by Katie Vasquez
Allison Attong-Rogers has always felt inspired by her parish, and loves capturing the multicultural community at St. Clare Church in Rosedale, Queens.
“So people can see what is being done at our church,” said St. Clare parishioner, Attong-Rogers. “Maybe it’ll bring them in when they see how vibrant St. Clare is.”
Now her snapshots are serving a bigger purpose, as part of St. Clare’s Black History Month art and literature contest.
“I called her, I said, I want to do it because I love taking pictures and I have about 40,000 pictures in my phone,” said Attong-Rogers.
Her contribution combines her faith and culture, showcasing how St. Clare often celebrates both for their parishioners.
“Over the years since we have had minority priests at St. Clare and I tried to depict, I’m from Trinidad and Tobago, so I put my Caribbean heritage in there,” said Attong-Rogers.
The competition at the Queens church is tied with the nation’s theme for this Black History Month, African American contribution in the arts.
“We’ve contributed a lot to the culture,” said Black History Committee member at St. Clare Church, Deborah Wright, “but we also included that the experience is also under the influence of Caribbean, not just African, Hispanic, and Asian, and our church is very diversified and so we thought the theme of it should be open to everyone.”
They are asking parishioners and people from the community to submit their best creations by this Saturday, Jan. 27.
“It could be paintings, colorings, it could be photographs, it could be collages, it could be sculptures, any form of art,” said Wright.
Those works will be showcased after their Black History Month Mass on Feb. 4.
Beyond Black History Month, St. Clare’s hopes to remind people year-round of how important their culture is.
“If you don’t know your history, if you don’t know your past, you’re not going to be able to go on to your future,” said Wright.
The church won’t stop here; they will devote a section of the bulletin to informing parishioners of exhibits, movies, and books that highlight black history.
The deadline to submit your work is fast approaching. Anyone who wants to contribute can drop off their work at the rectory basement of St Clare, that’s near the church at 137-35 Brookville Boulevard in Rosedale, this Saturday, Jan. 27, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The work will be displayed following a reception after mass on Feb. 4 where parishioners can vote for their top choices.
The winners will be announced at the end of the month.