MINISTRY UPDATE – APRIL 21, 2024
Good Things Happening, Numbers Are Up!

So many good things are happening! The wife and infant daughter of one of our leading migrant volunteers finally made it to Chicago after a harrowing trip up north that started in December. We are so happy for you, Saul and Maria! Another exciting development is the inclusion of asylum-seekers in our Migrant Ministry CROP Walk team, providing the opportunity for the migrants to raise money for the organization (CWS) that fed them as they emerged from the Darien Gap. Inspiring!

Similar to what occurred in 2023, the number of migrants arriving to Chicago slowed down for the first three months of this year but are now beginning to increase. We are certainly seeing that on our Migrant Ministry days at Centro San Edmundo. The first week of April, we saw 280 migrants; the second week the number increased to 320 and many of them were very recent arrivals, having just arrived three days earlier.

After having closed donations to deal with overstock, we are now fully open again but only for the items linked below. We are most in need of gym shoes and sandals for men, women, and children, summer T-shirts and shorts, towels, and toiletries. Thank you for your donation!

MINISTRY UPDATE – APRIL 14, 2024
Migrant Ministry Continues!

The transitional shelter at Centro San Edmundo (in the former St. Edmund School Building) has now closed as of April 5. Our congratulations to the Oak Park Resettlement Team that so quickly and effectively relocated the many families.

Our Migrant Ministry continues. We continue to run the program on Tuesday and Thursday mornings hosting our migrant brothers and sisters and of course the children, many children. We invite them for breakfast, for a change of clothes and shoes and coats. Then there is the opportunity to sit quietly over a cup of chocolate or coffee and tell their stories to the many volunteers there to listen. Even if the listening is through cell phones using Google translate. The link to everything that is needed is below. Right now, one of the biggest needs is blankets and towels. They don’t need to be new but usable.

Finally, the Housing Team continues to accompany families and will be adding two new families in April and May. We continue to need mentors to accompany them. Spanish speaking is not necessary.

MINISTRY UPDATE – MARCH 24, 2024
I want to wash their feet…

One of my favorite Holy Week traditions is the washing of each other’s feet on Holy Thursday. Volunteer footwashers process up the aisle carrying white basins, pitchers of water, and clean towels. They spread out across the sanctuary and wash each other’s feet, then invite the congregation to come and have their feet washed. It’s a powerful act of humility and service to wash the feet of the other and allow another to wash your own feet. In this act, we recreate Christ’s call to us to be humble servants and find Christ in one another.

Those of us involved in the Migrant Ministry have found Christ in our brother and sister asylum-seekers. I want to wash their feet, the feet that crossed seven countries and 3000 miles across rivers, over mountains, and through deserts. I want to wash the feet that plodded through the deadly Darien Gap, 66 miles of thick jungle between Colombia and Panama. I want to wash the feet that were cut, twisted, bruised, and blistered but trudged on, carrying children and hopes for a safer and better life in the United States.

I want to wash the feet of Wilmary, a single mother who made the trip with a toddler and a nine-year-old blind son.

I want to wash the feet of Yeiny who lost her husband in the Darien Gap but continued the journey with her three children so as not to shatter the dream they had shared.

I want to wash the feet of Jose Leandro, an indigenous man who fled the drug cartels in Colombia. In the photo above, he holds his tattered and worn shoes before throwing them away because he received new shoes in Chicago.

I want to wash the feet of Luis, battered and bruised because of his sexuality.

Holy Thursday means more to me this year than ever before.

MINISTRY UPDATE – MARCH 17, 2024
Faith Moves Mountains

For those of you who weren’t able to attend the concert, La Fe Mueve Montanas (Faith Moves Mountains) on February 27, 2024, above is an embedded video which will give you a flavor of the evening. This video was created by the Archdiocese of Chicago for their program, “La Hora Católica: Misa y Más,” and aired on March 10, 2024.

We are grateful to GIA Publications, Inc., the sponsor of this program, and to the musicians who participated. It is still possible to make donations to Migrant Ministry through this video.

Click to See More Pictures

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTThank you to everyone who has so kindly donated to the Migrant Ministry! Because of your overwhelming generosity, WE ARE ABLE TO PUT CLOTHING DONATIONS ON PAUSE FOR NOW. You have kept hundreds of families warm and safe in the winter months. Please note that the migrants’ needs will change as we head into Spring – and we will provide an update in the next few weeks. Thank you for your continued support!

DROP-OFF ITEMS DONATIONS

Only these items are needed – We ask you please to stick to this list:

• Winter boots for men, women, and children are needed as well as shoes.
• Winter Jackets.
• Sweatpants especially for men and boys and leggings for women.
• Hoodies, and layering items, socks, gloves, hats, blankets, suitcases, and sleeping bags.
• New underwear for men, women, and children – Boxer briefs for men in small and medium – Underwear and sports bras for women in small and medium – Underwear for children in all sizes, particularly for boys.

We accept donations of items to the alley door of St. Edmund School on Mondays from 9 am to 12 Noon. Parking will be available across the street behind St. Edmund Church.

ONLINE ITEMS DONATIONS – AMAZON WISH LIST

Thank you for your support of the Migrant Ministry. Currently, we are in great need of gym shoes for children, men, and women (smaller sizes) and men’s T-shirts, sweatpants, and athletic pants. For more information, email immigrantministry@gmail.com.

We are also in need of items noted on the Amazon Wish List found by clicking on the button below. Items do not need to be purchased from Amazon; it is merely a list of needed items.

Donations may be dropped off on Monday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm at Centro San Edmundo previously known as St. Edmund School, 200 S Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, IL. Please enter from the Pleasant Avenue door.

Click to Donate Through Amazon