About:
History
|
Timeline
1968 Archbishop O'Brien begins plans for the office 1969 Cooperative Parish Sharing and the Office of Urban Affairs is formed 1975 The OUA was charged with giving new emphasis to its mission to educate for social justice and advocate specific proposals for improvement of the society, especially the poor. 1986 A new plan proposed an emphasis on enabling of parish leaders to organize social mission by the parish community, and integrated existing elderly services programs into the core operation. 1990 By this time the OUA had developed community organizing networks in the cities of the Archdiocese: United Connecticut Action for Neighborhoods (UCAN), Naugatuck Valley Project (NVP) and Elm City Congregations Organized (ECCO) and seen the expansion of parish social ministry in parishes throughout the Archdiocese, with training, spirituality development, and the convening of the social justice community. 1997 The OUA began preparation for the CenterEdge Project, which was a major effort to change the way most suburban and rural people in Connecticut viewed themselves and their own self-interest in relation to urban poor people. 2003 The OUA published the report, Connecticut Metropatterns: A Regional Agenda for Community and Prosperity. 2009 The office was renamed and given a new mission statement that established ambitious priorities for the future. With the endorsement of Archbishop Mansell, the Board of Directors announced the office’s new name: The Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry (OCSJM) and new mission statement: The Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry of the Archdiocese of Hartford advances Catholic social teaching by educating and preparing parishes to work for social justice. |
The Story of the Last 45 Years
The Beginning In 1968, then-Archbishop Henry J. O’Brien, put in motion plans for an office and a program that did not have an official name, but did have a clear mandate. He envisioned a new Archdiocesan effort that would unify parishes, work in the inner cities, provide training for the priests and religious working in urban parishes, and, with the help of all the other parishes in the Archdiocese, develop resources that would make it possible to improve living conditions for people in those urban communities. To bring the idea to fruition, Archbishop O’Brien called on the leadership of Father Timothy A. Meehan, working closely with Auxiliary Bishop Joseph F. Donnelly who became the first Chairman of the Board of Directors. Together they launched an effort that was to have far reaching impact not only here in Connecticut, but also across the United States. With the approval of Archbishop O’Brien, Father Meehan created the first program of this new enterprise, Cooperative Parish Sharing, on October 16, 1968. After a meeting in November, 1969, forty-eight priests of the Archdiocese created the Priests’ Social Action Committee. They met again in January, 1970 to continue the “intense discussion of their ideas and experiences of the urban crisis,” and decided to publish their recommendations in a document called “The Servant Church…and Other Questions for Thoughtful Christians.” Their goal was to create “sharing and discussion among all the clergy, religious and laity … [to develop] an established policy for the Church’s role in alleviating the critical problems that face society in the social issues of our time.” An Office is Born With the initiation of Cooperative Parish Sharing, and the development of a legislative alert program that enrolled many of the parishes outside the inner cities, the work of the Office of Urban Affairs was underway. Read more 
|
History of the Hispanic Parish Social Ministry
The Beginning
The Jubilee Year was celebrated by The Catholic Church. In response, Patrick Joseph Smyth, the Executive Director of the Office of Urban Affairs (OUA) currently known as the Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry (OCSJM) of the Archdiocese of Hartford, launched Hispanic Parish Social Ministry. The Parish Social Ministry (PSM) held its first basic training workshops in Spanish at three sites with over one hundred and fifty people from twenty different parishes. This lead to the growth of the Hispanic community in several different parishes in the Archdioceses. The Hispanic Ministry supports the vision and mission of the OCSJM and is a major part of implementing its values and principles.
2000-2005 Hispanic Social Parish Ministry programs and workshops
Arturo Iriarte is the first person commissioned as Coordinator of the Hispanic Parish Social Ministry and continues to hold this position to date. Arturo conducted one-on-one interviews with clergy and laity to determine what the needs and leadership role would be to better serve the growing Hispanic laity and from these interviews a program was initiated. The Hispanic Parish Social Program focused on parishes in the Archdiocese, meeting with pastors, lay people, visiting weekend Eucharistic Liturgies, and offering parish social ministry training workshops. In the first few years these workshops were designed to empower leadership, integrate parish social ministry to the whole parish community, and develop leaders from the Hispanic community within the parish. The workshops training included four dimensions of parish social ministry: direct service, justice education, advocacy and empowerment. It is the activities and achievements in these four dimensional areas that has contributed to the Hispanic Ministry sustainability and longevity.
