Open House for the Latino Community

We were able to formally greet the Latino community yesterday with an Open House after both of the Spanish language Masses.

We had a very nice turnout. A few families came after the 12:30 Mass and we had a larger crowd after the 6:00. Folks were very friendly and curious to know what we are up to. Bev and our friend Vielka from Kairos Outside both did a wonderful job interpreting and giving tours in Spanish.

We were reminded recently that the Latino community often feels like second-class citizens. They often get the leftovers. Sometimes even well-intentioned people from the English-speaking community can give this impression, as people keep their distance due to awkwardness over the language barrier. We really wanted folks to feel special and welcomed in our home, so we decided to splurge with an array of desserts, lots and lots of fruit (a favorite for Latinos), a shrimp ring and a cheese tray. We worked hard to greet people in Spanish and they worked hard to use English, and between the two we were able to communicate very well.

Our guests thanked us warmly for both the food and the time and attention. It might be very surprising how isolated people from the Latino community can feel here. Just having someone from the English-speaking community who is willing to talk to them and share the time of day can be huge and a long overdue welcome for them. To share with people that they are more-than-worthy of the best we have to offer--that is the spirit of Personalism of the Catholic Worker, and we were glad to indulge.

The Latino community has quite a few ideas for how they can use our space and asked about everything from hosting meetings to temporary housing for families in need. A number of people inquired about ESL classes and the legal clinic. The community garden also seemed to generate interest. One gentleman even wondered about using the kitchen for preparing for a wedding reception.

It turned out the timing for this event was just right, and we have learned to trust in the Holy Spirit on things like this. We now have more people who could interpret and more activities to share with the Spanish-speaking community than we did back when we started. We were much more prepared to give a warm welcome.