USCCB - (MRS) - Grant Application: Welcome the Stranger Among Us

MRS > Migration Policy and Public Affair Office > Grant Application: Welcome the Stranger Among Us - Unity in Diversity

Date: October 27, 2003

Diocese Name: Diocese of Davenport, Iowa

Program Tier: II

I. Needs Assessment: Describe the needs you are trying to meet in terms of a multi-cultural understanding and welcoming capacity within the local church to newly arrived and ethnically diverse groups in your diocese.

a. Provide data to document the need. Explain how you determined what the need is. Focus on those to be served, not the organization.

The rapid pace of change in immigration patterns that is occurring across the country has reached the Diocese of Davenport. Even the most rural areas of Iowa are experiencing immigration unlike they have experienced in generations. Many of the new immigrants arriving in the Diocese of Davenport are coming from Mexico and other parts of Latin America, where the estimates show that about 80% are Catholic by birth (USCCB, 2000).

The presence of so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ arriving at our doorsteps has placed a tremendous opportunity on all of the 86 parishes in the Diocese of Davenport. Immigration provides us with the opportunity for new spiritual enrichment, community improvement and cultural enhancement. It also presents a challenge for parishes who do not yet possess the resources or understand the language and culture of the new immigrants. At a time when this opportunity knocks, many of the same parishes experiencing the greatest numbers of new immigrants already find themselves stretched for resources to care for the existing needs in their communities.

We need an approach that looks at these problems and changes them into opportunities for growth. We need a pilgrim attitude that looks at these new challenges for evangelization, faith formation and pastoral ministry as an opportunity to strengthen our community of faith in ways described in the USCCB pastoral, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. The following proposal for funding for the Diocese of Davenport is a request to help us make this shift. Already, the process of completing this grant proposal and diocesan plan for Unity in Diversity has brought together many leaders in the Diocese to collaborate in new ways to meet the growing needs of the immigrants in our communities.

A comparison of the population in Iowa from the 2002 census shows that our diverse population in the state of Iowa is growing rapidly. The number of foreign-born residents in Iowa more than doubled between 1990 and 2000. In 1990, there were 43,316 foreign-born people in Iowa, which was 1.6 percent of the state's total population. By 2000, there were 91,005 foreign-born people in Iowa, which is 3.1 percent of the Iowa population.

The growth of the Hispanic population in Iowa has grown proportionate to the number of foreign-born people. The following graph shows the growing Hispanic population in Iowa since 1990.

[IMAGE GOES HERE]

There has also been a dramatic shift in terms of the native countries of newcomers in Iowa. In the 1990 Census, 42.8 percent of foreign-born Iowans came from Asia, mostly from Vietnam. Only 13.9 percent came from Latin America. By the 2000 Census, 36 percent of foreign-born Iowans were from Latin America. The Hispanic population is now the largest minority ethnic group in Iowa. About 74 percent of Iowa's Hispanic population comes from Mexico. Others come from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama and other Latin American nations. (The source of this information is a booklet produced by the University of Northern Iowa, entitled Welcoming New Iowans- A Guide for Managers and Supervisors.)

Many of the new immigrants arriving in our diocese are located in small rural communities where agri-businesses are expanding and recruiting workers. The Diocese has been hard-pressed to keep up with the social, pastoral and human needs of this growing immigrant population, most of whom are Catholics. For example, the diocesan Immigration Program now travels to three rural areas of our diocese once each month to bring those services to the growing numbers of immigrants in small rural communities.

The clients of our diocesan Immigration Program are foreign-born people who are eligible for a legal change in their immigration status. Most of them live in daily fear of deportation because about 73% of them are living here illegally. Most came here in search of employment or to re-unite with their family. Of the more than 3,000 cases filed since 1996, about 85% of the clients identified Mexico as their country of origin. About 3% come from other parts of Latin America. About 9% come from parts of Asia and the rest are from Eastern Europe or Africa. A recent survey of our case files for the past year shows that families served by our program average 2.4 children per family.

