31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends,
Each Sunday morning at about five minutes to eleven, I have a moment of wondering if anyone will show up for Mass. So far, someone always does. The one person who is always there – Sundays and Thursdays, both – is Michael Swan. Mike will be 60 this Thursday! – and we will celebrate with a cake for him and two of the guys at Iglesia de San Romero who also have birthdays this week. Thanks for always being there, Michael!
When a suggestion was made this week for a radical change in the way we do things, I thought Michael should be the first person to run it by. …and he has given it an enthusiastic Yes! The idea we are considering is that in the Spring, we’ll move the Sunday morning Mass out west of the city, and have that be our Spanish Mass (or a bilingual Mass, if we were to decide to do it that way). We are a small enough community to make this decision by consensus – and there is no hurry. Spring is a long way away. So please pray. May we be the church God dreams of us being, and may we get there together.
This idea came about because I had lunch with Mimi Youngman this week. Mimi has often had a prophetic role in my life, and it was she who first suggested that we hold Mass in the dining room at St Joe’s. This week, after hearing the story of our Migrant Mass this past summer and how it has evolved, she said she had a concern for the people who told me back in June that they would like a Mass, but never came. It is very likely that they weren’t comfortable leaving their homes. We certainly have seen this fall that people’s fear of "la migra" is based in reality. I don’t know if a Sunday Mass would be any more comfortable, but perhaps we could change the location each week. Another thought is that we could have more than one…could go out multiple times each week and celebrate in different people’s homes. (realistically, I don’t see myself doing that while working three part time jobs… another thing to put in the hands of God).
Each week our bulletin is translated into Spanish (with a lot of help from Mary Wilkins) and then put on a blog in South America by Rev. Olga Alvirez, the first Columbian woman priest. Here is a link to an article about Olga:
http://iglesiadescalza.blogspot.com/2011/10/first-colombian-woman-priest.html
It took some courage for her to allow herself to be interviewed, but she says she’s had some surprising and lovely support since it came out.
Our friends in El Salvador, along with the rest of Central America, have been dealing with heavy rains and flooding. They would appreciate our prayers. Donations to Shekina Baptist Church in Santa Ana for flood relief can be made on line at
http://cieloazulfund.blogspot.com/2011/10/shekina-responds-to-national-emergency.html
We invite you to come to St Joe’s next Thursday, November 3, at 4 in the afternoon to hear Gustavo Monzone and Alicia Rouch speak about their Catholic Worker houses in Mexico.
Also next week, there will be two evening talks on immigration. I’ll be speaking as part of panels at both of them: Wednesday, November 2, 7 pm at Downtown United Presbyterian, and Friday, November 4, 6 pm at Friends Meetinghouse on Scio Street.
Hope you’re getting a chance to enjoy all the gorgeous fall colors. I saw a tree near my house today that was entirely bright, flaming red. Let the changing seasons be a reminder that God isn’t done with us, yet! There is always hope of change and new growth!
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Two quotes from facebook this week:
"Church isn't community in the Sanctuary but a sanctuary in the community"
Rev. Colin Pritchard
"Be wary of great leaders. Hope that there are many, many small leaders."
Pete Seeger at Occupy Wall Street
Come join us, any Sunday you like!
_______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Bulletin for Sunday, October 23, 2011
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends,
This week I did something I really hate to do. I had to be assertive! - in order to help our friends at Iglesia de San Romero get the telephone they need in order not to have to be plugged into a charger in the wall for three hours every day as part of their "Alternatives to Detention" monitoring system. I made the call, spoke to the person about freedom and dignity, and ultimately got a "yes." As I put down the phone, my eyes fell on the reading I was preparing for Morning Prayer at the nursing home next week. It was Matthew 10:16-22: "See, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be as clever as snakes, but as innocent as doves...do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say... for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of our loving God speaking through you."
Let me tell you, the scriptures are on fire these days. Walking with some of the most powerless people in our nation, things look different. The words of the Gospel come alive! Here's one from Exodus 22, the first reading this Sunday: "Thus says the Lord: You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves." Or how about Exodus 3, God speaking to Moses at the burning bush: ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them" (That one made me cry).
Then there is the prodigal son, getting his dignity back. It's all about dignity! Yesterday I gave the men at Iglesia de San Romero a handout from the ACLU called "Conosca sus derechas" ("Know your rights.") One of the men looked at me with such a defeated depth of sadness. "Ilegales no tienen derechas," he said. ("Illegals don't have rights.") (Does that punch you in the gut, the way it does to me?) I said (choked out), "Nadie es ilegal en los ojos de Dios" (no one is illegal in the eyes of God). Unfortunately, he was almost right. People who are here without documents have very few legal rights – not even the right to an attorney. But they do have some. And everyone, everywhere, has basic human rights. And most importantly, there is no such thing as an illegal human being.
Saturday we met at the bakery for the first Visioning Day of St Romero's. We worked on a newspaper ad for the church, and people let me know how important it is to keep the word "inclusive" in our self-description. It's not actually a given, is it? We decided to become a member church of the Federation of Christian Ministries, a move which will eventually enable us to use FCM's 501 (3)( c). All decisions were made by consensus. The group agreed that I can use the title "pastor," when needed (as in, "I'm their pastor, and I'm here to bail them out.") We came up with a system of accountability around funds. I've been reluctant to reimburse myself for anything because there was no way of maintaining accountability. Rachael is going to be the person keeping an eye on that.
Finally, we had a proposal that we change the time of Sunday Mass to 10 or 10:30 am. There is one regular attendee who would strongly like an earlier time than 11, and another who would strongly like it to stay at 11... how do others feel? Many thanks to Bill, Caryl, Linda, Don and Rachael for giving up your Saturday morning to work on some of the nuts and bolts of being church together!!
