Local news in brief
The Archdiocese of Boston Office for Black Catholics named Tipp Harris as the recipient of the 2004 Bishop James Augustine Healy Award. Harris has served as a pastoral associate and youth minister at St. Francis de Sales/St. Philip Parish for over 20 years, as well as taught music at Emmanuel House, St. Kevin Grammar School and Cathedral Grammar School. The award, named after Bishop Healy, the first African American Roman Catholic Bishop in the U.S., was given to Harris in honor of his faith and spirit, as well as his leadership and service to the Black Catholic community. Especially recognized are the efforts of Harris and his wife Dorothea to lift up the values of peace and nonviolence by organizing an annual Peace Day to remember their son Meiko, who died at age 19 as a result of violent crime. In addition, the Office for Black Catholics named John Barros, assistant director of youth ministry at St. Patrick Church in Roxbury who has worked with the Safe Neighborhood Initiative, recipient of the Robert L. Ruffin Award. Both men will be recognized at the Bishop James Augustine Healy Awards Dinner on Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Cambridge Center Marriott Hotel in Cambridge. The keynote speaker at the dinner will be Father Oscar Pratt, director of the Archdiocese Office for Vocations.