Because of the cultural differences between the new immigrants and the traditional rural families that formerly characterized most parishes in the Diocese of Davenport, it seems that we need to develop new models of ministry in all areas of pastoral ministry, especially in faith formation, evangelization and church life. For example, our Bishop notes that as he travels the diocese, he notices the increasing numbers of children who are from immigrant families. We are uncertain about the number of those immigrant children who are receiving catechesis or sacramental preparation. We think that we need to design sacramental preparation programs so that they are culturally sensitive to the native customs and language of the new immigrants and programmatically flexible to meet the scheduling needs of these new families – and other families – where parents are working 2nd and 3rd shift hours or who work long hours at varying times.

We also need to develop new approaches of evangelization to reach out with warm hospitality to greet and meet the new immigrants in our communities. One way of doing this would be to increase the number of parishes with active "church life" ministries. We also need to increase the number of parish ministry leaders who speak other languages and understand cultural differences. We need to increase the number of parishes that offer Mass – and other parish programs – in languages other than English. We need to increase the number of educational resources and training opportunities we have available in the diocese in languages other than English. We need to train leaders from the immigrant communities to become more actively involved in our parishes, and we need to train existing parish staff to do culturally diverse parish ministry.

b. Explain your current activities in relation to the identified needs and what the challenges are in meeting these needs

The diocesan Immigration Program provides counseling and assistance to immigrant families who need help in obtaining their legal documentation. This program minimizes the hardships that illegal immigration places on families and for the local community. Illegal immigration marginalizes families from the community. Without legal documentation, people cannot participate fully in the community. Many of our clients need a variety of services in the local community, but they do not access them - not only because of language and cultural barriers, but because the lack of legal documentation causes them to live in fear of any authorities. Completing this program gives immigrants the confidence they need to turn to other service providers, such as law enforcement officials, domestic violence workers, substance abuse programs and other human services. Illegal immigration also places a burden on local employers, who sometimes hire un-documented workers and lose them to deportation. Our service provides the community with a way to improve the transition of immigrants into our community in a legal and an orderly fashion, while insuring that the rights and dignity of the immigrants are also protected. The Immigration Program is staffed with three bi-lingual Latinas that serve a region surrounding about a 150 mile radius of Davenport, Iowa.

We currently have a position for a full-time Coordinator of Inter-Cultural Ministry that is vacant. We have a diocesan Vicar for Spanish-speaking Ministry who coordinates a diocesan committee named Pastoral Agents for Hispanic Ministry, which meets monthly to plan diocesan activities to serve the Latino population. This group includes several pastoral ministry staff and priests who provide Hispanic ministry in our parishes. We also have a Latino deacon who serves a multi-cultural parish in Davenport. We have two Vietnamese priests who serve the growing Vietnamese Catholic Community.

The Diocese of Davenport held a Diocesan Convocation on October14, 2002 to make plans and determine the needs in small and large parish communities. Goals and objectives were drafted from this convocation involving all six areas of ministries (social action, liturgy, faith formation, church life, family life, and finance and administration). Suggestions from the social action groups at the Convocation were analyzed by the diocesan Social Action Commission to devise a social action agenda. This included a list of core elements of social action that should be acted upon in all parishes and a list of suggestions for specific actions in 2002 for the diocesan, deanery and parish levels.

The three strategic goals for social action are:

To increase collaboration and communication between social action and other areas of ministry;
To develop educational programs about Catholic social teaching, such as Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity;
To develop training opportunities for social action leaders at the parish and deanery level.

Since the 2002 Convocation, the diocesan Social Action Commission has focused its efforts at these three goals. A core group of seven delegates who represented the Diocese of Davenport at the USCCB regional "Unity in Diversity" training decided to build upon the diocesan social action goals in developing our diocesan Action Plan and Outcome-based Objectives for Unity in Diversity. Therefore, the objectives of this grant proposal can be grouped into those same three categories of education, training and collaboration.

II. Outcomes -Based Objectives: In terms of impact for the newly arrived and ethnically diverse communities, describe how the intervention you propose will create the capacity within your diocese to meet their needs.

Our diocesan planning committee for Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, working in collaboration with diocesan staff and directors and the Pastoral Agents for Hispanic Ministry over the past few months, has developed the following list of three major objectives.

Objective 1:

Education: Using the pastoral letter, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, raise consciousness among the average person in the pew about the needs of the immigrant population and about the strengths they present us as church and community. Organize ministries of hospitality to "welcome the stranger" in every parish.

