Pastoral Plan for HisPanic Ministry / From Guests to Hosts Hispanic ...

Part iv— Parish Pastoral Planning Tool for the Development of Hispanic Ministry / From Guests to Hostsstructure as members on equal terms.Step 8: Promote ownership and stewardship by putting giftsof the Hispanic community to work for the wider parish community.Establish a stewardship committee with Hispanic participation.Promote a spirituality of stewardship among Hispanicparishioners in Spanish.Offer training and materials on stewardship in Spanish.Parishes that have reached Step 8, find in its Hispanicmembers a great source of time, talent and treasure inthe service of the entire faith community. The mosteffective way to promote stewardship among Hispanicsis to have a pastor that knows them, visits themand invites them personally to get involved and togive generously. Signs that a parish has reached thislevel of development include:h The number of baptized Hispanic children on a givenyear is high. The number of First Communions andConfirmations is also on the rise.h The contribution of Hispanics in terms of volunteer servicesand ministries in parishes with matured Hispanicministry is extensive.h Their financial contribution is ever more significant asmore Hispanics see their children grow in the context ofa Catholic faith community that is their own they feelcompelled to give more generously.The relevant pastoral priority to further strengthen thepastoral planning in this step is Stewardship. See actionssteps under mentioned priority.Suggested actions:Pastors invite Hispanics to contribute time, talent and treasureto build a culturally diverse faith community that is their own:Ask pastors to promote stewardship by example.Ask pastors to promote stewardship with a biblical foundation,since this is most appealing to the Hispanic community.Ask pastors to promote hospitality as a basic tenant ofstewardship.Personally invite newcomers to participate in volunteeropportunities or consultative structures.Identify Hispanic leadership to participate in stewardshipopportunities offered by the archdiocese.Step 9: Achieve full commitment to the life and mission ofthe parish.Parishes that reach this level of development identifythemselves as culturally diverse faith communities.Pastoral planning is done taking into considerationthe needs, aspirations and contributions of all parishioners,Hispanic and otherwise. The pastor and hisstaff, as well as the members of the parish council,financial council and other consultative bodies includeleaders representing the cultural diversity ofthe parish. Members of these bodies see themselvesas bridge-people and bring unity to the parish communityin its different pastoral priorities, programsand activities.It is important to keep in mind that the migrationpattern of Hispanics is very high. A parish on thisstage of development, with a well established Hispaniccommunity, may experience a significant influxof new Hispanic immigrants. This means thatthe parish as a whole needs to be ready to welcomethe newcomers so that they may also benefit from ahealthy process of ecclesial integration. This new effortdoes not mean going back to point zero. For theculturally diverse parish community will have theexperience, skills and capabilities of welcoming thenewcomers in a truly Catholic way.The relevant pastoral priority to further strengthen thepastoral planning in this step is Building RelationshipsAcross Cultures. See action steps under the mentionedpriority.Suggested actions:Pastors, staff, and the Hispanic community commit tostrengthen the unity of the parish while honoring its diversity:Invite parishioners to build a culturally diverse communitythat is their own.Part iVChallenge all to become active participants of the faith37