Shelby Conner, seen here in this Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, file photo in the Bishop’s Courtyard at the Catholic Pastoral Center, has recently been named as the associate director of the Diocese of Nashville’s Office of Faith Formation. Conner takes on the role after nearly two years as the assistant director of youth and young adult ministry. Tennessee Register file photo by Katie Peterson

For the second year, the Thea Bowman Ministry, a collaboration between Christ the King Church and St. Vincent de Paul Church, both in Nashville, came together for a Juneteenth Celebration on Monday, June 19, at Christ the King. Juneteenth celebrates the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved African Americans in the Confederates states. The proclamation was issued on Jan. 1, 1863, but enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, did not learn of it until Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed them on June 19, 1865. African Americas have been celebrating on that date since 1866, and Congress voted in 2021 to make it a federal holiday. The event included live music, food, and fellowship. The Erik Blue Band, including, Dave Boisvert on saxophone, Manny Cole on bass guitar, Raquel Jackson on vocals, and Erik Blue on keyboards, provided the live music.

This is the cover of the book "St. Joseph, Tender Father: His Life and His Care for Us Today" by Louise Perrotta. (CNS photo/courtesy The Word Among Us Press)