We note with sadness the passing of Jesuit Fr. Dean Brackley in El Salvador. Dean was one of the priests who volunteered to take the place of the six Jesuits killed on November 16, 1989. When I first visited El Salvador in 2005, he said of people from the States: "They come here, they fall in love, they go back, ruined for life." He was right!
And lastly, Fr Roy Bourgeois is in Rome, where he and two women (Erin Hanna of WOC, and Miriam Duignan) were arrested at the Vatican for protesting without a permit. Three women priests were with them, and they were not arrested – because they were wearing vestments! Pretty wonderful, I think.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
"I invite you to discover your vocation in downward mobility. It's a scary request... The world is obsessed with wealth and security and upward mobility and prestige. But let us teach solidarity, walking with the victims, serving and loving. I offer this for you to consider - downward mobility. And I would say in this enterprise there is a great deal of hope. Have the courage to... lose control. Have the courage to feel useless. Have the courage to listen. Have the courage to receive. Have the courage to let your heart be broken. Have the courage to feel. Have the courage to fall in love. Have the courage to get ruined for life. Have the courage to make a friend." Dean Brackley, S.J. (He was right!!)
Also of note:
Barrett Smith was one of the people that Eli and I met in El Salvador last April. His community, Carpenter's Church in Lubbock, Texas, is a church of and with the poor of that city. For some months they have had a Tent City which has been life-giving for many people, and they are petitioning City Hall to have it declared a shelter. If you'd like to sign a petition showing your support, go to http://signon.org/sign/lubbock-city-council?source=s.em.mt&r_by=1384353
It hasn't been in the news here, much, but Central America has been suffering from some extreme weather: El Salvador has had more than 4 feet of rain in just the past week. To learn about what our friends at Shekina Baptist in Santa Ana are doing to help, and to donate if you wish, go to http://cieloazulfund.blogspot.com/2011/10/shekina-responds-to-national-emergency.html
(St Romero's has given its first tithe to Shekina for this purpose)
Two talks and a movie, all on immigration, in the first week of November (all free):
Wednesday, Nov. 2 - "The Faces of Immigration - How our Unjust and Broken System Destroys Lives - and
What We Can Do About It." several speakers, including myself and a high school teacher who is trying to organize support for disappeared people, and a family member of someone who was detained. At 7:00 pm, Downtown Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh Street Rochester.
Thursday, Nov. 3 – documentary "After I Pick the Fruit" by Nancy Ghertner, St. John Fisher College Basil Auditorium, rm. 135, 6:00pm – follow the lives of five farmworker women over ten years.
Friday, Nov. 4 – Wally Ruehle, a teenager who has been working for immigration rights, and I will all speak at Friends Meetinghouse, 84 Scio St, 6:00 pm
_______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
This week I did something I really hate to do. I had to be assertive! - in order to help our friends at Iglesia de San Romero get the telephone they need in order not to have to be plugged into a charger in the wall for three hours every day as part of their "Alternatives to Detention" monitoring system. I made the call, spoke to the person about freedom and dignity, and ultimately got a "yes." As I put down the phone, my eyes fell on the reading I was preparing for Morning Prayer at the nursing home next week. It was Matthew 10:16-22: "See, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be as clever as snakes, but as innocent as doves...do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say... for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of our loving God speaking through you."
Let me tell you, the scriptures are on fire these days. Walking with some of the most powerless people in our nation, things look different. The words of the Gospel come alive! Here's one from Exodus 22, the first reading this Sunday: "Thus says the Lord: You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves." Or how about Exodus 3, God speaking to Moses at the burning bush: ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them" (That one made me cry).
Then there is the prodigal son, getting his dignity back. It's all about dignity! Yesterday I gave the men at Iglesia de San Romero a handout from the ACLU called "Conosca sus derechas" ("Know your rights.") One of the men looked at me with such a defeated depth of sadness. "Ilegales no tienen derechas," he said. ("Illegals don't have rights.") (Does that punch you in the gut, the way it does to me?) I said (choked out), "Nadie es ilegal en los ojos de Dios" (no one is illegal in the eyes of God). Unfortunately, he was almost right. People who are here without documents have very few legal rights – not even the right to an attorney. But they do have some. And everyone, everywhere, has basic human rights. And most importantly, there is no such thing as an illegal human being.
Saturday we met at the bakery for the first Visioning Day of St Romero's. We worked on a newspaper ad for the church, and people let me know how important it is to keep the word "inclusive" in our self-description. It's not actually a given, is it? We decided to become a member church of the Federation of Christian Ministries, a move which will eventually enable us to use FCM's 501 (3)( c). All decisions were made by consensus. The group agreed that I can use the title "pastor," when needed (as in, "I'm their pastor, and I'm here to bail them out.") We came up with a system of accountability around funds. I've been reluctant to reimburse myself for anything because there was no way of maintaining accountability. Rachael is going to be the person keeping an eye on that.
Finally, we had a proposal that we change the time of Sunday Mass to 10 or 10:30 am. There is one regular attendee who would strongly like an earlier time than 11, and another who would strongly like it to stay at 11... how do others feel? Many thanks to Bill, Caryl, Linda, Don and Rachael for giving up your Saturday morning to work on some of the nuts and bolts of being church together!!
We note with sadness the passing of Jesuit Fr. Dean Brackley in El Salvador. Dean was one of the priests who volunteered to take the place of the six Jesuits killed on November 16, 1989. When I first visited El Salvador in 2005, he said of people from the States: "They come here, they fall in love, they go back, ruined for life." He was right!
And lastly, Fr Roy Bourgeois is in Rome, where he and two women (Erin Hanna of WOC, and Miriam Duignan) were arrested at the Vatican for protesting without a permit. Three women priests were with them, and they were not arrested – because they were wearing vestments! Pretty wonderful, I think.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
"I invite you to discover your vocation in downward mobility. It's a scary request... The world is obsessed with wealth and security and upward mobility and prestige. But let us teach solidarity, walking with the victims, serving and loving. I offer this for you to consider - downward mobility. And I would say in this enterprise there is a great deal of hope. Have the courage to... lose control. Have the courage to feel useless. Have the courage to listen. Have the courage to receive. Have the courage to let your heart be broken. Have the courage to feel. Have the courage to fall in love. Have the courage to get ruined for life. Have the courage to make a friend." Dean Brackley, S.J. (He was right!!)
