Hello friends,
 
As many of you probably remember, our Lenten Mission this year was focused on the blessings, difficulties, and opportunities of being a parish region with two significant language groups. I found it to be very fruitful, and I am grateful to the many, many people who have inquired as to how they can best get involved and help unify our parish families. It has made me proud to see people be open-minded and willing to leave their comfort zones for the sake of bringing souls to Christ. With that in mind, Fr. Jeff and I have been working with a dedicated group of staff and volunteers on an initiative to strengthen our unity as a region, and we’re ready to share more information to get people involved.

We are calling this initiative Coram, which is a Latin word that means “in the presence of,” which gets to the heart of what we are looking for - personal encounters with another community. Encounters that will strengthen our identity as disciples called to proclaim the Gospel. The three goals of Coram are to
 
¨ Connect our newer Latino parishioners with existing ministries like SVDP, the food pantry,   and other outreach efforts for their communities
 
¨ Foster opportunities for all the communities to come together, even with a language barrier                     
¨ Start language classes and exchanges, some   translation, and immersion opportunities to   build a shared sense of communication

Many, I am aware, are of the opinion that the success of the Latino community in their new home will   rest largely on their ability to pick up the language sooner rather than later. That’s certainly true in many ways, but as we work towards that goal with the language piece of Coram, it’s important that we continue efforts at outreach and
community - building so that the community stays strong as it continues  to adapt and grow.
 
For the success of this initiative, we are looking for parishioners to participate in fostering community, but at the moment we are especially looking for anyone with the ability to translate and interpret between English and Spanish. We would like to have interpreters available for parish ministries and faith formation. Translators are needed so we can keep all our communities informed. We would like to be able to publish an insert in the bulletin with the column and other important information in Spanish so that everyone is on the same page. If you are willing and able to help with this, please contact the office so we can build our team and take advantage of  the enthusiasm from the mission.
 
I firmly believe that the success of this work will be  a big part of strengthening our parishes for the future, and perhaps more importantly, it can  open our hearts to the beauty and challenges of    proclaiming the Gospel to the world in which God has placed us. May God bless you all in your generosity and know of my continued prayers for you and the parishes.
 
Prayers always,
Fr. McC