Bishop Robert N. Lynch, Bishop of St. Petersburg and Rev. Wayne Genereux, Pastor of Blessed Trinity Church in St. Petersburg, invite you to a Testimonial Dinner and Celebration in appreciation of the many Local, National, and International contributions of Deacon Lionel Roberts. Deacon was ordained for the Diocese of Brooklyn, and has served the Diocese of St. Petersburg in many capacities over the last thirty years.

Deacon moved to St. Petersburg in 1984. and was assigned to Blessed Trinity Parish and well celebrate his 90th birthday this year. Since his ordination almost forty years ago, Deacon has served our Diocese in many capacities.  He was Assistant Director for the Office of the Diaconate, a well as a member of the Diaconate Advisory Board. He was Director of Black Catholic Ministries and championed countless community-building projects and services striving for upward mobility in the Black Community for decades.  His latest contribution was at the invitation of Archbishop Gilbert, where Deacon was asked to create and develop the Diaconate program for the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, in his native country of Trinidad.  In 2002 he was the recipient of the St. Jude Medal Award by nomination of Monsignor Anton Dechering, his pastor at the time.  Deacon Lionel continues to serve with profound love and faith his beloved community of Blessed Trinity together with his beloved wife of fifty-two years, Merlene.

This dinner will take place on August 22, 2015 at the St. Petersburg Country Club, 5 pm to 9:00 pm. Cost will be $35.00 per person and seats are limited. Deadline to RSVP is August 15, 2015  If you are interested in participating please contact “Bernie” Young at Bernie@bernieyoung.com or Effie Alexader at 727-895-1205.