Also of note:
Barrett Smith was one of the people that Eli and I met in El Salvador last April. His community, Carpenter's Church in Lubbock, Texas, is a church of and with the poor of that city. For some months they have had a Tent City which has been life-giving for many people, and they are petitioning City Hall to have it declared a shelter. If you'd like to sign a petition showing your support, go to http://signon.org/sign/lubbock-city-council?source=s.em.mt&r_by=1384353
It hasn't been in the news here, much, but Central America has been suffering from some extreme weather: El Salvador has had more than 4 feet of rain in just the past week. To learn about what our friends at Shekina Baptist in Santa Ana are doing to help, and to donate if you wish, go to http://cieloazulfund.blogspot.com/2011/10/shekina-responds-to-national-emergency.html
(St Romero's has given its first tithe to Shekina for this purpose)
Two talks and a movie, all on immigration, in the first week of November (all free):
Wednesday, Nov. 2 - "The Faces of Immigration - How our Unjust and Broken System Destroys Lives - and
What We Can Do About It." several speakers, including myself and a high school teacher who is trying to organize support for disappeared people, and a family member of someone who was detained. At 7:00 pm, Downtown Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh Street Rochester.
Thursday, Nov. 3 – documentary "After I Pick the Fruit" by Nancy Ghertner, St. John Fisher College Basil Auditorium, rm. 135, 6:00pm – follow the lives of five farmworker women over ten years.
Friday, Nov. 4 – Wally Ruehle, a teenager who has been working for immigration rights, and I will all speak at Friends Meetinghouse, 84 Scio St, 6:00 pm
_______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friday, October 14, 2011
Bulletin for Sunday, October 16, 2011
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends,
Hoo-boy, what a week!
First, the best news. Today I went with our two guys from Iglesia de San Romero to see their detention officer. We were afraid they were going to have to wear the gps ankle bracelets that help the powers that be keep track of where they are, but because I was able to tell them that the church could pay for a land line in their house, they don’t have to have the indignity and pain in the neck of that (the ankle bracelets involve having to be plugged in to the wall for three hours a day to recharge – every day, sitting by the wall for three hours) – now they have to stay home one night a week and wait for a phone call, a much better situation. Thanks very much to our (anonymous by choice) donor whose recent check will cover that completely. The other piece of good news is that the system is currently so slow that they are not likely to actually see a judge until 2013.
Okay, that was the good news. The bad news, and it’s not so bad, is that they also have to go to Buffalo every other Tuesday to check in, until they see the judge. If you’re interested in helping with the driving every now and then, kindly drop me a note.
We are also still looking for people who might be willing to put up at least $1,000 in a hurry, should more arrests happen. Another piece of good news is that if instead of being on that list you would like to make a donation to the bail fund, you can make a (tax deductible) check out to St. Joseph’s Hospitality with a note that it’s for the St. Romero’s bail fund, and mail it to St Joe’s at PO Box 31049, Rochester NY 14603.
The other bad news is simply that although we are able to accompany these friends in their walk through the system, the system still stinks! – not only the laws in our country, but the situation of poverty in Mexico that drove them to come here in the first place. But, not to lose heart – God is so much greater than our broken human systems. Get close to God, listen, say yes, and get busy healing the world. There’s a lot of work to do!
We met a whole bunch of wonderful workers for the healing of the world this weekend in Las Vegas, of all places! Five of us from St Joe’s were there at a National Catholic Worker Gathering. One of the people we met was Gustavo, a gay man from Mexico. He was in this country without documents for fifteen years until the church that was helping him get legal found out he was gay. They dropped him immediately and he ended up being deported. Currently he’s in the US on a religious worker visa and is traveling the country, speaking about his Catholic Worker house, Casa ColibrÃ, in Jalisco Mexico. HE WILL BE HERE NOVEMBER 2 – we don’t have a plan yet for a speaking time, but please save the date!
Oh, another bit of good news. Harry Murray, Tom Malthaner, Joe Lavoie and I were arrested, along with 55 other Catholic Workers and friends, for trespass at the Nevada Test Site on Sunday (right about the time people were gathering at St Romero’s!) Later in the day, 18 people were arrested for blocking traffic at the Creech Airforce base, protesting the drones that are deployed from there. Harry says that getting arrested at the test site is so easy and painless these days that it doesn’t count as civil disobedience! – but the 18 arrested at Creech face more serious consequences. Hooray for our sisters and brothers, putting their well-being on the line for the well-being of all.
We hope to see you this weekend at our Visioning Day, 10 am Sat Oct 15 (until 12 or so) – at the bakery, 220 Mt Hope Ave (the former Savory Thyme building). There is an exciting new possibility for us, of connecting with the Federation of Christian Ministries (of which I am a member) and being able to be covered by their 501 ( c) (3) without going through lawyers and all that. The FCM is the organization that certifies me and lots of other priests-on-the-margins so that we are legal to do weddings, etc... it is also a wonderful network of like-spirited people. We’ll talk about it on Saturday... hope you can come.
So, like I said...Hoo-boy, what a week! Thanks be to God.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
____________________________________________
Oscar Romero Inclusive Catholic Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice, and Joy
St. Joseph's House of Hospitality
402 South Avenue Rochester, NY 14620
Friends,
Hoo-boy, what a week!
