STA Race & Culture Committee: Mission Statement

The St. Thomas Aquinas Race and Culture Committee’s mission is to strengthen and enhance STA’s commitment to advancing the cause of racial justice in our community, provide a welcoming place for all people, and celebrate God’s gift of a diverse people.

To achieve this mission, the Committee will:

    • Promote ideas and events to further the spirit of diversity and inclusion.
    • Engage the full parish and our neighbors in conversations and experiences about our shared cultures.
    • Develop practices to welcome and support parish members with diverse experiences and attributes.
    • Critically explore ways STA can incorporate racial justice and diversity in our community engagement and outreach efforts.

We encourage all at STA to become involved with our programs.  If you wish to learn more, please contact Patrice Payne (patricejpayne@gmail.com)  or Karla Hudecek (khudecek@staindy.org).  Additional racial equity resources can be viewed at this site:

https://www.staindy.org/church/race-relations-resources/

STA Parish Survey: “How to Grow Our Diversity”

All through its history, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Indianapolis, Indiana has been a leader in the Archdiocese and in the country in the fight for racial justice. This began in the 1960’s & 1970’s during the Civil Rights movement. It continued in the 1980’s by helping with the desegregation of the Riviera Club. In current times, the Race & Culture Committee strives to educate the parish on issues concerning fairness for all. St. Thomas Aquinas parishioners have lived their faith by being a caring community of God’s people in beautiful variety.

Currently, the Race and Culture Committee at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish feels that there are fewer members of color in our parish than in the past. Is this perception correct? The survey hopes to discover some of the answers to this question. Please complete this survey before Wednesday, June 11, 2025 to help us discover if this is true.

To participate in the survey, simply click on THIS LINK.  Most questions are multiple choice. And, the survey will take only 3 to 5 minutes depending on the length of your “fill-in” responses. All answers are anonymous.

We hope to get information that will help us identify what we can do as a parish to strengthen our claim that we are “God’s People in Extraordinary Variety.” 

Thank you for your opinions and ideas.