Interfaith clergy leaders gather at service for peace, reconciliation
Patron Saint, Brooklyn Host Parish Have Solid History of Helping African-Americans
Brooklynites are responding with prayer and compassion to the recent events involving the deaths of black males in police custody.
Last Saturday, Sept. 6, the parish of St. Martin de Porres celebrated an Interfaith Service for Peace and Reconciliation at St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Leading this initiative was Monsignor Paul Jervis, who wanted to bring the Holy Father’s message for peace to our local communities in the wake of the recent tragic events in Staten Island and Ferguson, Missouri.
Joining Father Jervis were Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn; Retired Bishop Guy Sansaricq of Brooklyn; Rev. Frank Black, pastor at St. Laurence Church; Rev. James Massa, Vicar for Evangelization for the Diocese of Brooklyn; Father Emmett Nolan, C.M., pastor of St. John the Baptist; and Pastor Kevin B. Jones of the Peterson Temple Church of God in Christ and member of the Brooklyn Clergy/NYPD Task Force. Pastor Jones, who also works for the SOS Program (Save Our Streets) as a Clergy Liaison, served as the keynote speaker.