First, the best news. Today I went with our two guys from Iglesia de San Romero to see their detention officer. We were afraid they were going to have to wear the gps ankle bracelets that help the powers that be keep track of where they are, but because I was able to tell them that the church could pay for a land line in their house, they don’t have to have the indignity and pain in the neck of that (the ankle bracelets involve having to be plugged in to the wall for three hours a day to recharge – every day, sitting by the wall for three hours) – now they have to stay home one night a week and wait for a phone call, a much better situation. Thanks very much to our (anonymous by choice) donor whose recent check will cover that completely. The other piece of good news is that the system is currently so slow that they are not likely to actually see a judge until 2013.
Okay, that was the good news. The bad news, and it’s not so bad, is that they also have to go to Buffalo every other Tuesday to check in, until they see the judge. If you’re interested in helping with the driving every now and then, kindly drop me a note.
We are also still looking for people who might be willing to put up at least $1,000 in a hurry, should more arrests happen. Another piece of good news is that if instead of being on that list you would like to make a donation to the bail fund, you can make a (tax deductible) check out to St. Joseph’s Hospitality with a note that it’s for the St. Romero’s bail fund, and mail it to St Joe’s at PO Box 31049, Rochester NY 14603.
The other bad news is simply that although we are able to accompany these friends in their walk through the system, the system still stinks! – not only the laws in our country, but the situation of poverty in Mexico that drove them to come here in the first place. But, not to lose heart – God is so much greater than our broken human systems. Get close to God, listen, say yes, and get busy healing the world. There’s a lot of work to do!
We met a whole bunch of wonderful workers for the healing of the world this weekend in Las Vegas, of all places! Five of us from St Joe’s were there at a National Catholic Worker Gathering. One of the people we met was Gustavo, a gay man from Mexico. He was in this country without documents for fifteen years until the church that was helping him get legal found out he was gay. They dropped him immediately and he ended up being deported. Currently he’s in the US on a religious worker visa and is traveling the country, speaking about his Catholic Worker house, Casa ColibrÃ, in Jalisco Mexico. HE WILL BE HERE NOVEMBER 2 – we don’t have a plan yet for a speaking time, but please save the date!
Oh, another bit of good news. Harry Murray, Tom Malthaner, Joe Lavoie and I were arrested, along with 55 other Catholic Workers and friends, for trespass at the Nevada Test Site on Sunday (right about the time people were gathering at St Romero’s!) Later in the day, 18 people were arrested for blocking traffic at the Creech Airforce base, protesting the drones that are deployed from there. Harry says that getting arrested at the test site is so easy and painless these days that it doesn’t count as civil disobedience! – but the 18 arrested at Creech face more serious consequences. Hooray for our sisters and brothers, putting their well-being on the line for the well-being of all.
We hope to see you this weekend at our Visioning Day, 10 am Sat Oct 15 (until 12 or so) – at the bakery, 220 Mt Hope Ave (the former Savory Thyme building). There is an exciting new possibility for us, of connecting with the Federation of Christian Ministries (of which I am a member) and being able to be covered by their 501 ( c) (3) without going through lawyers and all that. The FCM is the organization that certifies me and lots of other priests-on-the-margins so that we are legal to do weddings, etc... it is also a wonderful network of like-spirited people. We’ll talk about it on Saturday... hope you can come.
So, like I said...Hoo-boy, what a week! Thanks be to God.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
____________________________________________
Oscar Romero Inclusive Catholic Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice, and Joy
St. Joseph's House of Hospitality
402 South Avenue Rochester, NY 14620
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Bulletin for Sunday, October 9, 2011
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends,
We hope you will join us on Saturday, October 15 at 10 am for our Visioning Day (more accurately, Visioning Morning!) which will be held upstairs at the Bakery in the old Savory Thyme Building at 220 Mt Hope Ave. Help us dream what this community might be. Please let me know if you are coming!
I have loved our first year as a church. Our church seems to me a beautiful, tiny jewel. Being tiny seems at this time to be part of our charism. One of the questions for our visioning day is, do we leave it like that, or shall we try to grow? Another question is whether it is time to begin the process of becoming a 501 (c )3, which some folks would like to see us do as they believe it will bring in more donations. Others think it would be better to keep flying low to the ground, with small numbers and no money to speak of. (We do have some. Donations have come in for the Migrant Ministry, in particular, which are mostly going towards gas money and other small expenses.) Once about six months ago we tried to decide together how to use our tithing money – where to give 10% of what we have been given. We couldn’t come to an agreement. One person thought we should give everything we get away. Another thought we should wait to tithe until we had a substantial amount to give (at the time, it would have been $12). It became apparent that we had a number of different opinions around the table. It also became apparent that we can’t decide things like that over breakfast.
One thing that is clear to me is that these decisions are not for me to make, alone. They need to be shared by those who consider themselves a part of this community --- whether you come once a week or once a year, if you care about this community and want to be part of dreaming about its direction, you are welcome.
We will have another opportunity for empowerment of the community this Sunday, as I will be away at a Catholic Worker National Gathering, and there is no one to cover for me. So, those who come will share the readings, talk about them together, share the Our Father and any other prayers they care to offer, and celebrate communion with some already consecrated hosts… and then have breakfast, as always. You are welcome, as ever!
Please do keep the members of Iglesia de San Romero, our migrant ministry, in your prayers. We won’t be meeting this week because I will be away, but next week two of our number have to go to Buffalo to meet with their detention officers. We are praying that this meeting will not mean that they have to wear the ankle bracelet that people have to wear sometimes for tracking. Besides the indignity of it, it means being plugged into the wall for three hours a day for charging. Please pray for their detention officers, for open hearts and minds, for listening. I will go with them, and hope by doing so to send a message that these men are not alone.
Here’s a link to a piece in the NYTimes about what’s been going on in Alabama, which is trying to turn itself into the most hostile state in the union for undocumented people:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/opinion/alabamas-shame.html?_r=1
Sending you love and prayers, wherever you may be. Our church may be tiny, but our circle of support is huge!
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
“The migrants have no lobby. Only an enlightened, aroused and perhaps angered public opinion can do anything about the migrants. The people you have seen have the strength to harvest your fruit and vegetables. They do not have the strength to influence legislation. Maybe we do.”
