Interfaith Education Fund

With support from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), and as part of the second phase of the Recognizing the Stranger strategy, parish leaders from California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington participated in a two-day meeting to prepare to lead training sessions for Spanish-Speaking immigrants.  

The training focused on the "Eucharist at Corinth," a fundamental component of the leadership development curriculum. The training was hosted by the Souther California Education FUnd (SCEF) in Los Angeles, California.   

Almost three dozen clergy, religious and lay leaders from Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Mississippi convened at Holy Trinity Catholic to learn how to teach key pieces of the Recognizing the Stranger curriculum.  

Sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), 'Train the Trainer' sessions like these are designed to expand the training capacity of the effort as the strategy reaches into nineteen dioceses across the US. 

Sessions were led by senior organizers of the Organizers Institute of the South and West IAF and included in-depth discussion of theological reflections on the Eucharist at Corinth and the Beatitudes.

At the 2019 General Assembly of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore, the outgoing chair of the Committee on Migration (and Catholic Bishop of Austin), Most Reverend Joe S. Vásquez, concluded his report with "good practices for helping immigrants."  Topping the list was the IAF parish identification strategy.

Parish identification emerged as a strategy in Dallas after passage of Texas Senate Bill 4, which allows law enforcement officers to ask residents about their immigration status.  With no access to state drivers licenses, undocumented immigrants were concerned that otherwise benign traffic stops could result in deportation.  Police departments were worried their officers would not be trusted in immigrant communities.  As a way to address both concerns, 1,500 Dallas Area Interfaith leaders and their Bishops negotiated acceptance of parish ID cards with five North Texas police departments. 

The parish ID strategy soon spread to Baltimore in collaboration with IAF sister affiliate Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) and, most recently, to the Diocese of Brownsville (along the US-Mexico border) in partnership with Valley Interfaith, Catholic Charities and the police departments of Brownsville, McAllen and Edinburg.

Bishop Vasquez recognized the Catholic (Arch)dioceses of Baltimore, Dallas and Brownsville for "fostering a sense of belonging & security."  So far in Dallas, 12,000 identification cards have been issued through DAI member congregations, fortifying family connections to congregations and strengthening parish collections in the process.

Remarks by Bishop Jose S. Vásquez, US Conference of Catholic Bishops General Assembly Remarks

How Parish IDs Can Help Foster Communities of Welcome, Justice for Immigrants [Notes]

How Parish IDs Can Help Foster Communities of Welcome, Justice for Immigrants [Webinar]

Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and Valley Interfaith Team Up to Offer Parish ID

Parish IDs Bring Relief to Immigrant Communities in North Texas 

Additional news on Parish IDs

At a US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) General Assembly reception in Baltimore, Pima County Interfaith (PCI) organizer Ana Chavarin was awarded the Cardinal Joseph Bernadin New Leadership Award.  Each year, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) honors individuals, like Ana, who "demonstrate leadership in fighting poverty and injustice in the United States through community-based solutions."

116 leaders, mostly from the Catholic Dioceses of Shreveport and Alexandria, participated in CCHD- and Organizers Institute- sponsored leadership training in Woodworth, Louisiana.  Leaders representing 42 congregations from 25 cities or towns learned how to put their faith in action through institutional organizing practices designed to strengthen their parishes and fortify their communities.  The sessions covered themes including the eucharist and what it means to be the body of the Christ, baptism and the mission of the church and building a team to do the work of the Church.  

In collaboration with Catholic Bishop Daniel Flores, 500 Valley Interfaith leaders packed a hall in Las Milpas to publicly launch a parish ID strategy for the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. 

Developed in partnership with the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and three law enforcement agencies, new parish-issued identification cards will show a photo of the cardholder, name, date of birth, address and how long the cardholder has been a member of their parish.

Bishop Flores emphasized: “The ID means something more than simply its implication that you have an identification...it means something much deeper: ‘I belong to a parish, and so in this community, I am not living in the shadows.’”

On behalf of Catholic Charities, Sr. Norma Pimentel presented a $10,000 check to pay for printers for new ID cards.  

Representatives from the police departments of Pharr, McAllen and Edinburg participated in the assembly, pledging to accept these cards as a form of valid identification in the event anyone needs to identify themselves to the police -- whether on a traffic stop or when filing a report.   

“Too much of the focus is on the national and state conversation regarding immigration,” said Franciscan Father Tom Luczak, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Edinburg.  “This is a local strategy that gives my own parishioners the dignity of being able to identify themselves to a police officer. “This will positively affect them."

[Photo Credit: photo above by Francisco Jimenez, The Monitor; photo at right by Paul Binz, The Valley Catholic] 

IDs Give Parishioners Way to Say, 'I Belong,' Regardless of Legal Status, National Catholic Reporter

Diocese, Valley Interfaith Team Up to Offer a New Kind of ID, The Valley Catholic

Vally Nonprofit Announces ID Strategy in Parishes, KRGTV

Valley Interfaith Clarifies Parish ID Strategy, The Monitor

Valley Interfaith to Launch Local Parish ID Strategy, The Monitor [pdf]

[Excerpt]

Ever since participating in a DAI leadership training two years ago, Lily Rodriguez (photo top right) of St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Dallas has been very motivated to bring its teachings to life, actualizing them by helping her community. 

The training sought to prepare parish leaders to support the civic development of their parish communities, particularly those from immigrant backgrounds. 

That's how the "Sunshine Committee" in which Rodriguez participates, along with 24 other volunteers, came to be.  Members of the committee disseminate flyers, make calls, organize, sign up and help in community-oriented activities.  The most popular workshops are those focusing on US citizenship and parish IDs -- created and implemented by the Catholic Diocese of Dallas and DAI for more than one year....

Comité Parroquial es Semilla de Cambio Cívico, Revista Católica de Dallas   

Albuquerque Interfaith leaders reflected together on the theological foundations underpinning their spring and summer efforts in support of Central American asylum seekers at an event hosted by Monte Vista Christian Church.  Seven faith leaders shared what from their faith traditions spurred them into action and challenged participants to continue to engage with those different from themselves.

104 Spanish-speaking trainees from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa convened for multi-day leadership development co-sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), Organizers Institute, and VOICE-OKC.  Parishioners came from 13 Catholic congregations to learn about how baptism connects to the mission of the church, how to identify new leaders and how parishes can take action to address pressures harming families. 

With the blessing of Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller and support from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), Mission and Ministry, Inc. (MMI), the Organizers Institute of the West/Southwest IAF, and COPS/Metro, Spanish-language 'Recognizing the Stranger' training prepared 173 for parish leadership in San Antonio and surrounding areas. 

Parish leaders participated in leadership development workshops and engaged with scripture and their religious traditions as they reflected on their roles in public life.