many of us here in the community, and we encourage those who missed it to watch it online.
It was a beginning. It was an invitation, not an answer, it was an opening, not the conclusion. We weren’t there to leave comfortable and safe, like we accomplished something or fixed something. Instead we were being sent out and called to conversion.
Upcoming Events
There are a number of opportunities for us to move from lament toward conversion. We encourage you to join us for conversation, contemplation and action on how we combat social sin and work to dismantle racism.
Black History Month Parade and Prayer Service - Saturday, February 13
February is Black History Month and, in light of the recent issues on campus, organizations across Xavier, including Bellarmine, have partnered with Rev. Sonny James of Norwood for a celebratory Black History Month parade on Saturday, February 13, 3 p.m. The parade will start in the parking lot of the Dollar Tree near campus, proceed through Norwood and end outside Bellarmine Chapel at 4 p.m. for an interfaith prayer service re-committing our collective community to a celebration of Black Lives. Our new banner will be installed at this event. Please join us in a show of support for the black community on and around Xavier! You can attend the parade or just come for the prayer service. As this is a celebration of Black History Month, we invite you to bring images of black heroes. At the pastor’s request, we ask that you not bring signs from home and use the ones provided. Contact our Director of Social Mission, Tim Severyn, for more information. Let’s show we care!
Join Our Dismantling Racism Team
Our parish team meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 23. Email Tim Severyn for more information.
Black Lives are Sacred - A Reflective Series by Brennan and Marie Hill
This six-week series will be hosted via Zoom on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning February 23, or Wednesdays from 12:30 to 2 p.m. beginning February 24. There will be a brief reflection each week written by Brennan Hill that will be sent by email, then followed by a small group discussion with Marie Hill. This will be an opportunity to explore our stories of racial awareness, recent insight into bias or prejudice, racism in the Catholic Church, the Two Americas described by MLK and why skin color matters. Call Marie Hill at 513-378-8548 with questions. THIS EVENT IS FULL, BUT YOU CAN RSVP FOR OUR WAITLIST. RSVP for Black Lives are Sacred.
Faith and Racial Equity: Exploring Power and Privilege
This 8-week series will be hosted via Zoom on Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning February 22. For those a bit further in their racial justice journey, this program of JustFaith Ministries brings together a group for prayer, reading, dialogue and action around the realities of white privilege and our faith. You can review the curriculum. THIS EVENT IS FULL, BUT YOU CAN RSVP FOR OUR WAITLIST. RSVP to join Faith and Racial Equality: Exploring Power and Privilege.
Across the Color Line: Reporting 25 Years on Black Cincinnati with Mark Curnutte
Join us Monday, March 1, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., for this discussion led by Mark Curnutte, a Visiting Instructor of Social Justice Studies and Journalism at Miami University. Mark is a career newspaper reporter, including his final 25 years at The Cincinnati Enquirer, where he was selected three times as top reporter in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists. Published last year, his book Across the Color Line: Reporting 25 Years in Black Cincinnati, is a compilation of 80 stories about the experiences of African Americans in our city. RSVP for Across the Color Line: Reporting 25 Years on Black Cincinnati.
Journey to Justice: A Civil Rights Pilgrimage - Make a Deposit Now!
We encourage you to check out the website for Our Journey to Justice: A Civil Rights Pilgrimage to sites across Alabama (Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham) that will take place September 14-17, 2021, pandemic-permitting. We are collecting $50 refundable deposits to reserve your spot on this trip between now and Sunday, March 7. (Note: the bus is approximately half full at this point). At present, you must be a registered parishioner or the immediate family member of a parishioner to make a deposit. We will open the trip to non-parishioners after the March 7 deadline. Email Tim Severyn for more information.
Black History Month Parade and Prayer Service - Saturday, February 13
February is Black History Month and, in light of the recent issues on campus, organizations across Xavier, including Bellarmine, have partnered with Rev. Sonny James of Norwood for a celebratory Black History Month parade on Saturday, February 13, 3 p.m. The parade will start in the parking lot of the Dollar Tree near campus, proceed through Norwood and end outside Bellarmine Chapel at 4 p.m. for an interfaith prayer service re-committing our collective community to a celebration of Black Lives. Our new banner will be installed at this event. Please join us in a show of support for the black community on and around Xavier! You can attend the parade or just come for the prayer service. As this is a celebration of Black History Month, we invite you to bring images of black heroes. At the pastor’s request, we ask that you not bring signs from home and use the ones provided. Contact our Director of Social Mission, Tim Severyn, for more information. Let’s show we care!
Join Our Dismantling Racism Team
Our parish team meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 23. Email Tim Severyn for more information.
Black Lives are Sacred - A Reflective Series by Brennan and Marie Hill
This six-week series will be hosted via Zoom on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning February 23, or Wednesdays from 12:30 to 2 p.m. beginning February 24. There will be a brief reflection each week written by Brennan Hill that will be sent by email, then followed by a small group discussion with Marie Hill. This will be an opportunity to explore our stories of racial awareness, recent insight into bias or prejudice, racism in the Catholic Church, the Two Americas described by MLK and why skin color matters. Call Marie Hill at 513-378-8548 with questions. THIS EVENT IS FULL, BUT YOU CAN RSVP FOR OUR WAITLIST. RSVP for Black Lives are Sacred.
Faith and Racial Equity: Exploring Power and Privilege
This 8-week series will be hosted via Zoom on Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning February 22. For those a bit further in their racial justice journey, this program of JustFaith Ministries brings together a group for prayer, reading, dialogue and action around the realities of white privilege and our faith. You can review the curriculum. THIS EVENT IS FULL, BUT YOU CAN RSVP FOR OUR WAITLIST. RSVP to join Faith and Racial Equality: Exploring Power and Privilege.
Across the Color Line: Reporting 25 Years on Black Cincinnati with Mark Curnutte
Join us Monday, March 1, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., for this discussion led by Mark Curnutte, a Visiting Instructor of Social Justice Studies and Journalism at Miami University. Mark is a career newspaper reporter, including his final 25 years at The Cincinnati Enquirer, where he was selected three times as top reporter in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists. Published last year, his book Across the Color Line: Reporting 25 Years in Black Cincinnati, is a compilation of 80 stories about the experiences of African Americans in our city. RSVP for Across the Color Line: Reporting 25 Years on Black Cincinnati.
Journey to Justice: A Civil Rights Pilgrimage - Make a Deposit Now!
We encourage you to check out the website for Our Journey to Justice: A Civil Rights Pilgrimage to sites across Alabama (Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham) that will take place September 14-17, 2021, pandemic-permitting. We are collecting $50 refundable deposits to reserve your spot on this trip between now and Sunday, March 7. (Note: the bus is approximately half full at this point). At present, you must be a registered parishioner or the immediate family member of a parishioner to make a deposit. We will open the trip to non-parishioners after the March 7 deadline. Email Tim Severyn for more information.
Resources and Education
Our Dismantling Racism Team put this page together with books, videos, articles, podcasts and more to help you dig deeper into racial justice.