I come from a Wesleyan tradition of churches so we love quotations we attribute to John Wesley. One of his well-known quotations is: “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” Of course, every day there are moments when I fall short, but for me, this quote holds a special significance when I think about the struggles of immigrants who come to our country. The thought of a mother struggling to find ear drops for her screaming infant in our local CVS because she can’t read the labels in English breaks my heart and compels me to take action. This is why I have decided to become involved with ProGente Connections. They have three main arms of their organization: a “Welcome to America” class and orientation for recent immigrants, one consisting of ESL classes, and the third is a mentorship program to help Brazilian immigrant teachers become certified to teach in the state of Massachusetts.
Trinity Episcopal Church is on the agenda at the next board meeting of ProGente to become a new site of ministry in the ESL branch of ProGente. And many of you have already committed to helping to teach English! I am deeply encouraged and humbled by the great enthusiasm of this generous community.
You might be interested to know that this project came about in conversations with our high school families, who said they wanted a meaningful way to give back to the community, and if that could be in conjunction with their faith tradition, that was all the more meaningful. I see God using this community to give back but I also see God providing us with an authentic way to serve inter-generationally. This is how deep relationships can be built across generations in our very own Trinity world.
I believe that this is a beautiful example of spiritual formation, as it brings together people of different ages and backgrounds to serve and build deep relationships with one another. It also aligns with the church’s mission to be in service and help immigrants integrate and be part of the community.
So, as we go about our week, let us remember to “Do all the good we can, By all the means we can, In all the ways we can, In all the places we can, At all the times we can, To all the people we can, As long as ever we can.” Let us strive to make a positive impact in our community and in the lives of those around us.
If you want to sign up or have questions about this new service opportunity, please contact me.
In Christ,
Rev. Julia