Also see:
Immigration:
A Catholic Perspective
And see:
justiceforimmigrants.org
|
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
- Department of Social Development
and World Peace (SDWP)
|
|
.
Thanks for the
Donation
Drive
REPORT
2010
------------
Donation Drive
for Migrant Workers
The families have been very appreciative of these donated
items in the past years.
Drop off items from this list ONLY
on the weekend of June 6, 2010. Leave donations neatly in
the main entrance of the church gathering space at St. Francis.
Donations Needed: Please donate only a selection
of these listed items. (NO clothes & NO food.)
The welcome baskets will contain only the items listed below. Drop them
off ONLY this two weekends, June 6 and June
13. Please leave donations neatly in the main entrance
of the church gathering space.
-- laundry detergent, laundry baskets, bleach;
-- toilet paper, paper towels, dish cloths, dish
towels, dish detergent;
-- new bath washcloths, towels, bed sheets;
-- bath soap, shampoo, deodorant for men & women,
shaving cream, disposable razors;
-- toothpaste, dental floss, tooth brushes;
-- bandages (for kids too), antibiotic cream, hand
sanitizer.
We also need help sorting and taking items to the farm.
Join us in showing them hospitality. Contact:
Rita Kieras (761-7796)
See our list of ways to help and
sign-up for this ministry. CLICK HERE to Sign-up. |
|
Migrant Farm Worker Ministry
Migrants start to arrive around May 10th & stay through October,at
the
"DuRussel Potato Farm - Camps/Neighborhoods
in Manchester, Michigan".
Ministry sponsored by St. Francis
of Assisi Parish
& in collaboration with
Catholics in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
Join us 2010... 
Is the Lord asking you to be interested in
migrant ministry this summer?
Contact: Rita Kieras (761-7796)
Thank you for 2010 Ministry!!
St. Francis parishioners volunteered to help bring about Christ’s kingdom
by showing our solidarity with the migrant workers and their families at
the DuRussel Potato Farm near Manchester. They helped in several different
ways, the first being a drive for household items, which consisted of sorting
and filling 36 laundry baskets and taking them out to the farm to distribute
to the families. The donations were from many parishioners and the people
who helped with this work were Meg Falahee, Susanna Brown, Catherine Murau,
Robin Gruber, Josephine Gonzalez, Joe Martinez, Rebecca Cornell, Colette
and John Hamil, Sandy and Dave Harrison, Wanita and Celia Forgacs, and
David Kieras.
Also, Gary Bastien organized, a field day, held for the children of
the migrant workers during their summer school. Some of the events they
participated in were running, jumping, and shot put. This was an
immense success and encouraged the children to work hard and do their best.
Gary was also able to get donations of 40 copies of the book, Lessons of
a Lakota, signed by the authors, Nicholas Sparks and Olympian runner, Billy
Mills, and donated by the authors to the children. Billy Mills' story is
inspirational to the migrant children, because Mills, a Native American,
grew up in poverty on an Indian Reservation and went ahead to run and win
an Olympic Gold medal.
Another set of activities provided by St. Francis parishioners were
some fun activities for the children after their summer school was over.
This was organized by parishioner, Teri Young and she has had help from
her husband, Carl, and their two grandchildren, and Veronica Perkins, Cicie
Miller, Anne Hoban and their middle and high schooler-aged sons and daughters.
They have had lots of fun telling stories, jumping rope, playing with hula
hoops and balls and bats, building with Legos, playing Uno, among
other things. Playing with the children in day care helps so much, while
their parents are working long hours in the fields.
Thank you to all parishioners who volunteered their time and donations.
We have welcomed and made a difference in the lives of the families of
the migrant workers. The pictures shown here are of the children
having fun and doing their best at their field day. Thanks
to Rita Kieras & Terry Young & Gary Bastien for coordinating all
of this. Also, thanks to the: USA
Track & Field Foundation
http://www.usatffoundation.org/news/2010-7-22.asp
[photos.youreonathletic.net Migrant Call]
See HISTORY &
other notes about this Migrant Ministry, Click Here.
|
See our LIST of WAYS to HELP and SIGN-UP for
this ministry.
CLICK HERE to Sign-up.
Learn How to Help with our Donation Drive
Here.
See of Video...
 Help
in migrant ministry:
The purpose for our involvement in migrant ministry at St. Francis
will be to help bring about Christ’s kingdom by showing our solidarity
with the migrant workers and their families at the DuRussel Potato Farm.
This will involve directly helping with their daily lives through a donation
drive and activities for them and their children. Another way we can do
this is by helping them grow in their faith and relationship to God through
religious education, encouragement for mass attendance by providing dinners
after Sun evening masses, and helping the children relate God to their
individual lives through fun activities.
See our list of ways to help and sign-up for this
ministry. CLICK HERE to Sign-up.
Migrant families come to Manchester to work each year, May through
October, at the Du Russel Potato Farm in Manchester, Michigan. Join
us in showing them some hospitality & learning from them about life
as migrant workers.
The St. Francis of Assisi Parish Migarnt Ministry is encouraging
and assisting with some of the unmet basic needs. We
serve all 4 camps at the farm. The camps/neighborhoods are groups
of small mobile homes separated by fields. They share outdoor laundry.
