As we participate in Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorations in Baton Rouge and around the world, I'm reminded of how Social Work and Volunteer Opportunities as well as church choir memberships helped me to better understand his famous “I Have A Dream” speech!"

Pics: (Left in Montage – Keith, Back Row, 2nd from right - Christ The King, San Diego, 1983; Right in Montage – Keith, Back Row, Center - St. Francis Xavier, Baton Rouge, 2019)

As we participate in Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorations in Baton Rouge and around the world, I'm reminded of how Social Work and Volunteer Opportunities as well as church choir memberships helped me to better understand his famous “I Have A Dream” speech, including:

"We cannot walk on our own.  As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."

And in theses troubled current times of race relations, let me share some memories of my Social Work and current musical engagements in finding ways to achieve harmony and peace with all of God's peoples of many beautiful colors - reflecting His Great Love for us!

Many churches, synagogues and mosques have varying programs that allow members to perform required or volunteer outreach that can help one find common ground with our brothers and sisters. These opportunities can help to lead one to get a better understanding of one's own faith, as well as enhance one's professional emphasis, ecumenism, interfaith and cross-cultural efforts.

After completing a year of volunteer work for the elderly per the Jesuit Volunteer (JV) Corps: Southwest in the San Joaquin area of California in 1981, I was looking for a church community to join in San Diego, where I was enrolled in Graduate Social Work at SDSU with an emphasis in Gerontology - part of my own experiences in marching forward, as MLK had noted.

I found out about an Afrocentric Mass that was held at Christ The King Church, so I felt the Holy Spirit was pulling me to see about trying to join that choir after a church leadership music background then mostly in contemporary Catholic music like the Dameans, the St. Louis Jesuits and Carey Landry.

When I arrived at the first practice, I was anxious to begin learning some new styles, as well as making some new friends. While I was one of the few non-traditional members, I was warmly accepted - even though the others certainly had trouble keeping me in rhythm as we swayed with the songs. The other tenors did their best to keep me in line!

Randy, our choir director, was a strict disciplinary guy but knew how to lighten things up. Thus, after I'd done about a month's participation with the group, he surely knew how to humble me with humor. (Page 2 of 2)

After we all had done a great job with completing the closing song, "Come and Go With Me To My Father's House," at Mass, he told me that I "stood out in the choir that day!" As pride settled in on me and I wanted to know what I'd done well, this was his response to my questioning: "Look at your skin!"

So fast forward to a few years ago to another time that I felt called to an Afrocentric type Mass after again having done more great “Glory & Praise Hymnal” type Catholic music for awhile at St. Jude Catholic Church in Baton Rouge.

I've been blessed in the past to be a member of the Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church 8 a.m. Sunday choir.

We usually had practices on Wednesday nights where our Choir Director, Kenny Williams, the 8 A Choir Leader, guided us on songs to sing God's praise on Sundays … one of my favorites is “I Give Myself Away” by William McDowell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dwB29pYR40) done by James (Right Pic in Montage - second from the right, front row).

At the end of Mass, the Rev. Edward Chiffriller, S.S.J., Pastor, will usually ask if any of the congregants has a birthday around that time, so we'll sing the regular happy birthday song, but then after the first traditional verse, we'll do a very lively gospel clapping version - accentuating "Hap -- py Birth-day To You" a few times ... that always brings many smiles!

As you can see again on the Right Montage Pic, I "stand out" (back row center) in the choir ... not because it my singing skills ... LOL!

It was funny once, I was the only one in the choir who could get the clapping rhythm right for a gospel song we were doing, and I was asked by Kenny Williams to actually lead the group in that manner ... someone had a great jest that I loved: "Clap that funky music white boy!" 

Let me end on a serious note … the Baton Rouge Diocesan Prayer for Racial Harmony … which we usually read at every Mass at St. Francis Xavier at the end of the Prayers of Petition - and this ties in so well with the I Have A Dream Message from MLK and seeking to be Color Blind - seeing the de-light of God's multifaceted Creation:

“God our Father, You call us to love one another as You have loved us. We pray for the conversion of hearts in our Diocese of Baton Rouge to bring about racial harmony rooted in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, strip us of our pride, mistrust and prejudices, so that we may be able to dialogue with one another to build communities where justice, peace and love flourish. We ask these blessings trusting in the infinite mercy of Jesus and the intercession of Mary our Mother. Amen.”


Keith John Paul Horcasitas, LCSW, MHA, 1133 Knollhaven Drive, BRLA 70810, khorcasitas.yahoo.com, January 16, 2023.