Catholic entities encouraged to give service in honor of MLK weekend

In response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic – particularly in light of the new reality of the Omicron variant – plans for the archdiocese’s commemoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will be modified once again this year.

“For safety reasons, we will not gather on a large scale but are asking each parish, school or other ministry organization to gather a group of people to do some type of service at your ministry location – parish, school, etc. – sometime during the holiday weekend of Jan. 14-17,” said Dr. Ansel Augustine, director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries.

When gathered at their given service site, parishes, schools and other Catholic organizations are asked to follow appropriate COVID-19 guidelines and to conduct proper protocols related to permission requirements and the supervision of minors.

To alert the archdiocese about your group’s observance of the MLK holiday weekend, participants are asked to complete the form located at bit.ly/3mP9Yp1 and email it to [email protected] by Jan. 11. Photos of groups engaged in service work are also welcome to this email address.

“Thank you for your ministry!” Augustine said. “We hope we can gather back together soon.”

The weekend of service is being coordinated by the Office of Black Catholic Ministries, the Department of Catholic Education and Faith Formation and the CYO Youth/Young Adult Ministry Office.