By Fr. Dominic Winter
Hispanic Ministry
Assistant Pastor, Cristo Rey in Lincoln
When people ask me where I’m assigned and I say, “Cristo Rey,” well over half of them respond “where’s that?” And it’s not because they’re new to town or don’t go to church! Unless you live in the neighborhood here, come to Food Net, have seen our famous nativity scene, or are Hispanic yourself, our church could seem pretty much invisible… hidden away a few blocks from St. Teresa Church in Lincoln. And really, I can’t blame you.
But nobody could argue that our mission is invisible: there are Hispanics all over Lincoln, and I’m sure you’ve seen many of them. Maybe it’s just me, but I think I’ve heard a lot more Spanish on the streets than I used to. Whenever I do, I think to myself, “yup, that’d be one of mine.”
What’s more, since Cristo Rey doesn’t have regular parish boundaries, your own neighbors in the Lincoln area might come here. The Hispanic population of our diocese has grown by over 200% over the last 20 years, so it’d be good for your neighbors to know where they can go to Mass in Spanish.
To be exact, they can go to 4221 J St. in Lincoln, and our weekend Mass times are 7 p.m. Saturday, and 7:30, 9:30, 12, 2 and 5:30 Sunday – all in Spanish. If you interact with Hispanics anywhere, feel free to ask them if they’ve been to Cristo Rey. Even though most Hispanics are Catholic, many have no idea where they can go to Mass in Spanish, since so many come to Lincoln just looking for work in a new country.
There are other ways you can help connect the diocese with the Hispanics among us, such as through volunteering. We have, by far, the largest CCD program in the diocese: so big it requires two separate days of CCD (Wednesday 6:15-8 p.m. and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to noon) just to fit all the kids in the classrooms downstairs! And that doesn’t even count the large OCIA class we have on Sundays (9 a.m. to noon)! We can always use more teaching aides to help, especially since nearly all the children prefer English, but our catechists generally prefer Spanish.
Another volunteer idea could be offering classes or workshops in various life skills. Many of our immigrants come here with very low levels of education, and working in this country can be a daunting experience. Offering lessons in things like computer skills, health, citizenship, or other areas could help make Cristo Rey into a real place of integration into our society. Even if you don’t know Spanish, just coming to offer the opportunity could be very helpful: it’s pretty easy for us to find translators.
At the same time, Cristo Rey could be a place for many non-Hispanic Catholics to appreciate their Hispanic neighbors. Even if you can’t volunteer here, it’s a statement of goodwill just to come to Mass here as a field trip, or to show up to our annual parish festival in June. Not only could your family or your group of students get a nice taste of Spanish language (and maybe authentic Hispanic food!), but you would also give a great message to the parishioners here: “You’re not invisible. We want to be part of one Catholic diocese together.”
