Detroit— African-American Catholics in Detroit are “Pressing Toward Pentecost” with a high level of energy, spiritual excitement and volume.
“Pressing Toward Pentecost” is the theme of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Black Catholic Ministries’ Hour of Power Revival Series, a four-week program of Wednesday evening revival services between Easter and Pentecost.
The May 9 Hour of Power Revival took place at St. Augustine & St. Monica Parish on Detroit’s east side. The featured preacher was Fr. Paul Whittington, OP, pastor of St. Benedict the African West in Chicago. Fr. Whittington is the son of a Baptist mother and a Catholic father, a self-described “Bap-lic.” “I take the best of both of my sacred heritages,” he said.
A diverse assembly of close to 100 people heard Fr. Whittington’s “Got Faith?” sermon, which was based on the evening’s Gospel reading, Matthew 19:14-21, in which Jesus tells his disciples that if one has faith the size of a tiny mustard seed, he or she can move a mountain.
“Trusting and believing in Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to us,” he said in a high-energy preaching style that certainly is mindful of his half-Baptist upbringing, punctuated by a lot of rousing “A-mens!” and “Alleluias!”
At one point, Fr. Whittington descended from the pulpit and sanctuary, entered the congregation and stood ====on==== the pews while working the faithful, which he affectionately referred to as “church,” into a spiritual lather.
He also encouraged his audience to put aside the mundane “stuff” — he said he wished he could use a different word — of life, things “that cause stress and distract us from Jesus.”
“It was spiritually exhilarating,” said Joyce Watkins, a St. Augustine & St. Monica parishioner after the hour and 40 minute service. “(Fr. Whittington) put the focus of life back on faith. He helped me understand that God is the answer.”
Linda Franklin, a parishioner at St. Benedict in Highland Park, said, “What I liked about tonight is it put Jesus first. We heard the unadulterated Gospel that Jesus is the answer. This preacher had the Holy Spirit with gusto!”
Also displaying “gusto” was the Metro Catholic Gospel Choir, whose members represent several archdiocesan parishes as well as other Christian denominations. It sang uplifting music before, during and after the service, which also included a prayer line, where the congregation is invited to ask for blessings or bring petitions to one of the various participating clergy.
The revival is a boisterous, energetic form of worship traditionally associated with African-American Baptist churches, but not usually with Catholics. Some 30 years ago, in an effort to evangelize the African-American community, Catholic dioceses around the country started organizing revivals with Catholic themes. Fr. Clarence Williams, C.PP.S., currently pastor of Holy Innocents-St. Barnabas Parish in Eastpointe, started the Catholic revival tradition in the Detroit area in the 1990s.
This year’s four-week revival series is taking place at four different Detroit churches. The first, on May 2, was at Christ the King Church and featured Fr. David Jones from Chicago. The May 9 event at St. Augustine & St. Monica was the second. The third, on May 16, featured St. Cecilia pastor Fr. Theodore Parker at St. Gregory the Great Church. The series concludes May 23 with a revival featuring the Rev. Dr. Wilma R. Johnson at Sacred Heart Church. It begins at 7 p.m.
