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

Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry / From Guests to HostsAppendix DTerminology Related to Hispanic MinistryThe following tool is offered to address some common and not so common pastoral and culturalterminology as it relates to Hispanic ministry. This tool can be used for a fruitful discussion orreflection regarding culture and/or Hispanic ministry.Appendix DAcculturation: A social process whereby an ethnic-culturalgroup adapts to a new culture.Bicultural: Someone who embodies the values, traditionsand expressions of two different cultures and feels comfortablemoving from one to the other, thus bringingthem together in a harmonious way.Bilingual: The capacities to speak, read, and/or write twodifferent languages at some level..Braceros: From the Spanish root word, “arms” describes theMexican nationals who participated in the bi-lateral laboragreement that provided farm workers to work in thefarms and fields in both Western and Eastern Washingtonas well as throughout the United States.Bridge-people: Committed Catholics who are willing andhave the desire and skills to engage people from differentcultural backgrounds and ethnicities, and are effectivein developing relationships and collaborating across culturesand ministries.Campesino: The Spanish word for a field worker, farm worker,or a laborer who performs manual labor in a farm.Communio: The unity of the local Church with Christ madevisible through the pastoral leadership of the bishop,celebrating faith through the sacraments, especially theEucharist.Communion in mission: See “Pastoral de Conjunto.”Culture: The self established and communicated identity ofa given group’s way of doing things, way of feeling, andway of understanding by way of a given framework of symbolsand ritual actions through which it understands theworld.Cultural assimilation: A process by which members of anethnic-cultural group, typically immigrants, or otherminority groups, are “absorbed” into an established,generally larger community. This presumes a loss of allor many characteristics of its identity which make thenewcomers different. A region or society where assimilationis occurring is sometimes referred to as a “melting18pot.”Dominant culture: A culture whose tendency is to absorb orassimilate other cultures.Ecclesial integration: Unlike “integration” in the social orpolitical context, ecclesial integration is the process wherebymost recent arrivals adapt to the receiving culture:language, laws, customs; the in-coming cultural-ethniccommunity maintains its own cultural values, languageand traditions; and the receiving culture is enriched andstrengthened in its Catholic identity. As a result bothcultures are transformed by the Holy Spirit into a newPentecost.Ecclesial space: An ecclesial space is understood as a welcomingenvironment in which participants from a givencultural group are free to express their Christian andparish identity from within their cultural context. Thisecclesial space is comprised of time, space, structural andattitudinal elements of hospitality. To the extent thatsuch an ecclesial space is provided in parishes and faithcommunities, it will be possible for the cultural communitiesto be fully integrated into the wider communityand share their gifts and talents.Encuentro: Ecclesial opportunities of bringing people togetherfrom different cultural, ethnic, and linguistic44