Objective 2:

Training: Identify, recruit, train and develop diverse leaders and members of parishes and deaneries to become more actively involved in all areas of ministry, including social action, liturgy, family life, faith formation, church life, and finance and administration.

Objective 3:

Collaboration: Create new models of faith formation that meet the needs of immigrant families. Train leaders and provide support to parish programs in faith formation in various languages. Encourage multi-lingual Masses and multi-cultural events.

III. Approach: Describe the methods and / or activities you propose to implement.

Objective 1:

Education: Using the pastoral letter, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, raise consciousness among the average person in the pew about the needs of the immigrant population and about the strengths they present us as church and community. Organize ministries of hospitality to "welcome the stranger" in every parish.

Actions:

Diocesan social action director, working with the planning committee for Unity in Diversity, develops a Power Point presentation that includes local and national photos demonstrating diversity in parish communities around the Diocese and presenting the pastoral message of Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. This Power Point presentation will be presented in the 18 parish-based educational programs involving each parish in the Diocese.
Diocesan planning committee for Unity in Diversity, working with the communications department at St. Ambrose University, develops a 15-minute diocesan video that reflects the pastoral message of Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. This video interviews parish priests and lay leaders about "best practices" and local immigrants who give testimonials about barriers they have encountered in our parish efforts to serve a diverse community. This video will be presented in the 18 parish-based educational workshops involving leaders from each parish in the Diocese.
The Unity in Diversity planning group organizes a speakers' bureau to help plan and lead these parish workshops. The 18 parish presentations are made by members of the planning committee acting in pairs – in 18 different locations around the diocese.
Bishop Franklin helps promote these workshops to insure that every pastor understands the importance of these workshops and that all parish council members, all parish staff and key parish leaders from each of the six areas of ministry are invited and encouraged to participate in one of these 18 workshops.
The Unity in Diversity planning committee – working together with diocesan staff from the Office of Pastoral Services – holds 18 parish workshops designed to educate and build awareness on the pastoral letter, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. These workshops are offered on a parish, multi-parish and /or deanery basis until every parish in the diocese participates in one of these workshops.
As part of these 18 workshops, the diocesan planning committee for Unity in Diversity distributes to all churches and schools in the diocese a new diocesan banner that uses three languages and three colors with graphics to proclaim, "Welcome the Stranger Among Us".
The diocesan Social Action Office purchases and distributes copies of the two recent documents of the USCCB – Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope (January 2003) the Pastoral Letter on Migration produced jointly by the US and Mexican Conferences of Bishops, and the Statement of the USCCB, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity (November 2000), to every parish in the Diocese. These materials are distributed at the 18 parish workshops.
Diocesan planning committee for Unity in Diversity also makes presentations of the educational workshop to the diocesan Presbyteral Council, Social Action Commission and to any individual parish council making the request for a special presentation of this program.
Through the diocesan Office of Pastoral Services, the Diocese will plan immersion projects matching immigrants and non-immigrants, such as those scheduled as part of our "Just Faith" program, which has been launched this fall in parishes and deaneries around the diocese.

Outcomes:

More parishioners are aware of the gifts that immigrants bring to our communities.
More parishioners are sensitive to the needs of immigrants and their families.
More parishes offer a more welcoming presence to immigrants.
More relationships are built between immigrants and non-immigrants to bridge the acceptance gap present in our parishes.
More parishes have active parish-based church life ministries or commissions that will be involved in welcoming immigrants, migrants, refugees and newcomers to their parish. Specifically, at least five more parishes will organize an active, parish church life commission to welcome newcomers and immigrants into their parish.
More opportunities are present to involve greater participation of immigrants in the life of the parish.
More diverse leaders emerge in social action, youth ministry, liturgy, family life, faith formation, finance and administration, and all areas of ministry.

Outcome Measurement:
With the help of the diocesan Social Action Commission, the Diocese will conduct pre-and post-program tests of all parishes in the diocese ascertaining how many parishes currently have active committees to welcome newcomers and immigrants into the life of the parish. At the conclusion of this program, we hope to add at least five parish "welcoming" committees around the diocese.