Direct Services
The Hispanic Ministry assisted parishes to develop tutoring programs in English and held workshops on issues important to immigrants. Hispanic parishes were encouraged to participate in HomeFront Day, a partnership between the AmeriCares organization and parishes that assist low income homeowners with repairs to make their homes safe.
Justice Education
Hispanic Ministry provided social justice education to parishes utilizing resources from the U.S. Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. We held a Parish in Action Conference with more than 200 people and 74 parishes in participation. There were workshops conducted in Spanish that focused on Catholic social teachings. Workshops during the early years, had a strong impact upon leadership and education that prepared the parishes for future work on immigration reform. Hispanic Ministry developed PowerPoint presentations on Catholic Social Teaching and Parish Social Ministry in English and Spanish to empower and educate Parish Social Ministry committees and councils.
2005-2010 Working together promoted Empowerment and Advocacy
In 2009 OUA changed its name to Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry (OCSJM) and in 2016 relocated to its current location in Bloomfield, CT. Hispanic Ministry continued its work by guiding parishes to develop programs that involved teaching English as a second language, technology training to develop basic skills, training in construction, immigration workshops, prison ministry, small business education, scholarships for immigrant students and raising awareness for equality and rights for undocumented workers and U.S. citizens. Many of these parish programs were funded by the Office’s Cooperative Parish Sharing Program.
Hispanic Ministry worked with the Labor Department to help parishioners advocate for fair wages, work hours and work schedules. The Hispanic Ministry worked toward public policies on hunger, health, housing, the environment, peace, immigration and opposition to the death penalty by utilizing resources from CT Catholic Advocacy Network and CT Catholic Conference. In addition, Hispanic Ministry trained several Hispanic leaders on Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Rice Bowl Program, Human Trafficking, Global Solidarity, and Environmental Justice. The OUA/OCSJM is the foundation of the Hispanic Ministry, working together they were able to expand not only the Hispanic community in the parishes but educate and empower them to advocate for services and initiate public policy that would better serve the immigrant Hispanic community.
2010-2018 Ministries launched several Legislation Initiatives
In 2012 Lynn Campbell became the Executive Director of the OCSJM and the ministries continued working together in the parishes and community. The Hispanic Ministry outreach program implemented a new leadership development series that provided workshops throughout the Archdiocese. As a result, the office commissioned parish social ministry leaders, who took initiative to plan and implement parish ministries. They developed new projects focused on prayer, leadership development, immigration assistance and community action incorporating leaders from both the Hispanic and English-speaking communities. In addition, the Hispanic Ministry advocated for laws that were of importance to the Hispanic community. Arturo convened his trained leaders to successfully advocate for Instate Tuition (#6390), Trust Act, and An ACT Equalizing Access to student-generated financial aid. The leadership development Arturo provided, resulted in Parish Social Ministry Leaders within the Hispanic community empowered with a faith filled sense of political responsibility.
One of the major highlights of the Hispanic Ministry is the Driver’s License Advocacy Initiative. Arturo Iriarte, Ana Landskron (Core leader of Hispanic Parish Social Ministry) and OCSJM Immigration Team and created a CT Driver’s License Educational Program for undocumented persons. In 2013, through the efforts of the organizing group CONECT, and the support of other allies, a law was passed to allow undocumented persons an opportunity to get their CT Driver’s License. In addition, Hispanic Ministry created an Educational Program that not only provided immigrants the opportunity to obtain a CT Driver’s License but it was a three stage educational program to prepare eligible parishioners to take the Driver’s License exam.
The program addressed literacy and language challenges while providing driver’s license preparation for the written exam. It provided education on logical deduction, test taking skills and included a walk-through of the application process. As a follow-up to the educational program Hispanic Ministry assisted parishes in hosting a sign-up day to apply for the learner’s permit and provided assistance to their parishioners, especially those without internet access.
Hispanic Ministry conducted two Pilgrimages for Immigration Reform. These pilgrimages were held in the city of Hartford and Waterbury and each concluded with a prayer service at St. Augustine Parish (Hartford) and St Margaret’s Parish (Waterbury). The pilgrimages were an initiative of the USCCB’s Justice for Immigrants campaign. Pilgrimages are a spiritual journey of devotion, prayer and sacrifice that can have a profound affect upon individuals and their community. In addition, these pilgrimages had a combined effort to further Catholic Social Teaching while incorporating the Catholic Church commitment for Immigration Reform. These successful campaigns and pilgrimages increased awareness and created a strategy to inspire individuals and communities toward being effective in moving forward comprehensive Immigration Reform and to inspire a deeper spiritual devotion through prayer and sacrifice.
