Branson Church Reaches out to HIspanics

Church reaching out to Hispanics

Sacred Heart has a plan for how to help immigrants, but it is lacking the funds.


Hispanics and the Catholic Church

# Percentage of U.S. Catholic population growth since 1960: 71

# Percentage of U.S. Catholics who are Hispanic: 39

# Percentage of Hispanics who are Catholic (2002): 72.6

# Approximate number of U.S. parishes with Hispanic ministry: 4,000

# Percentage of U.S. parishes with majority Hispanic presence: 20.6

# Number of Hispanic priests in the United States: 2,900

# Number of active Hispanic bishops: 25


Source: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Web site
Want to go?

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development will host the following meetings open to the public:

# At 9 a.m. today at The Kitchen, at 420 E. Commercial St., to discuss the rehabilitation ministry at The Kitchen.

# At 7:30 p.m. today at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Branson to discuss the unskilled workers moving to Branson in search of jobs. The local Catholic churches are in the early stages of examining this issue.

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Juliana Goodwin
News-Leader

Members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Springfield have studied the needs of Hispanic immigrants. They have a plan to help. They just aren't sure how they will pay for it.

"This is a poor parish and we are struggling," said Sister Laureana Perez, "but it is the poor who help the poor."

Sacred Heart has seen its Latino congregation dramatically grow over the past six years, with more than 250 Hispanics packing the church for its Spanish-language Sunday Mass.

Two years ago, Sacred Heart formed a committee to better understand the needs of recent Hispanic immigrants and how the church might help.

They held meetings and interviews in both English and Spanish.

It wasn't easy, said Rolanda Avila, a committee member.

"Some were reluctant to share information because of fear of being deported. Some were hard to reach," she said.

Olga Kilmer, another member, agreed that gaining trust was a serious roadblock.

"The immigrants who come here have been through so much. Many times they are mistreated. They have struggled and don't know who to trust," Kilmer said.

On Sunday during a meeting with parishioners and two staff members from the national offices of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the committee explained what is needed to help immigrants transition into society.

The committee found three things the church could do to help:

# An information center to assist Hispanics with basic information when they arrive in the area;

# Additional English as a Second Language classes, including computer-assisted classes that would not require a teacher;

# Assistance with legal immigration paperwork and services.

Avila said the committee found two types of Latino workers come to this area: those who are promised jobs and those in search of jobs.

Those in search of a job tend to face more challenges.

The information center would offer basic information on how to open a bank account, how to find an apartment, how to wire money and where to grocery shop, Emge said.

"They don't know where to go or how to rent a house," said Perez.

"It is awful the way some of them have to live. The health care is a serious problem. They have to wait until they are practically dying to get attended."

Many new immigrants do not have and cannot afford health care, she said.

Armida Lopez said the information center would also help people find a physician.

The church currently offers English lessons, but wants to expand this to computerized tutorials so people who work late, such as construction workers, can still learn English.

The last prong of the plan is to provide legal services and help with immigration paperwork.

Representatives from CCHD said they were impressed with the grass-roots effort and commitment from members of the church.

"What made the best impression on me is people just didn't decide what they want, they asked others what they need, which is at the heart of our program," said Lee Anne Adams, economic development specialist with CCHD.

As it stands now, the three-point plan is still a dream. The church is in the middle of a construction project but cannot fund it fully. Construction costs have escalated to $1.7 million from $1 million originally.

For the church's Hispanic plans to become a reality, it needs more money, volunteers, and training, Kilmer said.

Every November, Catholic churches across the country take up collections to help fund the CCHD campaign and those funds are later distributed in the form of grants. The representatives are visiting various churches and organizations in the area.

Founded in 1969, the CCHD is the domestic anti-poverty, social justice arm of the U.S. Catholic bishops, formed to tackle the root causes of poverty in America.

The church is considering applying for a grant from CCHD, but had not done so yet. Don Emge, director of Social Ministry at Sacred Heart, said first he wants the representatives of CCHD to understand what the church is doing.

Sister Perez was not sure where the funds would come from or how their dream would become a reality, but she believes it will.

"We will do all we can to start this center and see it come to fruition," Perez said.