Objective 2:

Training: Identify, recruit, train and develop diverse leaders and members of parishes and deaneries to become more actively involved in all areas of ministry, including social action, liturgy, family life, faith formation, church life, and finance and administration.

Actions:

Hold a diocesan Encuentro (which will be inclusive of all people and will be planned and scheduled by the end of 2004 at St. James parish in Washington, Iowa) as a leadership training session that involves and attracts a diverse audience
Involve a diverse group in the planning of the diocesan Encuentro.
Involve diverse group of presenters at the diocesan Encuentro.
Include pertinent workshops on topics that are culturally relevant, such as one on message of the pastoral letter, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity.
The diocesan Social Action Office will continue to collaborate with groups such as Quad Cities Interfaith (a CCHD funded group) to bring training opportunities to Davenport and other parts of the diocese.

Outcomes:

More diverse leaders emerge in social action, youth ministry, liturgy, family life, faith formation, finance and administration, and all areas of parish ministry.
More diverse leaders participate in specific ministry roles, including parish council members, Eucharistic ministers, religious education teachers, religious vocations, and youth ministers.
Local ethnic communities are brought more fully into the life of the parish and diocese.
A diverse group of clergy, parish staff and seminarians minister to our increasingly diverse church community.
New leaders get involved in the planning and implementation of this plan
New leaders hold multi-cultural events held in several parishes in the diocese in multiple languages.

Outcome Measurement:
With the help of the diocesan Social Action Commission, the Diocese will conduct pre- and post-program surveys to ascertain how many immigrants are currently involved in leadership capacities in parish ministry. We hope to increase that number by at least 20% through this program.

Objective 3:

Collaboration: Unity in Diversity Committee and Pastoral Agents for Hispanic Ministry work with diocesan Office of Pastoral Services to encourage collaboration between all areas of ministry in the Diocese of Davenport. Office of Faith Formation works with committee to create new models of faith formation that meet the needs of immigrant families and to train leaders and provide support to parish programs in faith formation in various languages.

Actions:

Through the diocesan Office for Faith Formation, new models of parish faith formation will be developed, in consultation with parish leaders, so that we continue to work collaboratively and provide support to those working with diverse populations, e.g. the Spanish-speaking and Vietnamese-speaking.
Through the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, the Diocese will plan, organize and offer a conference to train catechists and teachers in sacramental preparation and faith formation. Utilizing interpreters, we will make sure that the program is available to those catechists and teachers who are not fluent in English.
Through the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, the Diocese will purchase additional materials in Spanish and Vietnamese as needed for parish and deanery programs. This will include programs for Generations of Faith and Echoes of Faith.
The Diocese will utilize resources from the National Association for Hispanic Catechists.

Outcomes:

The diocesan Office of Faith Formation develops new models of sacramental preparation and faith formation that work for the immigrants, migrants, refugees, minorities and other newcomers in the parishes of our Diocese.
Through the diocesan conference on faith formation, these new models of faith formation are explained to clergy, religious, and parish leaders throughout the diocese.
Culturally diverse and sensitive ministry programs are offered, such as faith formation programs, at the diocesan and parish levels.
Parish-based faith formation programs meet the needs of a diverse community, with ongoing support from the diocesan level.
Culturally appropriate faith formation programs – especially those for sacramental preparation – are developed and utilized in parishes and offer sacramental preparation programs in such a way that we minimize the obstacles for family participation.
A diverse group of clergy, parish staff, lay leaders and seminarians minister to our increasingly diverse church community.
More immigrant families participate in faith formation programs at the parish level, including more children enrolled in catechetical programs, more adults involved in RCIA, and more families and individuals are involved in all sacramental programs
Parish-based faith formation programs meet the needs of a diverse community, with ongoing support from the diocesan level.
Culturally diverse and sensitive faith formation programs are developed and utilized at the diocesan level.
Through this collaboration, other ministry areas are encouraged to be more culturally inclusive in their ministry.
Spanish Masses are offered in additional locations around the Diocese, e.g. in Iowa City, Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield and Oskaloosa.
Spanish lessons are conducted for clergy, religious and lay ministers and volunteers in local parishes around the Diocese.
Coverage of immigration concerns increases in the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Messenger.

