Catholic Community of Pleasanton

Social Justice Newsletter Archive

Selected Article on CCOP Ministries

 

CCOP DIVERSITY MINISTRY

 

Information submitted by Violet Cargill, co-chair

 

In support of the Pastoral Council focus on celebrating the rich diversity in our faith community Fr. Padraig held meetings in Summer, 2009 with ethnic groups in our community.  A Diversity Ministry team was developed from the meetings with co-Chairs Violet Cargill and Noel Salvador. Represervatives were from the following communities:

  • Hispanic / Filipino / African & African American
  • Brazilian / Korean / Indian
  • Indonesian / Caucasian / Italian

 

Diversity Ministry was developed to:

  • Create awareness & understanding. All are welcome
  • Celebrate diversity. Different as we are, we are all made in God's image and Likeness
  • Empower our community members to build, grow, and enrich faith communities
  • Broaden and enhance spirituality for all of or parish
  • Build a "communion of communities"
  • Promote evangelization of culture while taking into consideration their content and situation in life
  • Provide the space and place for all to recognize themselves in the prayer, the worship, and the leadership of the parish. Fr. Padraig will continue with his outreach to other ethnic groups at CCOP in 2011.

 

Diversity Committee meets on the second Wednesday of each month, 7:30 PM, Room A, St. Elizabeth Seton.

 

Some of our activities in our faith community during the 2009 - 2010 are:

  • Eucharistic support on Pentecost Sunday
  • Coordinated the CCOP parish picnic
  • Active participation in the Welcome Basket Ministry
  • Facilitated the development of English As A Second Language Class

ESL was developed in order to provide a supportive environment for members of our parish to achieve fluency in English.   Therefore, members of our parish community who are mono lingual in their native tongue would become bilingual and will be able to participate fully in all of CCOP activities and gain fluency in English so that they can function confidently in their outside activities in society.

  

Poem

He prayed - it was not my religion

She ate - It was not what I ate

He spoke - it wasn't my language

She dressed - it was not what I wore

He took my hand - It was not the color of mine

But when she laughed - It was how I laughed

And when he cried - It was how I cried