El Corazón Latinx Ministry Initiative

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El Corazón is our congregation's initiative to cultivate a community that will place Latinx people at the heart (el corazón) of our parish. Through worship, teaching, and acts of justice we seek to cultivate racial reconciliation by breaking down barriers of segregation in Northwest Ottawa County. 

 

 

We have a Coordinator of Communications and Equity for our El Corazón Latino Ministry, Abby Teasley, who is happy to talk to you and find ways for you to get plugged in. You can contact her for more information. Abby is fully bilingual and happy to help! The full schedule for our ministry is online here, but you can also find out what we are doing in the various areas of our church's motto below. 

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Following Jesus

We learn and grow in our faith through special events and opportunities throughout the year. Our special events for 2024 will be:

• Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday, March 31, 2024, 11:30am – Join us for our Annual Easter Egg Hunt beginning at 11:30 am, after the 10am English service and before the 12:00pm Spanish service. EVERYONE is welcome to join us! Please bring your own basket. Find out more and let us know you are coming online here.

• Día de los Muertos Altar, Sunday, October 27, 2024, 11:30am – Commonly known as Halloween, October 31 (and the name of the holiday) actually comes from the point that it is the day Eve of All Saints’ (Hallows) Day. At SJE, we anticipate the Feast on Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27, as you are invited to help us set up an Ofrenda in the All Souls Chapel and to bring photos of loved ones you wish to remember. 

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Inspired by Worship

We have bilingual prayer books available for those whose primary language is Spanish when the come to our 8:30am or 10:00am worship services. We also special services of worship in Spanish for particularly important feast days during the year. In 2024, those offerings will be:

• Bilingual Ash Wednesday Mass, Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 6 pm –We have a bilingual Mass (in both Spanish and English) with the Imposition of Ashes as we observe Ash Wednesday and begin the Holy Season of Lent. Everyone is welcome.

• Easter Sunday / Pascua, March 31, 2024, 12pm – Following the Easter Egg hunt at 11:30pm, we gather for worship in Spanish and celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord with special musicians!

• Fiesta y Misa en El Campo – We choose a Saturday or Sunday in the summer months to offer a Fiesta y Misa en el Campo—a party and offering of mass in a local migrant camp. We try to bring together local agencies to celebrate and serve our migrant worker population and worship with them at the close of day. 

• Our Lady of Guadalupe, Thursday, December 12, 2024, 6pm – Celebrating Juan Diego's vision of Our Lady, we worship in Spanish and give thanks for a church that is mestizaje / mixed in culture and language. After the liturgy, all are welcome to a shared potluck style meal. 

• Christmas Eve / Nochebuena, Tuesday, December 24, 2024, 12pm – We begin our parish's Christmas Eve celebrations with the traditional "Ceremony to Lullaby and Put to Sleep the Baby Jesus" (Ceremony para Arrullar y Acostar el niño Jesus).  

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Boldly Loving ALL

We are also passionate about acts of justice. We have an Immigration Justice Ministry, offer opportunities for bridge-building with our partnership with the Tri-Cities Puentes Initiative (including their annual Grand Haven Hispanic Heritage Fiesta), and in the summer months, as noted above, we bring "Fiesta y Misa en al Campo" to the area migrant worker camps, an offering of food, household essentials, and worship. We also have the following events planned for this year:

• Baile por los Inmigrantes, Thursday, May 18, 2024, 6pm – For our annual Immigrant Relief Fund Spring Fundraiser we will be hosting an evening of Latin American dancing in our Timberlake Hall with a DJ and great food from 6pm-9pm. If you come early at 6pm, you’ll even get to participate in some lessons on the basics of dances like Salsa and Bachata! Tickets are a recommended $25 donation to the Immigrant Relief Fund at http://sjegh.com/immigrantrelief. 

• Coast Guard Taco Sale Fundraiser, Saturday, August 3, 2024, 10:30am-12:30pm – Get some great tacos and other Mexican food outside St. John’s Episcopal Church on Coast Guard Parade Saturday, August 3. We’ll be serving right on Washington Ave from 10:30am-12:30pm, with all proceeds to benefit the Immigrant Relief Fund – providing assistance with legal and household needs for our area immigrant population.

• Hispanic Heritage Festival, Saturday, September 21, 2024, 10am-6pm – We will be hosting a booth at the Grand Haven Hispanic Heritage Festival with information about El Corazón, the Immigrant Relief Fund, and to sell items to benefit the Immigrant Relief Fund. 

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