Outcome Measurement:
With the help of the diocesan Social Action Commission, the Diocese will conduct pre- and post-program interviews and surveys measuring pastors' opinions about the availability and accessibility of their parish programs in faith formation for immigrants in their local community. We hope to witness a significant improvement of opinion by pastors about the availability and accessibility of parish faith formation programs at the end of the two-year period of this program.

Monitoring and Implementation: The Social Action Office and the planning committee of the Unity in Diversity delegation from the Diocese of Davenport will monitor these objectives to see that they are performed in a timely manner. These objectives have a 24-month time period unless stated otherwise. Some of these steps are already underway in 2003. The diocesan social action director, working in conjunction with the diocesan Social Action Commission, will develop a phone and written survey to gain feedback from pastors and diocesan offices about our progress toward these outcomes.

IV. Budget. Please submit a line-item budget and a brief narrative summary that details the requested amount and projected expenditures, e.g. staff to manage the program, their duties and related material and operational costs. Discuss the availability of other resources in your diocese to share in the funding of this initiative.

In order to accomplish the objectives of this proposal, the Diocese of Davenport requests funding assistance for:

Purchase of USCCB materials on the pastoral letter in multiple languages. These materials will be necessary for the workshops we hold throughout the Diocese so that the average person in the pew has an opportunity to learn about the pastoral message of Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity.
Production of the 15-minute diocesan video on Unity in Diversity. This video will be developed by diocesan staff working with the communications office at St. Ambrose University. It will interview recent immigrants to the Diocese of Davenport as well as local leaders from parishes and diocesan offices who are working to provide ministry to immigrants. It will be shown across the Diocese as it accompanies the teachers of the workshops on the pastoral letter, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, as a part of each of these diocesan workshops.
Production and distribution of the 115 diocesan banners proclaiming Unity in Diversity in multiple languages. These banners will be distributed to parishes as leaders from those parishes attend the workshops for Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity.
Purchase of faith formation videos and curriculum guides in Spanish and Vietnamese. These materials will be shared with diocesan staff and volunteers and used as the basis for diocesan training sessions for catechetical leaders, adult formation teachers and other parish leaders.
Support for leadership training events and parish-based workshops on Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. This includes: a.) payment of honorarium and travel expenses for the speakers for the diocesan Encuentro, b.) travel assistance for the volunteers from the Unity in Diversity committee who will make the 18 parish workshops about the pastoral letter, and c.) honorarium, travel and printing for the diocesan conference on culturally diverse faith formation.
Purchase of technology for parish workshops with video and Power Point presentation, so that equipment is available to travel throughout the diocese. Because the presenters of these parish-based workshops are clergy, parish staff and parish volunteers, most of whom live in the central part of the Diocese of Davenport (usually 50-125 miles away from Davenport), the diocesan laptop computer and LCD projector (which is in Davenport), is not readily available. The Davenport-based equipment is currently being used on a very regular basis for the many parish-based workshops being held on the diocesan sexual misconduct policy. The equipment to be purchased for this project would be paid for partially out of this grant. It is necessary so that the volunteers can set up a schedule utilizing this equipment and presenting the pastoral message to parishes throughout the diocese. Our parishes do not currently have this technology readily available.
Reproduction of the Power Point presentation, which will be used by the presenters of the parish-based workshops on the pastoral letter.

Diocesan Contribution to the Unity in Diversity Plan

The diocesan social action director will dedicate at least 10-20% of his time over the next two years to working on the objectives in the diocesan action plan. The diocesan Faith Formation Office will contribute staff time from several people, including the Coordinators of Adult Faith Formation, Catechetical Formation and Youth Formation, the Director of Faith Formation and Superintendent of Schools and the Coordinator of Special Education Services for the Diocese of Davenport. Other diocesan staff, including the administrative assistant and other staff members of the diocesan Social Action Office, will also be involved in the implementation of this plan.

The Diocese is also contributing many in-kind services to this plan, including mileage and other expenses for staff travel to planning meetings for implementation of this plan.

The actual cost of obtaining the laptop computer and LCD projector are estimated to be about $4,500. Of this amount, the diocesan board for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development will contribute the difference between the actual amount, estimated at about $4,500, and the $1,845.35 requested below.

Of the items specified below in the diocesan Proposed Budget, the total costs are estimated very conservatively.

