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Catholic life Embracing Hispanic immigrants through the language of love

by Deacon Mike McKeown

NEW ULM – Being involved in any parish ministry is a multi-faceted work of service. Parish leaders are required to communicate with people of varying age groups, education levels, and ethnic backgrounds –all with unique spiritual needs. In an effort to better equip parish leaders with ideas and resources, the Diocese of New Ulm Evangelization and Catechesis team (Kevin Losleben, Dr. Michelle Kramer, and Deacon Mike McKeown) have organized a Parish Leadership Series to provide timely presentations on topics relevant to all who work in parish ministry. This series consists of monthly interactive virtual meetings with other parish leaders across the diocese.

On May 18, Lisa Kremer, a parish social ministry coordinator from the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, presented on how to embrace our Hispanic immigrants and express to them the language of love. Her presentation, entitled A Ministry of Accompaniment – Walking with our Hispanic Brothers and Sisters, provided insights into the particular challenges many immigrant families face in our parishes.

One of the participants in the session was Anisabel Palma, a parish leader from Willmar, who provided the introduction and opening prayer. Palma is an immigrant from Mexico. When she came to the United States in 1999, Kremer was one of the first people that she met. “She welcomed me,” said Palma. “We’ve been friends for all of these years, and we’re also Secular Franciscans.” The two worked together in parish ministry, which eventually led to Palma’s role as director of Hispanic Ministry at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar.

In her 60-minute presentation, Kremer shared her journey into ministering to Hispanic immigrants. In 1999 she began active Youth and Campus Ministry at Holy Redeemer in Marshall, and in 2002 organized a mission trip with college students to the Diocese of New Ulm’s mission parish of San Lucas Toliman in Guatemala. “That experience was life-changing for me in so many ways,” Kremer said. A few years later, while working for the Church of St. Gabriel in Fulda, Minn., Kremer organized her second mission trip to San Lucas. She found she learned some important lessons on these trips about dealing with people from other cultures. Equipped with a new appreciation for the gifts and struggles of Hispanic people, Kremer began ministering to Hispanic immigrants. Her experiences eventually led to her current position with Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota in the Winona-Rochester diocese as a parish social ministry coordinator. Kremer had many insights to share with parish leaders, which she has gained from nearly two decades of of working with Hispanic immigrants. “Sometimes people are not aware that the phrases or the terms that we’re using are not positive but have negative responses and negative ways that they affect society,” she said. “Using terms such as ‘illegal alien’ can be very hurtful when referring to undocumented workers or non-citizens.”

She also reminded participants that we need to check ourselves for attitudes of superiority. “Sometimes, we as Americans have this mindset that we have the answer for everyone’s problems, and we don’t. The way we truly love people is to listen to their needs and work together with them instead of doing things for them. Especially when we don’t understand where they are coming from.”

Kremer beautifully summed up her presentation with a scripture verse that her grandmother shared with her from Hebrews 13:2, which says, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.”

“I think of that [verse] often with the people that come into our communities and into our churches,” she said. “Maybe they’re angels that God has sent to us. We never know.”

“We must remember that God is sending people in poverty to our doors, and we cannot turn away and not do something to respond to their needs. To be welcoming is probably the most important thing we can do,” she said. Upcoming presentations On June 15, Susan WindleyDaoust will present on 101 Ways to Evangelize During COVID and Beyond: How to Reach Those Who Have Become Disconnected From Parish Life During the Pandemic. To register visit www. dnu.org/parish-leadership-series

Deacon McKeown is diocesan director of Adult Faith Formation dmmckeown@dnu.org, (507) 2335310.

Religious solidarity

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The Equality Act On Feb. 25, 2021, the House passed the Equality Act, a bill that the U.S. bishops have warned would trample religious freedom protections while codifying gender ideology in federal law.

The legislation recognizes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under civil rights law and forbids discrimination on the basis of those classes in a number of areas. The U.S. bishops’ conference has opposed the legislation, saying it upholds gender ideology and the redefinition of marriage and frames gender as simply a “social construct.” Furthermore, it would “punish” religious groups opposed to these beliefs, stated the conference.

The bishops warned that the bill could force church halls to “host functions that violate their beliefs.” Women would have to share shelters, sports, and locker rooms with biological males identifying as transgender females. Religious adoption agencies would have to match children with same-sex couples or possibly face closure. Learn more about the Equality Act at www. usccb.org/equality-act. The Church Internationally The USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty has collaborated with the Office of International Justice and Peace to emphasize that Catholics need to be in solidarity with people throughout the world who suffer for their faith.

Through prayer, education, and public action during Religious Freedom Week, we give witness to living out our faith and our Catholic principles in the public square. That witness may come in the form of a small personal action that may more or less remain hidden, or it may take the form of a decision that very publically affects our lives and the lives of others. If prayer is the focus that guides our decisions about religious freedom, we will be prepared for either.

Editor’s note: Keep up-to-date about threats to religious liberty in Minnesota. Visit the Minnesota Catholic Conference website and sign up for email action alerts, www.mncatholic.org/ religiousfreedomweek/.

NUDCCW planning moves forward as COVID-related restrictions loosen

by Barb Mathiowetz NUDCCW president The New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (NUDCCW) board met on May 20, 2021. This was the first in-person meeting as an entire board since early 2020 due to the pandemic. It was so wonderful to see everyone face to face. We continued with our planning of events and meetings for the summer and into the fall, feeling confident for the first time in over a year that these would indeed take place in-person.

DCCW special committees During the February and May board meetings, two special committees were formed. One has been charged with brainstorming ways to increase communication within the NUDCCW from the diocesan level down to the parish and to also provide a way for the parishes to share their information with the diocese.

The second special committee will identify the objectives for a NUDCCW task force that will be delving into who the DCCW is as an organization and how we want to proceed with our over-all mission of supporting, empowering, and educating all Catholic women in spirituality, leadership, and service with programs that respond with Gospel values to the needs of the Church and society. This committee will also be identifying who should be on the DCCW task force to ensure there is representation from all levels: parish, deanery, and diocese. Fall Gatherings Each of the three CCW deaneries are in the process of firming up the annual Fall Gathering dates and locations that are scheduled to take place in September. Information will be forthcoming through your parish or the NUDCCW website, www. nudccw.org.

A year of leadership It has been just over a year since I took on the leadership role as NUDCCW president. This has been a year like no other. I feel truly blessed to be a part of the Council of Catholic Women. Even though we went through a period where we no longer had our “normal,” we still continued our mission. Some of us had to learn new ways of connecting through virtual environments and persevered through them.

NCCW Convention The National Council of Catholic Women Convention will take place Aug. 25-28, 2021, in Arlington, Va. Registration opened June 1. Several women from the diocese are planning to attend.

More information about the national convention can be found at www.nccw.org.