Several of the Hispanic Ministry leaders were trained in the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl Program. They met with priests, deacons, secretaries and parish social ministry leaders to raise awareness about the work that CRS has done as the Catholic Church’s international aid and development agency. The leaders conducted a workshop at the Annual Conference. As a result, the number of Hispanic communities that ordered Rice Bowl materials and the Hispanic involvement in the Rice Bowl program doubled.
OCSJM immigration team and the Hispanic Ministry revealed vital information to the parishes in the Archdiocese regarding legislative changes to immigration and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA). Workshops and individual consultations were held to educate and remind people how to protect themselves, provide reassurance to families affected by these changes, and helped parishes assist the affected families. In addition, a letter writing campaign was launched with the assistances of eight parishes, a core group of parish leaders and organizations. As a result, they delivered 7,557 letters from the Archdiocese to our U.S. senators and representatives. This was a huge success toward raising awareness and approaching the disparities of immigrants and their children in the light emigration legislation.
In 2018 the Hispanic community participated in a 4 year V Encuentro process of reflection and action. The Office looks forward to continued ministry with the Hispanic community, including addressing the challenges and opportunities identified through the V Encuentro. The Ministry continues to empower, educate, advocate for social justice, and
mobilize for immigration reform and legislation. Though the work is challenging and rewarding it has brought peace of mind to the many undocumented immigrant Hispanic communities.
Written by Jacqueline Brantley, OCSJM Intern, December 2018.
The Jubilee Year was celebrated by The Catholic Church. In response, Patrick Joseph Smyth, the Executive Director of the Office of Urban Affairs (OUA) currently known as the Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry (OCSJM) of the Archdiocese of Hartford, launched Hispanic Parish Social Ministry. The Parish Social Ministry (PSM) held its first basic training workshops in Spanish at three sites with over one hundred and fifty people from twenty different parishes. This lead to the growth of the Hispanic community in several different parishes in the Archdioceses. The Hispanic Ministry supports the vision and mission of the OCSJM and is a major part of implementing its values and principles.
2000-2005 Hispanic Social Parish Ministry programs and workshops
Arturo Iriarte is the first person commissioned as Coordinator of the Hispanic Parish Social Ministry and continues to hold this position to date. Arturo conducted one-on-one interviews with clergy and laity to determine what the needs and leadership role would be to better serve the growing Hispanic laity and from these interviews a program was initiated. The Hispanic Parish Social Program focused on parishes in the Archdiocese, meeting with pastors, lay people, visiting weekend Eucharistic Liturgies, and offering parish social ministry training workshops. In the first few years these workshops were designed to empower leadership, integrate parish social ministry to the whole parish community, and develop leaders from the Hispanic community within the parish. The workshops training included four dimensions of parish social ministry: direct service, justice education, advocacy and empowerment. It is the activities and achievements in these four dimensional areas that has contributed to the Hispanic Ministry sustainability and longevity.
Direct Services
The Hispanic Ministry assisted parishes to develop tutoring programs in English and held workshops on issues important to immigrants. Hispanic parishes were encouraged to participate in HomeFront Day, a partnership between the AmeriCares organization and parishes that assist low income homeowners with repairs to make their homes safe.
Justice Education
Hispanic Ministry provided social justice education to parishes utilizing resources from the U.S. Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. We held a Parish in Action Conference with more than 200 people and 74 parishes in participation. There were workshops conducted in Spanish that focused on Catholic social teachings. Workshops during the early years, had a strong impact upon leadership and education that prepared the parishes for future work on immigration reform. Hispanic Ministry developed PowerPoint presentations on Catholic Social Teaching and Parish Social Ministry in English and Spanish to empower and educate Parish Social Ministry committees and councils.
2005-2010 Working together promoted Empowerment and Advocacy
In 2009 OUA changed its name to Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry (OCSJM) and in 2016 relocated to its current location in Bloomfield, CT. Hispanic Ministry continued its work by guiding parishes to develop programs that involved teaching English as a second language, technology training to develop basic skills, training in construction, immigration workshops, prison ministry, small business education, scholarships for immigrant students and raising awareness for equality and rights for undocumented workers and U.S. citizens. Many of these parish programs were funded by the Office’s Cooperative Parish Sharing Program.
