Ecumenical ministry connects Hispanic immigrants with resources |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
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Tuesday, 19 August 2008 01:00 |
LIMA—A new ministry to Hispanic guest workers and immigrants in Allen County has emerged through the efforts of area Catholics, Mennonites and Methodists.
Ministerios del Corazón Abierto — Open Heart Ministries — serves the comprehensive needs of immigrants by connecting them with local resources. Lima St. Charles Borromeo parishioners and other volunteers with the group, which formed last September, have been working to get the word out to Latino immigrants that they have “a safe haven in the community,” says Father Stephen Blum, pastor of St. Charles.
“Otherwise they don’t know where to go for support or friendship, because they’re frightened,” he explains. “They just don’t know that they’re welcome.”
Fr. Blum says many guest workers have been keeping a “low profile” in response to a crackdown on illegal immigration by the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, so volunteers with Open Heart Ministries have focused their efforts on locating the population to establish relationships.
They distribute a Spanish brochure that lists spiritual, educational, financial, legal, medical and other resources, along with contact information for interpreters.
Isabel Ortiz, a member of St. Charles who offers assistance as a translator at a local financial institution, says volunteers with Open Heart Ministries also greet the immigrant community at the Spanish Mass celebrated the second Sunday of each month at Lima St. Gerard.
Bert Vernon, another parishioner from St. Charles, recently prepared five children from immigrant families to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. She is also helping them prepare to receive first Communion.
She explains that lack of transportation hindered the children from attending the parish school of religion on a weekly basis during the school year, so she offered to work with them over the summer. They used books in English and in Spanish, so their parents could help them study at home.
Mrs. Vernon connects her desire to assist Hispanic immigrant families to her own family history — both sets of her grandparents came to the United States from Mexico to work in the fields, and now all of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are college educated.
She says she hopes Open Heart Ministries will be a place people can turn to for answers when they need assistance.
“If we could just help with resources, that would be wonderful,” says Mrs. Vernon.
Open Heart Ministries and another local group called Brazo en Brazo are sponsoring a Fiesta Familiar — Family Fiesta — Sept. 14 for the Hispanic community. The event is scheduled at Pike Mennonite Church in Elida from 3-7 p.m., and will include games for the entire family, soccer, a clown, piñatas and a meal of roast pork, rice and beans. Transportation to the fiesta will be provided from Lima.
Fr. Blum says the event is meant to welcome the immigrant community and “to let them know that they’re supported and that people care about them.”
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For more information on the Fiesta Familiar, call Nola at 419-236-6861 or Marti at 419-358-0789.
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Last Updated on Friday, 07 November 2008 09:05 |
