Page 23 - Catholic Extension Magazine Summer2020

Extension | Summer 2020 23

Among those who unfortunately
have lost their jobs, food inse-
curity grows. One parish, Our
Lady of Guadalupe in Mecca,
recently gathered 500 food bas-
kets for impacted migrant farm-
workers. Moreover, they put out
a notice to the larger community
that they will help anyone in need.
ABOVE In the Although California has recently
Diocese of announced an initiative to finan-
Yakima, Catholic cially assist poor families, many
Extension migrants there and nationwide are
supports
ministries to still struggling, especially if they
uplift the dignity cannot work.
of each migrant
farmworker. CHURCH LEADERS RALLY
LEFT The migrant AROUND MIGRANTS
population In an April 28 statement of sup-
swells in Yakima, port to migrants, U.S. Catho-
Washington, lic bishops called for greater test-
during the cherry- ing and access to healthcare for
picking season.
farmworkers, as well as provisions
allowing workers to follow CDC
preventative measures at their
employment and living quarters.
The bishops thanked the business-
sion funds the diocese’s innova- this time of year as migrants flock es and institutions already provid-
tive summer reading program for to the area. But with COVID-19, ing these protections.
the throngs of migrant kids whose Church leaders are keeping their For years, Pope Francis has
parents work the fields. These distance, opting to send encour- been decrying the “throwaway
programs may be in jeopardy this aging notes on their Facebook culture” in which we too eas-
summer, depending on the state’s page to their “essential worker ily dispose of the earth and its
pandemic restrictions. heroes.” They also call workers resources, our food, and most
In California, Catholic Exten- to provide counsel and hope. Sis- seriously, our people, especially
sion works with four dioceses that ter Lourdes González, MGSpS, the poor and vulnerable. Perhaps
collectively cover the fertile Sali- who leads migrant pastoral min- the silver lining of this pandemic is
nas, Coachella, San Joaquin and istry near Stockton, brings calm to a renewed sense of how much we
Central Valleys, which contribute workers and family members who depend upon one another. Peo-
significantly to the state’s annual are worried about their health ple we once regarded as dispos-
$50 billion agricultural indus- and livelihoods. Some agricultural able workers in our economy are,
try. But frontline Church leaders communities report COVID-19 in fact, indispensable.
are being cautious and suspend- infections as high as 25 percent. We depend on people like
ing their pastoral visits to migrant In Southern California’s Coach- migrant farm workers for our own
camps to prevent sickness. ella Valley, where COVID-19 cases well-being and nourishment, and
In the Diocese of Stockton, pas- continue to increase, migrants without them we too will suffer.
toral activity typically increases with jobs are grateful to work.