Date/Time:
November 12: 1:00-2:30 pm ET/
10:00-11:30 am PT
Cost: Free, all are invited to attend
During Black Catholic History Month our panelists will discuss the importance of the Black Catholic expressions to Catholic liturgy. Through their own experiences, the panelists will discuss how Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman’s description of Black expressions should be seen as a “gift” to the Church, not as a threat. The panelists will also share present resources that are available so that all can learn more about ways to connect with this important expression of our faith.
About the Panelists
Dr. Ansel Augustine is an Emmy nominated producer and an award-winning author. He is presently the Assistant Director of African American Affairs for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the former Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Dr. Augustine has served on the Board of Trustees of St. Michael’s College (Burlington, Vermont). He is also on the Board of Directors for the Congo Square Preservation Society and the National Black Catholic Congress. He is the former Executive Director of Cultural Diversity and Outreach for the Archdiocese of Washington. Previously he served as the Associate Director/Coordinator of Black Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the CYO Youth & Young Adult Ministry Office.
He is also on the Faculty of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, Graduate Theological Foundation, and Loyola University New Orleans’ Institute for Ministry. Dr. Augustine has also served as a Campus Minister at Xavier University of Louisiana, Loyola University New Orleans, and St. John’s University in Queens, NY. Ansel has served on the board of directors for the National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association (NCYAMA) and the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM).
He began his career in ministry over 26 years ago when he became the youth minister at his home parish of St. Peter Claver in the Treme area of New Orleans, which he helped to rebuild following hurricane Katrina. He has presented workshops and keynotes around the world and has written various pieces related to ministry including The African American Catholic Youth Bible and, the award-winning book, Leveling the Praying Field: Can the Church we Love, Love us Back? He is also the author of the award-winning book, Praying with Our Feet: Encountering God in the Margins (Loyola Press).
Dr. Augustine is also an Emmy Nominated Producer for the documentary “Black Faith Matters,” now titled “Black and Catholic” on Youtube. Ansel has worked in prison ministry for over 25 years in various capacities. He volunteers with the Mardi Gras Indian Council and Backstreet Cultural Museum of which he is an honorary board member. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the Knights of Columbus, the Knights of Peter Claver, and has masked with the Wild Tchoupitoulas (Black Masking) Mardi Gras Indians. He is also an Associate Member of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans, LA and the Chaplain for the National Hip Hop Museum in Washington, DC. His website is www.holyhotboy.info
Richard A. Cheri lives with his wife, Cynthia, in Montz, Louisiana, near his place of birth, New Orleans. Richard has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Master of Arts in Theology, and a Master of Science in Teaching Mathematics. Formerly an adjunct professor of theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, a mathematics professor at St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, Louisiana, a faculty member at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, and a retired high school teacher as of May 2018, Richard presently is an adjunct professor of mathematics at Loyola University in New Orleans. Richard served as the Director of Liturgy and Music at several church parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He presently serves in that role at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in New Orleans. Richard is the coordinating director of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Gospel Choir and Executive Director of the Lyke Foundation, which sponsors the Archbishop James Patterson Lyke Liturgical Conference. He has toured with the Moses Hogan Chorale and is a composer, arranger, and producer with World Library Publications and GIA Publications. Richard was presented the National Pastoral Musician of the Year award in 2021.
Father Ajani Gibson is a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the pastor of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in New Orleans, his home parish. It is at St. Peter Claver that he first felt the tug towards the priesthood. By God’s grace, Fr. Gibson was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ on June 5, 2021.
Father Gibson holds a Master of Divinity from Notre Dame Seminary, a Master of Arts in Liturgical Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. He is a proud graduate of St. Augustine High School, a historic Black Catholic school conducted by the Josephites.
Dr. Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley RN, D.Min., MAPM, MSJ
Healer, Scholar, Pastoral Theologian, Preacher- Social Justice Advocate
She is a Professional Registered Nurse with a BSN from Boston College and Graduate Studies in Nursing Leadership at New York University- Member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nurses (Cornell Chapter) She is retired from New York Hospital- Weill Cornell University Medical Center- as a Senior Staff Clinical Nurse- High Risk Obstetrics-Women and Children’s Health and Interim Nurse Recruiter. Sigma Theta Tau -Cornell University Chapter Inter National Nursing Honor Society.
Master of Juris Prudence- Health Law Specialty Seton Hall University Law School
(Magna Cum Laude)
Master of Arts Pastoral Ministry – Spiritual Direction- Christian Spirituality from Immaculate Conception Seminary- School of Theology Seton Hall University (Summa Cum Laude)
Doctor of Ministry – Healing Mind Body Spirit: Pastors and Congregational Health- (Self Care) Drew University Theological School.
Certification as a Master Catechist- the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana the only Catholic HBCU. Doctrinal Level Certification as a Catechist from the Archdiocese of Newark.
Member of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium,
Adjunct Professor of Theology at Xavier University of Louisiana- Institute for Black Catholic Studies, and Caldwell University.
Lay Associate Order of Preachers (OPA) Caldwell Dominicans.
Womanist & Liberation Theology; Evangelization and Ecumenical Themes;
Christian Spirituality; Spiritual Direction,
Inculturated Catechesis: Black Catholic History and Spirituality; Catholic Social Justice Thought, Self Care and Healing within the Church are Core Disciplines.
Caldwell Dominicans
2022 Peace and Justice Award
2023 Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament– St. Katharine Drexel National Justice Award
2023 Urban League of Hudson County (New Jersey) Social Justice Advocate Award.
She is a Silver Life Member in the NAACP
An Aquinas Institute of Theology- Delaplane Preaching Scholar 2022 Writing Cohort.
She is a contributing author to a number of Publications.
*Preaching Racial Justice. “Preaching with an Unbridled Tongue: The Intersection of Being Radically Catholic, Black, and Womanist.” Orbis Books, 2023
*Religion, Women of Color, and the Suffrage Movement: The Journey of Holistic Freedom. (Feminist Studies and Sacred Texts) “Does Christian Catechesis Have a Gender Problem?” Littlefield Publishers, 2022.
St. Andrews Encyclopedia of Theology, Womanist Theology, by Diana L. Hayes.
Contributing Preacher to CatholicWomenPreach.org. She is a parishioner at the Church of Christ the King, Jersey City, The first Black Catholic Parish in New Jersey. She is the Retired DRE of 25 years and the parish historian. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Archdiocesan Apostolate for the Office of the African American African and Caribbean Apostolate.