The Diocese of Allentown: Diocesan Administration: Catholic Life and Evangelization

Multi-Cultural Bulletin Announcements

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #1

"We call upon all people of good will, but Catholics especially, to welcome the newcomers in their neighborhoods and schools, in their places of work and worship, with heartfelt hospitality, openness, and eagerness both to help and to learn from our brothers and sisters of whatever religion, ethnicity, or background."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
We are called to seek unity in the diversity of languages, cultures and traditions of our new immigrants. As Catholics we are asked to welcome these individuals and help them become part of our parish communities. To assist in this mission a Multi-Cultural Coordinator has been hired under the Office for Social Action. She will assist pastors and parish leaders in developing outreach plans to welcome the "strangers" in our midst. In coming weeks you will be provided with information, suggestions and items of interest on this issue. For more information, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org .

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #2

"Immigrants, new to our shores, call us out of our unawareness to a conversion of mind and heart through which we are able to offer a genuine and suitable welcome, to share together as brothers and sisters at the same table, and to work side by side to improve the quality of life for society's marginalized members."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
People have the right to migrate, to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. As followers of Christ we are called to understand others as the first form of hospitality. How can we best extend that hand of welcome? Are we willing to learn a few words of the native languages of others who may worship in our parish or live in our neighborhood? For more information, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900
ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org .

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #3

"The Church supports the human rights of all people and offers them pastoral care, education, and social services, no matter what the circumstances of entry into this country, and it works for the respect of the human dignity of all - especially those who find themselves in desperate circumstances."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
Many times immigration occurs out of desperation and the hope for a safe, secure life. Consider advocating for just policies that respect the rights and dignity of immigrants, migrants and refugees. For more information, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org .

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #4

"The local people, moreover, especially public authorities, should all treat (immigrants) not as mere tools of production but as persons, and must help them to arrange for their families to live with them and to provide themselves with decent living quarters."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
At times we are called to be the voice for immigrants; advocating for better social services from our local and federal government agencies, e.g. decent wages, improved housing conditions, better medical attention and educational opportunities. For more information, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org .

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #5

"Immigrants will experience the Church's welcome most personally at the level of the parish. (We) must be filled with a spirit of welcome, responding to a new and perhaps little-understood culture."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
To begin any welcome, we must extend ourselves. In what ways can we extend ourselves to the stranger among us? A local parish shared their way of locating new parishioners. They hired a mailing service that notifies them of new residents. The parish then sends a welcoming letter to their new neighbors. For more information, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #6

"The Catholic community is rapidly reencountering itself as an 'immigrant Church', a witness at once to the diversity of people who make up our world and to our unity in one humanity, destined to enjoy the fullness of God's blessing in Jesus Christ."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
Truly welcoming the stranger involves knowing who they are, and cultivating an appreciation of their customs and cultures. The new flux of Catholic immigrants include: 80% Hispanic, 5% Filipino, and 350,000 Vietnamese. Other immigrants have come from the former Soviet Union, Middle East, India, Far East, and countries in Africa. For more information, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #7

"The new immigrants call most of us back to our ancestral heritage as descendants of immigrants and to our baptismal heritage as members of the body of Christ."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
When the big flux of immigrants came to our country 100 years ago, the Catholic Church responded to their needs: ethnic parishes and schools were built, so that the various ethnic groups could keep alive their languages and traditions. Share your ancestors' story with the youth of the parish and your own children and grandchildren. Create awareness to the fact that they, too, may be descendants of immigrants. To borrow a video about cultural diversity, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #8

"Whenever the diverse cultures of a parish and diocese are able to share the Eucharist in special celebrations that reflect the cultural riches of the participants, the Church demonstrates in the sacrament of our unity the multicultural face of the Church."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
Consider inviting newcomers to worship with you. Perhaps you can provide transportation. Continue the celebration with a breakfast gathering. For other suggestions, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

Post Office Box F • Allentown, PA • 18105-1538

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #9

"As Catholics we are called to take concrete measures to overcome the misunderstanding, ignorance, competition, and fear that stand in the way of genuinely welcoming the stranger in our midst and enjoying the communion that is our destiny as Children of God."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
Be proud of your warm and welcoming parish. Provide newcomers with information about your parish including Mass times. Invite them to a special social event in the parish where they can be introduced to many others. For more information please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #10

