Article: HISTORIC BLACK NEW ORLEANS PARISH FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE.(News)

Byline: Michelle Roberts Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- Mass at one of the nation's oldest black Roman Catholic parishes was filled with jazzy renditions of gospel songs and prayers that church officials would reverse their decision to merge it with another parish, a move prompted by the financial strain of Hurricane Katrina.

"A parish is family. A parish is generations. A parish is your history," said Sandra Gordon, who began attending St. Augustine Church as a child, after Hurricane Betsy wiped out her family's previous parish in 1965.

St. Augustine, founded in 1841 by slaves and free people of color, is among the parishes the archdiocese ...

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