Year: 2018

By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger

MOUNT PLEASANT — Diocesan volunteer Loxi Hopkins pulls up to the back entrance of First Presbyterian Church and starts unloading a van packed with Christmas presents, including a giant stuffed unicorn. Joining her Monday morning are six other gift-bearers, who have arrived in separate vehicles from the Davenport Diocese. Their mission: to deliver presents sealed with love for around 30 families impacted by an immigration raid seven months ago in Mount Pleasant, a town of 8,500 in Henry County.

Gifts will be distributed during a Posada Festival on Dec. 23 in the church that serves as a distribution center for the immigrant families whose lives are on hold. “This is a blessing for us,” says Julieta Reza, a volunteer in the church’s food pantry, as she directs the gift-bearers to the church hall. “Thank you so much for taking your time and for your sharing with us and our families. I say thank you, God, for this.”

Julieta’s husband, William Ramirez, was among 32 men apprehended in the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raid May 9 at Midwest Precast Concrete Facility. Five of the 32 have been deported; three remain in custody, including Ricardo Macias, the husband of Julieta’s sister, Yesica Reza.

Twenty-four of the men have been released on bond and are awaiting court dates — scheduled in 2019 — including Julieta’s husband. None are allowed to work, or to leave Mount Pleasant, until their cases are decided in court. “We need to share love and compassion,” Julieta says. “I don’t have a lot to give to the families, but I can give my time.”

Loxi and Esmeralda Guerrero, administrative assistant for the Davenport Diocese’s Social Action Office, are regular visitors at First Presbyterian, visiting once a month. They have gotten to know the families. Esmeralda serves as a translator for immigrants whose English is limited.

On this day of the gift-giving mission, Loxi and Esmeralda are deep in conversation with Rosita Oliva, whose husband, Elmer Espinal, remains in detention in the Muscatine County Jail. Words aren’t necessary when Rosita is asked how she and her kids are preparing for Christ­mas. Her eyes tear up.

A flyer posted on the church’s bulletin board in the front entryway announces the Posada Festival. “Iowa WINs (Iowa Welcomes Immi­grant Neighbors) and the Hispanic Community invites you to a traditional posada festival to celebrate our lives together as one community,” the flyer reads. Posada, which means “inn” or “shelter” in Spanish, re-enacts the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and their search for a place to stay.

“This is pretty much the situation we are in now,” says Victor Rodrigo Noris, who is overseeing the community’s posada. He was not involved in the ICE raid, but he is the brother of Julieta and Yesica. The posada festival is a way to express gratitude for the organizations and faith groups, including the Davenport Diocese and St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Mount Pleasant that have assisted the families.

This Christmas, Victor and his family will pray for the return of Yesica’s husband and for a positive outcome to court hearings for all of the men. “We are a community. We need to help each other to keep going. Life is full of ups and downs. If we stick together as a community, we can do lots of things,” Victor says.

Sister Mary Bea Snyder, CHM, one of Monday’s gift-bearers, displays cookies and other edible creations — melting snowmen, reindeer cupcakes, Rice Krispies wreaths – that she and her friends prepared and packaged — 32 plastic containers in all. Sr. Bea also purchased 45 gifts for the immigrants’ children, with donations from the Humility of Mary Sisters of Davenport, associates, friends and others.

“Children love Christmas, and gift-giving is a part of Christmas,” Sr. Bea says. “These kids don’t have what they need to begin with and to think they wouldn’t have something for Christmas broke my heart. It’s living the Gospel with joy to do for others as you would want them do for you.”

Tammy Shull, Iowa WINs chair, said it’s still a scary time for the immigrants. The Christmas gifts offer a “little hope that maybe there is a future for them.”

By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger

Although fifth-grader Lydia Valiga knew that she was good at art and had a chance at placing in The Catholic Messenger Christmas card contest, she was surprised to win the top honor.

A student at Regina Elementary School in Iowa City, she entered the contest for the first time this year. She said she was given two days in school to create the artwork, which was not enough time for her. So she took her artwork home to complete all of the details.

Lydia said various readings in Scripture that she has heard and artwork featuring Jesus’ birth inspired her to bring various scenes together. She chose to show Mary and Joseph kneeling before the baby Jesus. Most of the animals are kneeling as well. “You usually see them sitting or kneeling when (someone is) telling about the birth of Jesus,” she noted. A crowd of people line up to see the newborn king. The angels above proclaim his birth. The wise men are on their way to bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Her favorite medium is colored pencils or paint because colors can be blended easier. She used crayon in her artwork for the contest because she knew deeper colors would show better.

Lydia said she saw the artwork of a few fellow students and figured they had a better chance at winning. She said she was “surprised” to be called to the principal’s office to find out that she won the contest.

Principal Celeste Vincent said she loves that The Catholic Messenger offers this contest and that it is open to all youths (in grades K-6) in the diocese.

A total of 648 students from Catholic schools, religious education programs and home-school programs entered this year’s contest. Thank you for all who shared their creations. Grade-level winners and runners’ up appear in this issue as well.