-Edward R. Murrow, “Harvest of Shame,” 1960
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm. This looks like an excellent talk!
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: “What do we do NOW?”
This bulletin is being written on the Feast of St Francis, October 4, and it is Jim Callan’s 37th anniversary of ordination. So if you see Fr Jim, wish him a happy anniversary!
And many thanks to Rev Denise Donato, who helped me figure out what to do when I realized there was no one to cover for me this week!
________________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
We hope you will join us on Saturday, October 15 at 10 am for our Visioning Day (more accurately, Visioning Morning!) which will be held upstairs at the Bakery in the old Savory Thyme Building at 220 Mt Hope Ave. Help us dream what this community might be. Please let me know if you are coming!
I have loved our first year as a church. Our church seems to me a beautiful, tiny jewel. Being tiny seems at this time to be part of our charism. One of the questions for our visioning day is, do we leave it like that, or shall we try to grow? Another question is whether it is time to begin the process of becoming a 501 (c )3, which some folks would like to see us do as they believe it will bring in more donations. Others think it would be better to keep flying low to the ground, with small numbers and no money to speak of. (We do have some. Donations have come in for the Migrant Ministry, in particular, which are mostly going towards gas money and other small expenses.) Once about six months ago we tried to decide together how to use our tithing money – where to give 10% of what we have been given. We couldn’t come to an agreement. One person thought we should give everything we get away. Another thought we should wait to tithe until we had a substantial amount to give (at the time, it would have been $12). It became apparent that we had a number of different opinions around the table. It also became apparent that we can’t decide things like that over breakfast.
One thing that is clear to me is that these decisions are not for me to make, alone. They need to be shared by those who consider themselves a part of this community --- whether you come once a week or once a year, if you care about this community and want to be part of dreaming about its direction, you are welcome.
We will have another opportunity for empowerment of the community this Sunday, as I will be away at a Catholic Worker National Gathering, and there is no one to cover for me. So, those who come will share the readings, talk about them together, share the Our Father and any other prayers they care to offer, and celebrate communion with some already consecrated hosts… and then have breakfast, as always. You are welcome, as ever!
Please do keep the members of Iglesia de San Romero, our migrant ministry, in your prayers. We won’t be meeting this week because I will be away, but next week two of our number have to go to Buffalo to meet with their detention officers. We are praying that this meeting will not mean that they have to wear the ankle bracelet that people have to wear sometimes for tracking. Besides the indignity of it, it means being plugged into the wall for three hours a day for charging. Please pray for their detention officers, for open hearts and minds, for listening. I will go with them, and hope by doing so to send a message that these men are not alone.
Here’s a link to a piece in the NYTimes about what’s been going on in Alabama, which is trying to turn itself into the most hostile state in the union for undocumented people:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/opinion/alabamas-shame.html?_r=1
Sending you love and prayers, wherever you may be. Our church may be tiny, but our circle of support is huge!
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
“The migrants have no lobby. Only an enlightened, aroused and perhaps angered public opinion can do anything about the migrants. The people you have seen have the strength to harvest your fruit and vegetables. They do not have the strength to influence legislation. Maybe we do.”
-Edward R. Murrow, “Harvest of Shame,” 1960
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm. This looks like an excellent talk!
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: “What do we do NOW?”
This bulletin is being written on the Feast of St Francis, October 4, and it is Jim Callan’s 37th anniversary of ordination. So if you see Fr Jim, wish him a happy anniversary!
And many thanks to Rev Denise Donato, who helped me figure out what to do when I realized there was no one to cover for me this week!
________________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Bulletin for Sunday, October 2, 2011
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends,
One of our guests at St Joe’s is a woman who has been homeless for many years. Recently she had a nice surprise: a relative in England had sent her a round trip ticket to come and visit. She was excited and happy, but there was just one problem: although she had a passport, she had lost it. We joined with her in her efforts to replace her passport quickly, and succeeded – hurray! She’s in England now. But we learned a little about the kind of things homeless people have to deal with, along the way. One poignant moment came when she mentioned that for something she needed to do, there was a thirty dollar fee: "And that’s my entire savings," she said. "I do like to keep some money saved for an emergency. Well… I guess this is an emergency."
When your entire income is redeemed cans and bottles, $30 is a lot of money. She told us about a conversation she had on the phone with a woman in the passport office, trying to determine what identification she needed in order to replace her passport. "Driver’s license?" the woman asked. "No." "Birth certificate?" "No." "Social Security card?" "No." "What, do you live in a box?!"
Well, no, she doesn’t – but she could. It seems that to be homeless is to be a non-person, as far as the "together" world sees it. Later someone else told her that she didn’t deserve to go to England, because she was homeless.
When you start spending time with people outside your normal orbit, people that typically you just read about in the paper or hear about on the news, when you walk with and become friends with people who are non-people to "together" society, things look different. People become people to you, instead of social problems to be solved. You begin to get a clue what they are up against.
In this morning’s paper there is an article entitled, "Fugitives in area arrested." It tells of a national sweep by immigration officials, picking up people with a criminal record that are here in the US illegally.
We at St Romero’s know that not everyone picked up in that sweep was a criminal. Some of them were people who, in the words of the farmer who employs them, "just want to pick cucumbers and show up for work." People who are here for years, separated from their families in order to send money home, because there is no work in Mexico. People who are doing work that people who are born here generally do not want to do. (The farmers say that when they do find a person born in the US who is willing to work on their farms, they typically last three hours). Our friends tell us that workers are leaving the area in fear, because of this recent sweep. Who do we think is going to pick our crops?
