They walked into Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria
wearing colorful saris and magojas — the long and colorful clothing worn in
India and Korea — as well as other outfits indigenous to their countries of
origin or of their ancestors.
The colors and complex weavings visually expressed the variety of cultures that make up the Arlington Diocese,
all being celebrated at the seventh annual Multicultural Mass June 24.
In his homily, Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said
that living and worshipping in a vibrant, multicultural diocese was a blessing.
He told those gathered to look around at
the countries of origin, cultures, and backgrounds that were represented throughout diocesan parishes.
“It is important for us to lift each one up, to celebrate
each of them,” said Bishop Burbidge in his homily. “That is what we do in a
special way tonight. We celebrate our diversity and the gifts that various
cultures and each one of you bring to the Lord, bring to this church and bring
to our diocese. For that, we are deeply grateful.”
The 60-member choir, representing all the cultures in the
diocese, sang “Amazing Grace” in a variety of languages, including Vietnamese,
Korean, Filipino and Spanish.
Members of the Black Catholic, Vietnamese, Hispanic,
Filipino and Brazilian communities were called to share the prayers of the
faithful in their native languages.
“We go forth this evening celebrating our diversity,
reflecting our unity and trusting God’s promise that He will always be there to
love, to deliver and to protect us,” the bishop said. “That is how we go
forward and live fearlessly.”
The celebration included a fair with food and exhibits that showcased the different communities of the
diocese, including Our Lady of Lavang Vietnamese Catholic Community, the Ghana
Catholic Community, Filipino Catholic Community, Brazilian Catholic Community
and St. Paul Chung Korean Church.
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Harvesta Green Williams, a parishioner of Christ the
Redeemer Church in Sterling, said she wished the Multicultural Mass would be celebrated more than once a year.
“Everybody is not celebrated on a regular basis,” she said.
“By having these celebrations maybe it will enhance the opportunity to be
unified in individual parishes.”
Paola Giovanetti, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi
Church in Triangle, said it’s important to have such events given the current
feeling of divisiveness in the country.
“With all the political strife, this shows that one God
joins us all,” Giovanetti said. “We need to meet people of different cultures
one-on-one. Unification is going to be done by each individual person.”
Thanh Le, music director for the Multicultural Mass and one
of the choir directors at Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in Arlington, agreed. “We are so different culturally, but we are united in one
faith,” said Le.
Diocesan diversity was fully on display with dancers and
musicians from Indonesia, Korea and Ghana.
Queen of the Apostles parishioner Kathleen King said the Multicultural
Mass reflects the cultural reality of Fairfax County and it’s
something she values in her parish.
“It is a wonderful place to worship,” she said. “This parish
has someone from everywhere.”
Fellow parishioner Kevin Ketchmark said the Mass is an opportunity to celebrate as a diocese, not just as a parish, and
it is an opportunity for other parishes that are not as diverse to be exposed to
the church’s cultural richness.
“It is almost second nature for us here at Queen of
Apostles. We have a very diverse parish on our own,” he said. “We have the
Ghanaian community with us officially and we have a very large Hispanic
population.”
Corinne Monogue, director of the diocesan Office of
Multicultural Ministries, said the event provided an opportunity for others for
see what the office does throughout the year.
“This office helps them to express their unique cultural
history through the sacraments of our church and by doing so at one Mass where
we all come together at the table of the Lord, it is a beautiful opportunity,”
she said.
Buy photos from the Multicultural Mass at catholicherald.smugmug.com.