To see the other Catholic Messenger Christmas Card contest winners go to http://www.catholicmessenger.net/2018/12/christmas-card-contest-winners-2018/

By Ana Maria Shambaugh
For The Catholic Messenger

“May your life not be a sterile life. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and your love.” This thought of St. José María Escrivá has always resonated in my heart, in my mind and in my daily life. St. Jose Maria always spoke of sanctification in ordinary life.

Pope Francis also encourages us to live our faith in these times by saying: “Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or your wife, as Christ did with the Church. Are you a worker? Be holy by doing your job with honor and honesty to the service of others. Are you a father, a mother, grandmother or grandfather? Be holy by patiently teaching children to follow Jesus. Do you have authority? Be holy by fighting for the common good and renouncing your personal interests.”

Advent presents us with many ways in which we can practice our faith today. As our Savior did, we strengthen our faith by serving others, nurturing it with the Scripture and sharing our belief with others.

In this preparation for the coming of Jesus, our faith can be expressed with details of love. Advent prepares us for Christmas, inviting us to place Jesus at the center of the celebration.

Advent is the opportunity to think about the shepherds, the wise men and all those who were in the humble stable, where our Lord Jesus Christ was born. The best gift that we can have at this time is to participate in the holy Mass, to experience the joy of Salvation that comes in the tender smile of a child, born in the small town of Bethlehem.

Another opportunity that Advent offers us is to contemplate the face of Jesus in our brothers and sisters. At an early age we learn the works of mercy and it is important that we constantly remember them. See the face of Jesus in the sick, the hungry, the thirsty; in those who have no home or clothing; in the prisoners; in those who seek more knowledge; in those who need advice; in those who live in the dark; in those whom I forgive with all my heart; in those who are sad; in those who need consolation, and for the living and the dead to whom I offer my daily prayer.

Another beautiful way to prepare for Christmas is inviting Jesus to be the center of our homes, inviting him to our table, to our prayer through the Advent wreath, the Christmas novena, the holy rosary and through forgiveness. Sometimes we have resentments with relatives, with friends and it is time to forgive them, opening our hearts to that wonderful encounter with Jesus … It will be a tremendous gift!

Living our faith in these times of hope is a gift from God. He asks us to light the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ, whom we carry in our hearts. And you, how do you live your faith in this season?

(Ana Maria Shambaugh is a receptionist and administrative assistant in the multicultural office at the Diocese of Davenport.)

 

By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger

DAVENPORT — Twelve children from a low-income neighborhood served by Project Renewal watched in awe as St. Ambrose University engineering students competed in a robotics competition in an engineering classroom last week. The older students cheered as each robotic vehicle, the size of a scale model car, lumbered across a floor mat in search of colored chips that had to be moved to specific spaces.

After watching the competition, the younger students moved into an adjacent room for a pre-Christmas party held in their honor. Christmas presents, hot cocoa and cookies awaited them. Professor Jodie Prosise, who chairs the university’s engineering and physics department, delivered the first gift: a story about her life intended to inspire the children to consider their potential and career opportunities.

As she talked about her childhood growing up in a single-parent household, photos appeared on the whiteboard to accompany her story. The main point: she came from a home where she and her sister were loved and encouraged in their studies. Prosise asked the Project Renewal kids if they had a favorite teacher. The kids nodded. She described a chemistry teacher in high school who encouraged her to attend an engineering camp. That experience changed her life.

But Prosise also pointed out that while she was good at math, she had to work hard in school. Chemistry, for example, was a challenging class for her. But she continued her studies through college, graduate school and earned her doctorate in engineering. Now she has children of her own. Her two young daughters accompanied her to the Christmas party.

Prosise asked the engineering students in attendance to share a bit about their lives, too, further reinforcing the idea that childhood dreams can be nurtured at home and in school. “What made you want to be engineers?” Project Renewal Director Ann Schwickerath asked the students. “I really liked to play with my Legos. I knew I wanted to design things,” volunteered Miranda Noak, a St. Ambrose University junior. “I want to develop devices that help people with daily living tasks,” she told the students. The other engineering majors also talked about their love for the field.

Unbeknownst to the Project Renewal kids, the engineering students had manufactured games — pin ball machines and labyrinths — now hidden inside colorful Christmas wrapping paper. Prosise told The Catholic Messenger that her students have always been involved in service projects. Previously, her classes manufactured assistive technology devices that Prosise took on trips to Brazil to give to people with disabilities. But she also wanted to share her students’ skills with a Quad-City organization.

“I reached out to Project Renewal,” Prosise said. It fits the St. Ambrose mission, a tradition of service, or enriching the lives of others, she added. “I was excited to have another resource for the kids to learn about other opportunities,” Schwickerath said. “With kids, the more you can expose them to other opportunities, the more they are able to learn and to make choices.” Project Renewal’s main purpose is to be a positive presence for children and their families in the low-income neighborhood of Davenport where Project Renewal is located. Children receive treats and engage in educational and recreation activities year-round in Project Renewal’s afterschool and summer park programs.

Finally, the moment arrived for the Project Renewal kids to select their gifts. They tore off the colorful wrapping paper and examined the games with curiosity. The professor, her students and Schwickerath offered tips on operating their new games. Noak smiled as she watched the recipient of her pin ball machine play the game. Did she also enjoy the manufacturing process? “Oh, yeah,” she said.