Stories about public issues like homelessness and immigration look very different when you know the people involved. There is a young man named Jared, a medical student who has spent time with an organization called "No More Deaths (No Mas Muertes)," that goes out into the Sonora desert looking for people that might need help, bringing them water and medical care. He sent me a report they recently produced about conditions in short term custody with the Border Patrol in the southwest, called "Culture of Cruelty." It’s a pretty horrifying read, all the more so when I read it realizing that this could have been the experience of our friends. Having a personal connection takes reading things like that to a new level. (Send me an email and I’ll send you a link to a pdf of the document. It’s a tad long, 72 pages, but I recommend taking a look at it. We need to know what is being done in our name, with our tax money).
Here at St Romero’s, we don’t have a long-term plan. So far we’re taking it one moment at a time, saying "yes" to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and seeing where they take us. Right now they’re taking us into deeper relationships with people on the outside in our society. What a gift, to be able to walk alongside these new friends. I don’t know what God is dreaming, but may it be. May we have the grace to keep saying yes.
In this most recent crisis, we were able to come up with the money to bail out two men. It would be good to know that that would be possible should it be necessary in the future. One way to do that would be to establish a bail fund, but I think what might be more practical right now would be to have a list of people who would be willing to put up large amounts of money, $1,000 or more, in a hurry should that be needed. If you might be willing to do that, please send me a note and we’ll talk about the details. It would be great if we knew we had the ability to raise twenty or thirty thousand dollars quickly, should there be another such raid. Getting and keeping people out of detention might not prevent them from being deported in the long run, but it gives them, first of all freedom – detention is pretty bad on the psyche – secondly, a chance to earn and save as much money as possible, to build a court case if they can, and to decide what they are going to do, especially when families are involved. One of the hardest things in this latest event was watching family members suffer, not knowing what would happen to their youngest family member. If you could have seen the faces of father and son when they were reunited, I think you would be willing to do whatever it took to bring about setting the captives free. Like the VISA commercial: toll to Batavia, $1.10; gas for 80 miles round trip: $12; bail for one 19-year-old: $10,000; proclaiming release to the captives: priceless.
So let me know if you might be willing to help in the future.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Join us on Saturday, Oct 15 at 10 am at the bakery on Mt Hope Ave for our Visioning Day. If you care about this community, you are welcome!
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm.
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: "What do we do NOW?"
Hope to see you on Sunday – please keep everybody at Iglesia de San Romero– and all those they work with – in your prayers.
______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
One of our guests at St Joe’s is a woman who has been homeless for many years. Recently she had a nice surprise: a relative in England had sent her a round trip ticket to come and visit. She was excited and happy, but there was just one problem: although she had a passport, she had lost it. We joined with her in her efforts to replace her passport quickly, and succeeded – hurray! She’s in England now. But we learned a little about the kind of things homeless people have to deal with, along the way. One poignant moment came when she mentioned that for something she needed to do, there was a thirty dollar fee: "And that’s my entire savings," she said. "I do like to keep some money saved for an emergency. Well… I guess this is an emergency."
When your entire income is redeemed cans and bottles, $30 is a lot of money. She told us about a conversation she had on the phone with a woman in the passport office, trying to determine what identification she needed in order to replace her passport. "Driver’s license?" the woman asked. "No." "Birth certificate?" "No." "Social Security card?" "No." "What, do you live in a box?!"
Well, no, she doesn’t – but she could. It seems that to be homeless is to be a non-person, as far as the "together" world sees it. Later someone else told her that she didn’t deserve to go to England, because she was homeless.
When you start spending time with people outside your normal orbit, people that typically you just read about in the paper or hear about on the news, when you walk with and become friends with people who are non-people to "together" society, things look different. People become people to you, instead of social problems to be solved. You begin to get a clue what they are up against.
In this morning’s paper there is an article entitled, "Fugitives in area arrested." It tells of a national sweep by immigration officials, picking up people with a criminal record that are here in the US illegally.
We at St Romero’s know that not everyone picked up in that sweep was a criminal. Some of them were people who, in the words of the farmer who employs them, "just want to pick cucumbers and show up for work." People who are here for years, separated from their families in order to send money home, because there is no work in Mexico. People who are doing work that people who are born here generally do not want to do. (The farmers say that when they do find a person born in the US who is willing to work on their farms, they typically last three hours). Our friends tell us that workers are leaving the area in fear, because of this recent sweep. Who do we think is going to pick our crops?
Stories about public issues like homelessness and immigration look very different when you know the people involved. There is a young man named Jared, a medical student who has spent time with an organization called "No More Deaths (No Mas Muertes)," that goes out into the Sonora desert looking for people that might need help, bringing them water and medical care. He sent me a report they recently produced about conditions in short term custody with the Border Patrol in the southwest, called "Culture of Cruelty." It’s a pretty horrifying read, all the more so when I read it realizing that this could have been the experience of our friends. Having a personal connection takes reading things like that to a new level. (Send me an email and I’ll send you a link to a pdf of the document. It’s a tad long, 72 pages, but I recommend taking a look at it. We need to know what is being done in our name, with our tax money).
Here at St Romero’s, we don’t have a long-term plan. So far we’re taking it one moment at a time, saying "yes" to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and seeing where they take us. Right now they’re taking us into deeper relationships with people on the outside in our society. What a gift, to be able to walk alongside these new friends. I don’t know what God is dreaming, but may it be. May we have the grace to keep saying yes.
In this most recent crisis, we were able to come up with the money to bail out two men. It would be good to know that that would be possible should it be necessary in the future. One way to do that would be to establish a bail fund, but I think what might be more practical right now would be to have a list of people who would be willing to put up large amounts of money, $1,000 or more, in a hurry should that be needed. If you might be willing to do that, please send me a note and we’ll talk about the details. It would be great if we knew we had the ability to raise twenty or thirty thousand dollars quickly, should there be another such raid. Getting and keeping people out of detention might not prevent them from being deported in the long run, but it gives them, first of all freedom – detention is pretty bad on the psyche – secondly, a chance to earn and save as much money as possible, to build a court case if they can, and to decide what they are going to do, especially when families are involved. One of the hardest things in this latest event was watching family members suffer, not knowing what would happen to their youngest family member. If you could have seen the faces of father and son when they were reunited, I think you would be willing to do whatever it took to bring about setting the captives free. Like the VISA commercial: toll to Batavia, $1.10; gas for 80 miles round trip: $12; bail for one 19-year-old: $10,000; proclaiming release to the captives: priceless.