Hispanic Ministry worked with the Labor Department to help parishioners advocate for fair wages, work hours and work schedules. The Hispanic Ministry worked toward public policies on hunger, health, housing, the environment, peace, immigration and opposition to the death penalty by utilizing resources from CT Catholic Advocacy Network and CT Catholic Conference. In addition, Hispanic Ministry trained several Hispanic leaders on Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Rice Bowl Program, Human Trafficking, Global Solidarity, and Environmental Justice. The OUA/OCSJM is the foundation of the Hispanic Ministry, working together they were able to expand not only the Hispanic community in the parishes but educate and empower them to advocate for services and initiate public policy that would better serve the immigrant Hispanic community.
2010-2018 Ministries launched several Legislation Initiatives
In 2012 Lynn Campbell became the Executive Director of the OCSJM and the ministries continued working together in the parishes and community. The Hispanic Ministry outreach program implemented a new leadership development series that provided workshops throughout the Archdiocese. As a result, the office commissioned parish social ministry leaders, who took initiative to plan and implement parish ministries. They developed new projects focused on prayer, leadership development, immigration assistance and community action incorporating leaders from both the Hispanic and English-speaking communities. In addition, the Hispanic Ministry advocated for laws that were of importance to the Hispanic community. Arturo convened his trained leaders to successfully advocate for Instate Tuition (#6390), Trust Act, and An ACT Equalizing Access to student-generated financial aid. The leadership development Arturo provided, resulted in Parish Social Ministry Leaders within the Hispanic community empowered with a faith filled sense of political responsibility.
One of the major highlights of the Hispanic Ministry is the Driver’s License Advocacy Initiative. Arturo Iriarte, Ana Landskron (Core leader of Hispanic Parish Social Ministry) and OCSJM Immigration Team and created a CT Driver’s License Educational Program for undocumented persons. In 2013, through the efforts of the organizing group CONECT, and the support of other allies, a law was passed to allow undocumented persons an opportunity to get their CT Driver’s License. In addition, Hispanic Ministry created an Educational Program that not only provided immigrants the opportunity to obtain a CT Driver’s License but it was a three stage educational program to prepare eligible parishioners to take the Driver’s License exam.
The program addressed literacy and language challenges while providing driver’s license preparation for the written exam. It provided education on logical deduction, test taking skills and included a walk-through of the application process. As a follow-up to the educational program Hispanic Ministry assisted parishes in hosting a sign-up day to apply for the learner’s permit and provided assistance to their parishioners, especially those without internet access.
Hispanic Ministry conducted two Pilgrimages for Immigration Reform. These pilgrimages were held in the city of Hartford and Waterbury and each concluded with a prayer service at St. Augustine Parish (Hartford) and St Margaret’s Parish (Waterbury). The pilgrimages were an initiative of the USCCB’s Justice for Immigrants campaign. Pilgrimages are a spiritual journey of devotion, prayer and sacrifice that can have a profound affect upon individuals and their community. In addition, these pilgrimages had a combined effort to further Catholic Social Teaching while incorporating the Catholic Church commitment for Immigration Reform. These successful campaigns and pilgrimages increased awareness and created a strategy to inspire individuals and communities toward being effective in moving forward comprehensive Immigration Reform and to inspire a deeper spiritual devotion through prayer and sacrifice.
Several of the Hispanic Ministry leaders were trained in the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl Program. They met with priests, deacons, secretaries and parish social ministry leaders to raise awareness about the work that CRS has done as the Catholic Church’s international aid and development agency. The leaders conducted a workshop at the Annual Conference. As a result, the number of Hispanic communities that ordered Rice Bowl materials and the Hispanic involvement in the Rice Bowl program doubled.
OCSJM immigration team and the Hispanic Ministry revealed vital information to the parishes in the Archdiocese regarding legislative changes to immigration and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA). Workshops and individual consultations were held to educate and remind people how to protect themselves, provide reassurance to families affected by these changes, and helped parishes assist the affected families. In addition, a letter writing campaign was launched with the assistances of eight parishes, a core group of parish leaders and organizations. As a result, they delivered 7,557 letters from the Archdiocese to our U.S. senators and representatives. This was a huge success toward raising awareness and approaching the disparities of immigrants and their children in the light emigration legislation.
In 2018 the Hispanic community participated in a 4 year V Encuentro process of reflection and action. The Office looks forward to continued ministry with the Hispanic community, including addressing the challenges and opportunities identified through the V Encuentro. The Ministry continues to empower, educate, advocate for social justice, and
mobilize for immigration reform and legislation. Though the work is challenging and rewarding it has brought peace of mind to the many undocumented immigrant Hispanic communities.
Written by Jacqueline Brantley, OCSJM Intern, December 2018.
Reflections from Past and Present Directors
The Servant Church
|
| ||