The patchwork altar cloth carried in procession and placed on the altar by young liturgical dancers from St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood Nov. 1 was but one environmental element rich in symbolism for local Catholics and African Americans in particular.

The quilt, trimmed with African Kente, surrounded 22 decorated squares made by members of various parishes in the Archdiocese. A center square featured an acacia tree native to Africa. Noted for its ability to survive the elements against all odds, the acacia tree is also the symbol of the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization (AACCE) in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

These elements helped provide the framework for the AACCE's 10th anniversary celebration liturgy at St. John Chrysostom Church. Our Lady of the Angels Region Auxiliary Bishop Edward Clark presided, with Stockton Bishop Stephen Blaire as homilist. Concelebrating were many priests who have ministered to the African American community over the years, including Josephite priests.

Banners representing various parishes were carried in procession into the church. Ida and John Coleman, members of Nativity Church, Los Angeles, for well over 30 years, stood proudly before their banner. When they came to the United States from Belize they were married at Nativity and sent their three children to its school. They could have moved out of the parish years ago. But Father Jerome Schmit told them as they prepared for their marriage how the parish needs people like the Colemans - to stay and not leave when prosperous. "We need the example of good marriages and good families," he told them.

That is what resonates with Ida and John - being part of their community. "I am one who sinks roots in and stays, and I think John is the same," said Ida. "Father Schmit said, 'Bloom where you are planted,' and that has stuck with us."

As African Americans and immigrants, the Colemans say that they are part of the "African diaspora." Others, they pointed out, come from Cuba, Central America and Brazil. "With God as our Father and his son Jesus, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. That part doesn't make us any different from each other because we have that fellowship." Added Ida, "The connection is faith based. We celebrate almost the same in our response to that drum-beat. The drums call us together and it doesn't matter what part of the Caribbean we come from. Those spirituals, the songs we sing, the way we respond to the homilist --- that's the beauty of it."

She pointed around the area where attendees gathered for luncheon following the anniversary Mass. "Look around," she says, "We have so many different shades. I call it brotherhood and sisterhood."

John added that they brought with them from Belize the desire to remember "the community that we originally came from. We are a close-knit group and so when we move from those communities we tend to look for those same types of associations like we came from."

Anderson Shaw, AACCE director, knows the importance of community especially in rapidly changing times. "The changes in demographics in Los Angels have impacted the African American Catholic community both positively and negatively," he said. "Many African American Catholics have moved out of the large cities into the surrounding communities, which is a positive. But what has happened is that the traditional African American Catholic parish has declined. So an organization like the African American Catholic Center is important because our parishes have been the center of our communities. We need a sense of community in today's environment, and what better place than in one of our parishes."

During the anniversary liturgy, Shaw and former AACCE directors, Josephite Fathers John Hartmann and Charles Andrus, were honored for their service. (Former director Jocelyn Lyon was unable to attend.) Bishop Clark thanked all who have kept alive the African American Catholic Community through workshops, celebrations and events.

"To me," Bishop Clark observed, "the importance of the center is that it gives a voice to the African American community from which we can learn so much as church. The African American community very often has suffered at the hands of the church in the past. So the center is an opportunity for them to gather together in ministry and in mutual support and, at the same time, to be a presence that teaches us how important they are to our community.

"African American Catholics have contributed so much in terms of ministry, spirituality and prayer forms of liturgy. The center provides an opportunity for that to happen and to be an expression of it."

In his homily, Bishop Blaire --- Bishop Clark's regional predecessor and a leader in forming the AACCE --- noted the vision of John in the Book of Revelation as "the crowning glory of all evangelization. It is the vision that inspires and guides the church in her mission of evangelization. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed so that all might come into the eternal glory of God."

Bishop Blaire recounted the AACCE's origin when he met with leaders in the community asking what they wanted to happen in the Church. Evangelization was primary. And he added, "We had a vision and we cry out as all the saints do before God, 'Salvation comes from our God.'" Responded a woman in the congregation: "Amen."