Bishop William F. Medley sprinkles holy water on all the attendees as they enter St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro for Mass on June 26, 2021. TINA KASEY | WKC
‘Nothing too marvelous for the Lord’
Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry is promulgated
Seminarian Chris Kight leads the procession across Frederica Street and down West 7th Street with about 75 in attendance. This included representatives from St. Michael Parish in Sebree dressed as “Parachicos” in indigenous dance/outfits from Chiapas, Mexico and “Matachine” dancers from Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Henderson. TINA KASEY | WKC
BY TINA KASEY, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
After a year of intentional researching, planning and writing, the Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry was promulgated by Bishop William F. Medley during a diocesan Mass in Spanish on Saturday, June 26, 2021 at St. Stephen Cathedral.
This Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry will be used to help guide ministry efforts with the Hispanic/Latino communities in the Diocese of Owensboro from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2026. According to the summary of the plan, “it was prompted by the process, consultation and conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry that took place from 2017 to 2020.”
In July 2020, the pastoral planning process began with input from representatives from the 14 parishes that have a Hispanic/Latino communities, in collaboration with diocesan directors and Bishop Medley.
“Even while going through a pandemic, on top of many other concerns, worries and issues for our Hispanic/Latino community, leaders continued working on this plan and families continued praying,” said Dcn. Chris Gutiérrez, Director of Hispanic/Latino Ministry for the diocese. “We are blessed in this diocese.”
Dcn. René Amaya from St. Joseph Parish in Bowling Green reads the Gospel, Matthew 8:5-17. TINA KASEY | WKC
A procession was planned from Brescia University to St. Stephen Cathedral, and while waiting for the procession to begin, those gathering joined in prayer in front of an Our Lady of Guadalupe statue. At 9:30 am, seminarian Chris Kight led with the processional cross, as a group of approximately 75 men, women and children behind him slowly made their way to the cathedral.
Once they reached the cathedral, the procession continued inside the front doors, through the vestibule and into the main church where Bishop William F. Medley was standing, sprinkling holy water on all those who entered.
The Cathedral neared capacity as more Hispanic/Latino families filled the pews. Music was conducted by a group of musicians and singers from St. Joseph Parish in Bowling Green.
The reading was Genesis 18:1-15 when God told Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son in their advanced years and Sarah laughed to herself.
Those waiting to process from Brescia University to St. Stephen Cathedral gather for prayer in the courtyard area on June 26, 2021. TINA KASEY | WKC
“Sarah laughed. So would we,” Bishop Medley said during his homily. “But as we see, God did not laugh.”
Bishop Medley went on to say that the rest of the story is that God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah would be fulfilled, resulting in descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky.
“This is one of the Bible’s more amusing stories,” said the bishop. “Sarah got caught laughing at God.”
The bishop went on to say that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him you have a plan, as if He doesn’t already know all of our plans.
“Today we celebrate and roll out a plan. We celebrate because we believe that there is nothing too marvelous for the Lord to do.”
“The plan is comprehensive and visionary and rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Bishop Medley hands out the Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry to representatives from 14 parishes in the diocese with Hispanic Ministry. TINA KASEY | WKC
The bishop reiterated that while the plan has been written and published, the work has only now begun.
Bishop Medley finished his homily with, “Today I hope there is a lot of laughter — and appreciation that God is asking us to do His work.”
Dcn. Gutiérrez thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication to have the printed pastoral plan available and ready to use right before Bishop Medley handed the published plans to representatives from each of the 14 parishes.
Following the Mass, the Hispanic men’s and women’s teams from Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish in Owensboro handed out prepackaged meals outside under a tree in the shade.
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