On September 29, the ESCC team partook in the celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, at Saint-Martyrs-du-Vietnam Parish. The warm welcome set the stage for the colorful and musical intercultural gathering that called for solemnity and solidarity. We seized the opportunity to touch base with protagonists in our work thus far with experts accompanying asylum seekers and newcomers, Alessandra Santopadre and Fr. Pierangelo Paternieri, co-leaders of the Welcome-Protect-Promote-Integrate team (APPI). Furthermore, the communications about the celebration had us understand that the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (VEYM), recognized on the same day for its 40 years of impactful outreach and mission, can inform our steps toward supporting Youth Ministries.
Read more at:
Join Us for World Day of Migrants and Refugees | Diocese of Montreal (diocesemontreal.org)
Regarding the diversity of newcomers and our pivot toward parishes, we are impelled forward by the following 2 points from the June 2023 research brief Religion and Belief among Immigrants to Canada published by Cardus: from page 2, “Immigrants’ beliefs and practices make them more likely than people born in Canada to fall on the more committed end of the Spectrum of Spirituality.”; from page 10, “As all Canadians seek to keep their country a welcoming home for immigrants, we would do well to consider how we might welcome immigrants’ faith and spirituality as well.”
In our next newsletter, we will report on the advancement of our pilot project with St John Brebeuf Parish, our encounters with Rabbi Lisa Grushcow of Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, and Pauline Grunberg, Executive Director of the Cummings Centre.