So let me know if you might be willing to help in the future.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Join us on Saturday, Oct 15 at 10 am at the bakery on Mt Hope Ave for our Visioning Day. If you care about this community, you are welcome!
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm.
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: "What do we do NOW?"
Hope to see you on Sunday – please keep everybody at Iglesia de San Romero– and all those they work with – in your prayers.
______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Bulletin for Sunday, September 25, 2011
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends,
If I didn’t believe in miracles before, now I surely do. Last week we went from getting the news that the entire community of la Iglesia de San Romero was in detention, to one by one hearing that individuals were safe, to finally bailing out the two who were in fact detained. The community is together again, and I think it is a miracle. On Sunday I went in to work at the nursing home and found my desk covered with cookies to use at the coffee hour after Mass on Thursday nights, gifts from folks at Churchville United Methodist. It felt like a blessing, and a sign of hope. All is well.
On Thursday, Peter Veitch and I drove out earlier than usual and brought supper to the community. When this first happened I asked God to use it for a blessing, and you know what – God can use anything for a blessing! Mexican Independence Day was the next day, so I made a cake and decorated it like the Mexican Flag, and we stood around eating supper and then cake, and talking. We had a serious talk about the terrible situation they are in, and then we celebrated the Mass.
The reading was the one about the guy who gets forgiven a huge debt, then turns around and threatens someone who owes him a little bit of money. When I preached about that on the weekend, I talked about how we are a nation of immigrants, mostly people who came here to find a better life --- and yet now, we turn around and deny hospitality and safety to people who need a better life as much as our own ancestors did. (And we harm ourselves with it, wasting gazillions of dollars on a wall that doesn’t work, only brings more harm and waste).
I told them, "you already know all that!" and they nodded. Then I gave them a different sermon, and talked about Oscar Romero. No one had heard of him, or of liberation theology. We will have a lot to talk about in the weeks to come. So that’s one blessing to come out of this!
Another thing that will happen in the weeks (or months) to come is court dates in Buffalo. And I think St. Romero’s needs a bail fund. But for now, we can breathe and be grateful. Thank you, God of Love, God of the Poor, for walking with us every step of the way. Amen!
We had a lovely, loving first anniversary Mass on Sunday. Boy do I love this little church. Do you realize what a gift it is, to be such a little church? No budget worries, no personnel issues. Just worship and love and service. What a gift.
Sending prayers for Wally Ruehle, who suffered a bit of a health crisis this week but is on the mend. Thank you for all you have done for our immigrant brothers and sisters over the years, Wally! All shall be well.
Mary Wilkins and I continue to have breakfast each week, conversing only in Spanish. You are always welcome to join us. Usually we meet at 8 am on Wednesdays at Pat’s Coffee Mug on Clinton Ave, but this week it will be Thursday at 8:30. Bienvenidas/os!
If you are thinking of joining us for the migrant Mass, kindly send me a note or call.
On Wednesday, Sept 21, we will have a table at the GRCC fair at Asbury United Methodist (5-7, with Jim Wallis speaking at 7).
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
This quote has been in my heart all week:
"The world is desperately in need of people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about." –
Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution
If you are receiving this on Tuesday night, it is not too late to sign an on-line petition in defense of Troy Davis, who is scheduled to be executed tomorrow in Georgia:
http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Stop_the_Execution_of_Troy_Davis.php
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm.
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: "What do we do NOW?"
Hope to see you on Sunday – please keep everybody at Iglesia de San Romero– and all those they work with – in your prayers.
_______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
If I didn’t believe in miracles before, now I surely do. Last week we went from getting the news that the entire community of la Iglesia de San Romero was in detention, to one by one hearing that individuals were safe, to finally bailing out the two who were in fact detained. The community is together again, and I think it is a miracle. On Sunday I went in to work at the nursing home and found my desk covered with cookies to use at the coffee hour after Mass on Thursday nights, gifts from folks at Churchville United Methodist. It felt like a blessing, and a sign of hope. All is well.
On Thursday, Peter Veitch and I drove out earlier than usual and brought supper to the community. When this first happened I asked God to use it for a blessing, and you know what – God can use anything for a blessing! Mexican Independence Day was the next day, so I made a cake and decorated it like the Mexican Flag, and we stood around eating supper and then cake, and talking. We had a serious talk about the terrible situation they are in, and then we celebrated the Mass.
The reading was the one about the guy who gets forgiven a huge debt, then turns around and threatens someone who owes him a little bit of money. When I preached about that on the weekend, I talked about how we are a nation of immigrants, mostly people who came here to find a better life --- and yet now, we turn around and deny hospitality and safety to people who need a better life as much as our own ancestors did. (And we harm ourselves with it, wasting gazillions of dollars on a wall that doesn’t work, only brings more harm and waste).
I told them, "you already know all that!" and they nodded. Then I gave them a different sermon, and talked about Oscar Romero. No one had heard of him, or of liberation theology. We will have a lot to talk about in the weeks to come. So that’s one blessing to come out of this!
Another thing that will happen in the weeks (or months) to come is court dates in Buffalo. And I think St. Romero’s needs a bail fund. But for now, we can breathe and be grateful. Thank you, God of Love, God of the Poor, for walking with us every step of the way. Amen!
We had a lovely, loving first anniversary Mass on Sunday. Boy do I love this little church. Do you realize what a gift it is, to be such a little church? No budget worries, no personnel issues. Just worship and love and service. What a gift.
