Today I responded to a post on Facebook from a childhood friend and classmate (in that order) regarding a conversation that she had with a co-worker.  The co-worker stated that she did not know that there were African-American  (for the sake of saving keystrokes) black Catholics.  My friend showed her a picture of the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese in the area that is actually black.

Growing up my friend (who is white) and I attended a multi-cultural and diverse Catholic Church, Elementary, and High School.  Neither school was extremely large in size so everyone knew everyone else and their family well.  Our families were very close as we had older siblings that had grown up and gone to school together before us.  Needless to say the differences that seem to exist today in race was completely foreign to us as children and seemingly our parents.

Now, back to today’s conversation………    My friend made a comment that I echoed immediately.  She stated that she never knew that black and white people did not go to church together until she was an adult.  I was in the same boat as she was.  Until I got back into church after straying away for a few years (life lessons will always drive you back to God when you have been introduced early in life) and was searching for a place to attend, I was hit with this choice.  Never before had I ever had to  choose what race of people I was going to attend church with and worship a God that see’s not race or color!  How can we justify the separation that goes on Sunday after Sunday in the majority of the churches in our nation if God does not justify it?

Because of the way I grew up, I am not able to understand or am willing to accept the racial division that exist today.  I look back on the days growing up in church and at school and wish it was still that way.  The friends that I had back then are still family to me, not my white friends, or Hispanic friends.  I think people waste too much time and effort worrying about showing how different we are racially and miss the biggest fact that is there.   We were all created by God equally, to serve and worship Him.  When we lose sight of that and create our own agenda’s we cause the racial problems that exist today!

I really thank God that my parents raised me in the environment that they did.  I know that it is the way that God intended us to live.  I did find a church that is striving every day to become the diverse congregation that God intended, and I am very thankful for that.

We were all created to worship God together, so why don’t we???