One in all the good things about America Media’s recent documentary “People of God: How Catholic parish life is changing in the US” is that it brings up so many various issues and concepts critical to life within the church in the US today. Each parish considered is sort of a mirror held as much as ourselves. Learning about them is like attending a seminar where you get to see other Catholics share their best practices on living within the church.
Over the following 4 weeks, I’m going to take a look at among the struggles and insights raised by each parish. Hopefully each article will provide fodder for conversation, perhaps in your individual parish. Each bit ends with some questions which may stir reflection.
In its first part, “People of God” looks on the combined churches of St. Mary and St. Juan Diego within the Chandler suburb of Phoenix, Ariz. The community has 7,000 families, with more coming each day.
Because the film points out, the expansion in communities within the South and West is essentially as a result of the migration of Spanish-speaking people from south of the border. This has put churches in places like Chandler within the position of maintaining two distinct communities—the Anglo and the Spanish-speaking. As parish leader Armando Ruiz says within the film, immigrant communities represent a terrific opportunity for parish life, a fresh take and vitality: “Nevertheless it must be developed. It must be listened to.”
Life in a multicultural parish is sort of a marriage: It could possibly only work if individuals are listening to one another.
And the challenge goes each ways. The Anglos who live in a parish that’s changing may feel overwhelmed by what’s happening. They might be alienated by the incontrovertible fact that they don’t speak the opposite language or don’t share the identical faith expressions. Within the film we see the Honor Your Mother parade, a beautiful celebration of religion and Mexican American culture through downtown Phoenix for the feast of Our Lady Of Guadalupe. Mr. Ruiz shares his hope that the parade will be each a source of hope and faith for the Spanish-speaking people of Phoenix and a vehicle for bringing Anglo and Spanish-speaking Catholics together. In spite of everything, what may very well be a more appropriate source of unity than a love for Our Lady?
But Anglo Catholics by and huge don’t turn up for the event. It’s the sort of thing that happens in multicultural parishes on a regular basis, and it could actually result in resentment and a deepening of the sense of separation. Carolina Uribe, a pastoral minister at St. Mary’s, speaks of the shock and hurt that Spanish-speaking parishioners feel when Anglo community members complain about immigrants breaking the law or inundating their communities while these individuals are in need of a lot help.
Listening to the stories of St. Mary and St. Juan Diego, it’s clear that life in a multicultural parish is sort of a marriage. It could possibly only work if individuals are listening to one another and making sacrifices for each other.
Questions for reflection and conversation:
- Are there separate communities inside your parish? What’s the connection between them like?
- What is finished inside your community to bring people together? What gets people out of their individual silos? And what makes them retreat back into them?
- Are there things in your community that need healing, or events or actions that proceed to fester indirectly? What might help heal those wounds?
- Is there anything within the actions of other people in your community that puzzles or bothers you? Why? Have you ever ever tried to learn from the people involved?
- Are there other places in your diocese or your secular community where you see different ethnic groups or political affiliations integrating well together—or failing miserably? What are you able to learn from them?
Listen next:
On this bonus episode of the Jesuitical podcast, hosts Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis speak with Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes, the producer of “People of God,” concerning the growing church within the Southwest.