Sending prayers for Wally Ruehle, who suffered a bit of a health crisis this week but is on the mend. Thank you for all you have done for our immigrant brothers and sisters over the years, Wally! All shall be well.
Mary Wilkins and I continue to have breakfast each week, conversing only in Spanish. You are always welcome to join us. Usually we meet at 8 am on Wednesdays at Pat’s Coffee Mug on Clinton Ave, but this week it will be Thursday at 8:30. Bienvenidas/os!
If you are thinking of joining us for the migrant Mass, kindly send me a note or call.
On Wednesday, Sept 21, we will have a table at the GRCC fair at Asbury United Methodist (5-7, with Jim Wallis speaking at 7).
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
This quote has been in my heart all week:
"The world is desperately in need of people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about." –
Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution
If you are receiving this on Tuesday night, it is not too late to sign an on-line petition in defense of Troy Davis, who is scheduled to be executed tomorrow in Georgia:
http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Stop_the_Execution_of_Troy_Davis.php
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm.
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: "What do we do NOW?"
Hope to see you on Sunday – please keep everybody at Iglesia de San Romero– and all those they work with – in your prayers.
_______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
A Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Bulletin for Sunday, September 18, 2011
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends,
This weekend we will celebrate our first anniversary with a pot-luck lunch following the 11 am Mass on Sunday. I hope you can come… bring a dish to pass if you like but don’t let that stop you from coming. We would love to see you.
I am very sorry to tell you that besides having something to celebrate this week, we have something to mourn.
Last Thursday night at Iglesia de San Romero, our Mass with migrant farm workers west of the city, we learned that one of our number, Santiago, had been taken by immigration – at four in the morning. Imagine being awakened at 4 am and taken to a detention center. We prayed for him at Mass, and Librada and I tried to see him (without luck) on Saturday.
Today we received the sad news that not only Santiago, but almost the entire community, have been taken. Leonardo, Pedro, Marconi and others, including the mother of young Rafael, (who is, I believe, in the care of the one adult member of the community who was not detained).
These are hard-working men and women, who have left their homes and families because they had no other way to support them, came at great risk to this country to work long, hard hours, live in constant fear of deportation --- they come to this place that we so proudly believe to be the land of the free, and get taken from their homes at night, separated from their children ----- my friends, this is not justice. It is not justice that there is such poverty in Mexico and Central America that people are driven to leave their loved ones – often for years, decades even– poverty that is abetted by the policies of the United States, such as NAFTA and CAFTA. It is not justice that people die in the desert, trying to get here. It is not justice that once here, they are doing work that people who are born here will not do – it is too hard, there is no status – work that we need done – and yet they are treated so badly, living fifteen people in one small house with one bathroom – living in fear – and finally, hounded down and put in detention – which is basically, jail. In fact, the women probably are in jail, as the detention center houses only men.
This is not the bulletin I wanted to write this week. I meant to write about the past year and the things we have done so far. Like our friends, I am not doing what I wanted to be doing right now. I think of them – bored, lonely, scared, sad, muscles sore from sudden disuse – their lives suddenly turned upside down. Pray for them, please.
And pray for our little church, in both its incarnations: the little church that prays in English on Sundays, and the little church that prays in Spanish on Thursdays. God has walked with us and cared for us in beautiful ways this year. I know that God is close, now, and is with our friends as they wait to see what the future holds.
Whatever the future holds, God will be there.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm.
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: "What do we do NOW?"
Hope to see you on Sunday -
______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Church in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
This weekend we will celebrate our first anniversary with a pot-luck lunch following the 11 am Mass on Sunday. I hope you can come… bring a dish to pass if you like but don’t let that stop you from coming. We would love to see you.
I am very sorry to tell you that besides having something to celebrate this week, we have something to mourn.
Last Thursday night at Iglesia de San Romero, our Mass with migrant farm workers west of the city, we learned that one of our number, Santiago, had been taken by immigration – at four in the morning. Imagine being awakened at 4 am and taken to a detention center. We prayed for him at Mass, and Librada and I tried to see him (without luck) on Saturday.
Today we received the sad news that not only Santiago, but almost the entire community, have been taken. Leonardo, Pedro, Marconi and others, including the mother of young Rafael, (who is, I believe, in the care of the one adult member of the community who was not detained).
These are hard-working men and women, who have left their homes and families because they had no other way to support them, came at great risk to this country to work long, hard hours, live in constant fear of deportation --- they come to this place that we so proudly believe to be the land of the free, and get taken from their homes at night, separated from their children ----- my friends, this is not justice. It is not justice that there is such poverty in Mexico and Central America that people are driven to leave their loved ones – often for years, decades even– poverty that is abetted by the policies of the United States, such as NAFTA and CAFTA. It is not justice that people die in the desert, trying to get here. It is not justice that once here, they are doing work that people who are born here will not do – it is too hard, there is no status – work that we need done – and yet they are treated so badly, living fifteen people in one small house with one bathroom – living in fear – and finally, hounded down and put in detention – which is basically, jail. In fact, the women probably are in jail, as the detention center houses only men.
This is not the bulletin I wanted to write this week. I meant to write about the past year and the things we have done so far. Like our friends, I am not doing what I wanted to be doing right now. I think of them – bored, lonely, scared, sad, muscles sore from sudden disuse – their lives suddenly turned upside down. Pray for them, please.
And pray for our little church, in both its incarnations: the little church that prays in English on Sundays, and the little church that prays in Spanish on Thursdays. God has walked with us and cared for us in beautiful ways this year. I know that God is close, now, and is with our friends as they wait to see what the future holds.
Whatever the future holds, God will be there.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Two upcoming events:
On October 6, Paul Finkelman will speak on Constitutional rights and immigration, first at St John Fisher at 3 pm, later at MCC at 7:30 pm.
On Wednesday, October 12, Fr Anthony Ruff will speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 7 pm, on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal: "What do we do NOW?"
Hope to see you on Sunday -
______________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Church in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
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