Proposed Budget
Unity in Diversity: Welcoming the Stranger Among Us

Quantity	Product	Cost Each	Total Cost
115	Parish/ School Banners	30.00	$3,450.00
125	Kits: "Welcoming the Stranger Among Us"	4.17	$521.25
1000	"Welcoming the Stranger Among Us": English	1.37	$1,370.00
200	"Welcoming the Stranger Among Us": Spanish	1.37	$274.00
20	"Asian- Pacific Presence": Vietnamese	2.97	$59.40
1000	"Welcoming the Stranger Among Us": leaflets	.30	$300.00
500	Prayer Cards ($6 for a package of 50)	.12	$60.00
1	Develop Training Video - Diocese of Davenport	3100.00	$3,100.00
1	Laptop and LCD Projector		$1,845.35
18	Travel expense for volunteer presenters at 18 parish-based workshops	50.00	$900.00
2	Workshops/ Conferences	850.00	$1,700.00
	Educational Material in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese	700.00	$700.00
	Adult Ministry Formation Program - Spanish	700.00	$700.00
	Develop and Copy Power Point Presentation	20.00	$20.00

	Total		$15,000.00

Budget Narrative

The 115 diocesan banners will be made of 3' x 5' nylon flag material. It will express the message, "Welcome the Stranger", in three languages - English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. It will include one picture and three colors. These banners will be distributed to all 86 parishes, all 18 elementary schools, 7 high schools and two colleges in the Diocese of Davenport, and to the Chancery, as the leaders of these organizations attend the parish-based workshops on the pastoral letter. They are to be displayed as a visible sign of our commitment to "welcome the stranger".

The 125 Welcoming the Stranger kits will be distributed among pastors, school principals, and diocesan staff members as they attend the workshops.

The 1,300 copies of the pastoral letter, Welcoming the Stranger, will be sold for $1 each to each participant who attends the parish educational workshops on the pastoral letter. With the 40% discount on USCCB materials and the $1 for each copy subtracted from the total, it will cost us $1.45 per copy for the booklets. We plan to order 1,000 English copies, 200 Spanish copies, and 50 Vietnamese copies and 25 copies each of Korean and Chinese copies of the pastoral.

The 1,000 copies of the leaflet on Welcoming the Stranger will be handed out to all participants at the parish-based educational workshops and distributed at other diocesan events to advertise the workshops.

The 500 prayer cards will be used as handouts at all workshops on the pastoral letter.

The training film will be produced by the communications department at St. Ambrose University, which is affiliated with the Diocese of Davenport.

The laptop computer and LCD projector will be used by members of the Unity in Diversity planning committee as they travel around the diocese holding the workshops on the pastoral message. These workshops will include presentations of the Power Point presentation, which will be an adaptation of the national Power Point presentation, and the diocesan video, which can be added to the Power Point presentations, and shown about 25 times in parishes and deaneries around the Diocese of Davenport. We request $1,836.25 to help with the purchase of this equipment (less than half of the estimated cost). The rest of the funds for this purchase will come from diocesan funds of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

The Diocese will sponsor two conferences in the next 24 months, one of which will be a diocesan Encuentro for a diverse audience. For this event, we budget $850. Of this amount, $800 will cover travel and honorarium for a keynote speaker and $50 will cover printing expenses. The parish in Washington, Iowa will donate space and the Unity in Diversity committee will work with diocesan staff to do the planning and organizing of the event. The other conference will be a training for faith formation leaders in the Diocese. For this conference, we request $850, which will cover honorarium and travel for a speaker and $50 for printing. For each of these events, the Diocese will devote diocesan staff time to help plan and organize the conferences.

The Diocese will hold 18 workshops for parishes and deaneries teaching the pastoral message of Welcoming the Stranger: Unity in Diversity. For each of these 18 workshops, we request travel expenses in the amount of $50 per workshop for two speakers to travel to the workshops. The Diocese will cover printing and mailing of promotional materials, making copies of materials available in the USCCB kits on the pastoral.

The educational materials in faith formation will cost $700. They will be purchased in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. For adult lay ministry formation, the Diocese will also purchase materials in Spanish for $700.

The costs affiliated with development and copying of the Power Point Presentation will be $20 to make multiple copies of the presentation and distribute them around the diocese.

