For the first time in seven years, the summer event circuit will include both the Archbishop Lyke Conference and Unity Explosion, which attract devotees of Black Catholic liturgy.
The two gatherings will take place during the same week, the Lyke Conference from June 17-20 in Tampa, Florida, and Unity Explosion from June 18-20 in Houston.
Both events were canceled for several years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lyke Conference, named for the late Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM of Atlanta, resumed in 2022 and 2024, hosting five-day conferences in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
This year’s Lyke Conference will be held at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore under the theme “This Little Light of Mine: Celebrating Our Black Catholic Faith.” As in previous years, it will be headlined by the Clarence Rivers Institute for Music Ministers.
2025 Archbishop Lyke Conference pic.twitter.com/OnH4tZygmN
— Lyke Conference (@lykeconference) November 13, 2024
Though Unity Explosion has not been held since 2018, one of its constituent events, the Roderick J. Bell Institute for African American Sacred Music, returned last year in Houston. Named for the late Black liturgist who led Unity Explosion in the early 1990s, the institute is back in 2025, taking place Saturday, May 31, at the Cameron Retreat Center.
The institute will serve as a preparatory event for Unity Explosion 2025 and as a rehearsal for the conference choir.
“The institute provides professional, spiritual, and networking opportunities for musicians, ministers of music, and those interested in pastoral music,” reads an announcement from the organizers.
“The institute also provides an opportunity for composers to present varied genres of new sacred music.”
Unity Explosion, which will be held at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake, has announced this year’s conference pastor, the Josephite priest Anthony Bozeman, and the designated musician, Clark Knighten of Louisiana. The event is being hosted by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
Historically, the Lyke Conference and Unity Explosion have both focused on the development and promotion of Black Catholic liturgy; the former was founded in 2004 and the latter in 1989. Unity Explosion has since expanded to include broader issues of leadership, catechesis, and evangelization, while the Lyke Conference includes events for preachers, dancers, and young adults.
Unlike this year, the last time the two conferences were held in the same year, they both took place in June 2018 but their dates did not overlap.
The 2025 Lyke Conference and Unity Explosion are now open for registration, with online and mail-based payment options available. Discounted nightly hotel rates can be purchased through mid-May.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
