As I mentioned in a previous post, this was a very emotionally and physically draining week. At work I had to deal with some difficult issues and we also had an intense and productive global conference. I also had to prepare for and give a presentation there and it went well. I was also gearing up to facilitate a 3 hour session at church. Our parish is 25% Hispanic, yet we worship at different times, we don't share celebrations, and we don't interact on councils. To a degree, we are two peoples sharing one building, not one body of Christ.
The meeting was for all of the chairs of all committees and councils, all of the leaders that are Anglo, with the leaders of the Hispanic community. We discussed challenging topics such as immigration. This topic was a difficult one to facilitate as some people had strong anti-immigration and perhaps anti-Hispanic views. I was grateful that they spoke up as it is the reality that we live in and it gave us the opportunity go deeper. We also talked about differences in cultural worship, traditions, and devotions and how we can enrich each other's experiences. We finished with what the Church is doing at the national, diocesan, and parish level and we brainstormed on ways we can improve Hispanic ministry and unite both communities. People were very engaged during all of the conversations.
The meeting went very well. It exceeded my expectations. After it I crashed and slept for a few hours. I must have been harboring a cold, and as soon as I was done with all the activities it decided to come out. I now need to gather part of the attendees for a theological reflection and then package all of this into a report and presentation as it was a requirement for my program. I thank God for His assistance in all of this.
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Hi Hector: Sounds like a very productive meeting! And yes, it does seem like once we've gone through a stressful situation, our defense system then breaks down and we become sick. I hope you're well soon.
Posted by: Valerie | February 12, 2006 at 07:35 PM
Wow...you have been busy. I have missed your more frequent posts and have kept you in my prayers.
Posted by: Essy | February 12, 2006 at 09:07 PM
Hi Valerie and Essy, I guess we use all of our energy reserves and there's not enough to fight physical bugs. I took it easy all weekend.
Posted by: Hector | February 12, 2006 at 10:09 PM
building bridges is great work for God. May both parties in your church be blessed by this. and God glorified
Posted by: Lorna | February 13, 2006 at 02:49 PM