Each camp has roughly 10-15 families, with 6-10 people in each family.
They farm 2,000 acres. Each year along with
10 varieties of potatoes, they grow many other vegetable crops, such as
peppers, cilantro, parsley, dill, sweet corn, cucumbers, mustard, collard
and turnip greens and arugula.
Spinach is a new crop the DuRussels are growing. They
began planting a few acres of it three years ago. In 2006 they grew
1,000 tons of spinach. They send it to Campbell's for its V-8 Juice.
They plant radishes every two days during the summer,
so that there is a fresh crop every three weeks. (More
News)
See our LIST of WAYS to HELP and SIGN-UP for
this ministry. CLICK HERE to Sign-up.
|
(A printable PDF List of Ways
to Help with this ministry.)
|
| Directions to the DuRussel Farm,
4800 Esch Rd.,
Manchester, MI 48158.
(DuRussel Office 734-428-8900)
From St. Francis on non-freeway roads: Drive:
18.3 mi – about 33 mins.
1. Turn left at E Stadium Blvd
2. Turn left at S Main St
3. Continue on Ann Arbor Saline Rd.
4. Turn right at Pleasant Lake Rd. 5.0 mi
= 7 mins
5. Turn left to stay on Pleasant Lake Rd.
6.1 mi = 9 mins
6. Turn right at Esch Rd.
--------
From St. Francis on freeway roads: Take
94 West toward Jackson; take Exit for M-52. Take a right
onto
M-52 to go
south.
Follow for about 6 miles and take a left at the
blinking light for Pleasant Lake Rd. Go about 1 mile and on the left
is a sign for DuRussel Potato Farm.
Take a left on the dirt road and follow past a
few houses until you see farm/processing buildings on left. The mass
is visible from there on the left under a small canopy structure. |
---- ----
See
a 10 min Video (Summer of 2009)
... of Father Teo and Father Fernando's visit,
the priests from Spain that came to help us at
DuRussels and Witt farms
God Bless, Paco
---- ----
See
a 30 min Video (Summer of 2008)
The first half is the Holy Week Celebration with the
Hispanic Community in Jackson, while
the second half is dedicated to the ministry at the DuRussel’s
farm Manchester.
If you want to skip the Jackson part, after the introduction
you can
go to minute 16:00 and watch from there.
Enjoy. Paco
-------------------
During the past two years 2005 + 2006
St. Francis of Assisi Parish has come up with consistently generous donations.
St. Francis Parish is now the main source of household goods and a children's
library/story hour for the migrant ministry.
In these pictures: the kids are enjoying a snack
and story outside the trailer. Two of them are in the tree.
---------------
More News
The DuRussel family members are long time active Catholics who employ
and advocate for migrant workers in Michigan.
Mike DuRussel was recently named to the National Policy
Board for Migrant Health, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. He meets with the board, and travels to other parts of
the country that employ migrant workers, such as Texas and California.
During the summer the farm employs 120 people, including
migrant workers who are housed at the farm and work from June to October.
In the winter, 12 employees stay on and sort and bag potatoes for transport
to local markets or other states.
News from April 5, 2007:
At DuRussel's Potato Farms,
Manchester... (source) |
Thank you for your support!!!
I made a video last year (Summer of 2008) of Father
Paul’s work with the Hispanics in Jackson and at the Manchester Camp.
It is about 30 minutes long and the first half is the Holy Week Celebration
with the Hispanic Community in Jackson, while the second half is dedicated
to the ministry at the DuRussel’s farm Manchester. So if you want
to skip the Jackson part, after the introduction you can go to minute
16:00 and watch from there. Here is the link. Enjoy. Paco
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=46252ba9ef777a8689da
Also see the Diocese of Lansing: Hispanic Ministry/Migrant
Office at:
www.dioceseoflansing.org/hispanicmigrant/index.html
-----------------------------------------
Other related links:
-----------------------------------------
Our Good News Report... See
PAST HISTORY & other notes about this Migrant Ministry, Click
Here.
Prayer for the Migrants' Journey
Mary, our
Mother and our Lady of Guadalupe, we come to you as migrants and pilgrims,
passing briefly through this world, as we journey to our true home in heaven.
Show us the Way.
You were once a migrant too. Guide us along safe paths, protect us
from evil, and free us from all fear. Show us the Way.
Teach us to
welcome the strangers among us - immigrants, migrants, refugees, people
on the move -- all sisters and brothers on the journey. Show us the
Way.
Help us to seek
justice for the oppressed, to bring comfort to the afflicted, and to offer
hope and healing to all those we meet on the journey. Show us the Way.
Help us to recognize
that the only path to your Son is the way of justice. Strengthen us to
make straight this way before him. Show us the Way.
Open our hearts
and minds to the suffering of victims of human trafficking, children held
in detention, and other vulnerable persons in need of our hope and help
in their time of struggle. Amen.
(Learn
more about National Migration Week here...)
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|
|
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Parish Social Ministry
Office,
2150 Frieze Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
|
St.
Francis Parish Home