"The presence of brothers and sisters from different cultures should be celebrated as a gift to the Church."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
The establishments of an action plan or welcoming committee in a parish are effective ways to better integrate newcomers and meet their spiritual and temporal needs. Learning a few words of the immigrants' languages and parish hospitality ministries are helpful in creating a welcoming atmosphere in a parish. For some suggestions in these area, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #11

" Immigrants experience the tensions of their new situations much more than the society around them does. They have settled in a foreign land with laws, customs, and a language that they must master sooner or later, often at great personal cost."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
How can we help alleviate some of the culture shock experienced by the 'stranger among us'? Lend a helping hand by assisting newcomers with cultural information e.g. money, banking, mail, transportation, grocery shopping, doctor visits and other appointments. For other suggestions, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #12

"Catholic schools can provide the children of immigrants with opportunities to adapt to American culture in a context permeated by the faith and in an atmosphere of hospitality to all cultures, and they can do much to promote cultural understanding and respect among parents and students alike."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
A literacy program offers one answer to understanding opportunities that may be available. The Fr. Walter J. Ciszek Elementary School, Shenandoah at the Fr. Ciszek Center has an adult literacy program for parents, whose children are in the Head Start program, attend Fr. Ciszek School, or live in the community. This has been available for the last two years through a Family Literacy Grant IU-29 (Families Learning Together Classes). Individuals from Schuylkill County who are interested in this program can call Kim (570) 874-0137. If you are familiar with other literacy programs in the Diocese of Allentown, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #13

"Immigrant communities give ample witness to what it is to be Church - in their desire to worship as a people, in their faith, in their solidarity with one another and with the weakest among them, in their faithfulness to the Church of their ancestors. For the Church in the United States to walk in solidarity with newcomers to our country is to live out our catholicity as a Church."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
Many parishes reflect a spirit of welcome in a variety of ways. Throughout the Diocese of Allentown many parishes sponsor appreciation dinners, parish breakfasts, annual festivals and picnics, and monthly hospitality Sundays. Parish outreach committees and hospitality ministries play a major role in these activities. Our diocese continues to act on the call to bring all into a fuller communion, 'the communion willed by God, begun in time and destined for completion in the fullness of the Kingdom.' To share your individual or parish story of welcoming the stranger, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #14

"The presence of so many people of so many different cultures and religions in so many different parts of the United States has challenged us as a Church to a profound conversion so that we can become truly a sacrament of unity. …This diversity of ethnicity challenges us to welcome these new immigrants and help them join communities in ways that mutually enrich the immigrants and the receiving Church."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
The steady growth of the immigrant and refugee population in our Diocese calls for integration of immigrants' customs and cultural traditions. The immigrants' native language and heritage need to be reflected in various areas of parish life. The Jan. 27, 2005 issue of The A. D. Times highlighted the past 35 years of immigration in the Diocese of Allentown. Through all its efforts the goal of the Church has always been to welcome the stranger. With this focus in mind, practices continue throughout the diocese. Bethlehem and Reading are celebrating Liturgies in Vietnamese. The Korean community has built a Catholic Korean Spirituality Center in Weatherly, staffed by the Sisters of Peace Pentecost from Korea. For information about other practices, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #15

"The Church of the twenty-first century requires a profound conversion in spirit and in its institutions to reflect its own cultural pluralism, to address the needs of the whole Catholic community, and to further a genuine communion of solidarity among the diverse members of the Body of Christ."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
One challenge to our parishes is to offer liturgical and sacramental services that respond to the needs of the new immigrants. Sister Patricia Kennedy, R.S.M., Director of the Office of Hispanic Affairs, focuses much work of the office toward this challenge. It provides interaction and openness among other diocesan offices to assure that services are available for the Hispanic community throughout the diocese. For additional information in Welcoming the Stranger, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT #16

"The Gospel calls us to solidarity with those who are suffering, vulnerable, and in need."
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2000
To pursue this call we must be grounded in prayer. Make a commitment to pray regularly for the needs and rights of the "strangers" in our midst. To assist us in this commitment, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published prayers related to migrants and refugees: Unity in Diversity: A Scriptural Rosary, Called to One Table Prayer Card, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini - A Prayer for Migrants. For more information about these prayers and how to order them, please contact Office for Social Action, MaryAnn Genna (610) 289-8900 ext. 244 or mgenna@allentowndiocese.org.