Identifying Resources

During the last few months, the Diocese has convened staff members from diocesan offices and parishes with diverse local communities to create this action plan. This has brought the diocesan staff and parish staff closer together. This diocesan plan was created as a collaborative effort with widespread ownership to meet the objectives outlined in this proposal. The planning meetings have led to further discussions between diocesan staff and parish leaders about issues that are being explored more collaboratively than on previous occasions.

Diocesan staff will continue to work closely with the Pastoral Agents for Hispanic Ministry and the Unity in Diversity planning committee in meeting the objectives of this plan. These committees include several bilingual priests, two bilingual religious sisters, and several lay people who are committed to this project.

The Diocese is fortunate to have a committed team of active parish and diocesan leaders committed to the ministry to "welcome the stranger". The Diocese has an active group of volunteers that help with immigration projects such as the immigration outreach clinics, workshops on cultural diversity and support for the diocesan Immigration Program. The diocesan Social Action Commission supports this plan. The diocesan board for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development / Catholic Relief Services has supported projects such as the Iowa Latino Conference with diocesan funding. They continue to be committed to this ministry.

The Diocese presently has a small supply of some faith formation and social action materials in three languages – English, Spanish and Vietnamese. The Diocese will continue to obtain more faith formation, social action, and liturgy materials in Spanish and Vietnamese. The Catholic Messenger (diocesan newspaper) is including more Spanish articles, sometimes side by side with the English version of the same story.

The Diocese will continue to support ministry to "welcome the stranger" with staff from the Office of Pastoral Services. The Diocese will also continue to invest its resources to support education to promote the message of the pastoral letter, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, and to expand pastoral services to our increasingly diverse parish communities.

Through the Office of Pastoral Services, the Diocese will continue to organize immersion activities that will expose community members to people whose lives are different from theirs and build opportunities for conversion of hearts through personal relationships. This will include the efforts of six parishes in the diocese that are starting the "Just Faith" program in September 2003, which will include immersion activity and Journey to Justice retreats. These retreats will include immersion activity with the CCHD-funded group, Quad Cities Interfaith. .

Through the diocesan Social Action Office, the Diocese will continue to challenge the growing anti-immigrant sentiment, which is especially high in Iowa because outside national hate groups have targeted Iowa with their negative ads – due to the media attention on Iowa during the months leading up to the January 19, 2004 Iowa caucuses. Three years ago, Bishop William Franklin of the Diocese of Davenport issued a statement against these ads that scapegoat immigrants for all of our social and economic problems. His letter was published in two secular newspapers in our diocese and the diocesan newspaper. (See attached).

Through the implementation of this plan, such as the video production and parish workshops, the Diocese will improve the collaboration between many offices and committees throughout the Diocese. We will also create opportunities for immigrants and refugees to evangelize by sharing their stories in parishes, schools, and community meetings. It is through the personal exchange of stories that hearts can truly be converted.

Through diocesan funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Diocese is supporting and promoting leadership training sessions in Spanish in cooperation with Quad Cities Interfaith, the CCHD-funded group. Also through a diocesan CCHD grant, the Diocese is helping to plan, support and promote the statewide Latino Conference that is held in our diocese in November.

During the last few months, the Diocese has convened staff members from diocesan offices and parishes with diverse local communities to create this action plan. This has brought the diocesan staff and parish staffs closer together. This diocesan plan was created as a collaborative effort and it now has widespread ownership to meet the objectives outlined in this proposal. The planning meetings have led to further discussions between diocesan staff and parish leaders about issues that are being explored more collaboratively than on previous occasions.

Because the Diocese does not have a staff position to implement this plan, it will take a collaborative effort from many people. The diocesan social action director will take primary responsibility for initiating, monitoring and evaluating the plan, working closely with the Office of Pastoral Services, the Pastoral Agents for Hispanic Ministry, the Unity in Diversity planning committee, and the diocesan Social Action Commission.

Diocesan staff from the Office of Pastoral Services will continue to meet regularly with the Pastoral Agents for Hispanic Ministry and the Unity in Diversity planning committee in order to review and plan the implementation of this plan. These two committees include several bilingual priests, two bilingual religious sisters, and several lay people who are committed to this project.