Ministering to migrants: B’ville churches aid itinerant farm workers

By James Mostrom
Contributing writer

The Bible is replete with references to the fair treatment of aliens in our midst. The linked parishes of St. Augustine’s and St. Mary’s in Baldwinsville take that admonition seriously. Their embrace of the values of peace, justice and love is reflected in their mission to reach out in faith, prayer, support and service to the many migrant farm workers in their community.

Michael Conway, a retired art teacher from Baldwinsville and 2022 recipient of a diocesan Immaculata Award, administers the Migrant Worker Ministry, a program growing out of the combined social-action efforts of both churches. He has been active in this work for approximately 20 years.

Typically, the ministry meets with the migrant workers when they start arriving in the late spring and early summer. The volunteers hand out clothing, shoes (usually sneakers) and food collected from drives held by St. Augustine’s. They try to meet with the migrants weekly, and where they live on the farms, since transportation and free time is often an issue for the workers.

Conway also tries to arrange on-site Masses and prayer services on an occasional basis with bilingual priests, deacons and lay ministers from neighboring parishes, since most of the workers are Mexican and speak only limited English. “Usually by mid- to late June, we have our first Mass,” said Conway. “And then we usually have a fellowship, food after the Mass where we … have drinks and cookies and sometimes pizza and things like that. … Again, most of us don’t speak Spanish, and they don’t speak English, but it’s just another way of trying to show them that there’s local people in the community of their faith that are caring about them, and I think they’re understanding that.” He added, “They’re usually very happy to see people from the … outside because they don’t have a lot of communication with people in the community.”

The churches also provide Spanish-language Bibles for their spiritual needs. Conway notes that many of the young men are Catholic and quite faithful. “Some of them are extremely religious. I mean, sometimes we’ll give them rosaries and they’ll put them around their neck. And they like sacramentals.”

Conway also says that many of these same men return year after year. “Over the years we’ve gotten a good connection with the guys now, because many of them have come back for multiple years. … Some of the guys … I personally have seen for10 years.”

Recently, the men received a special treat from the ministry. Conway reported, “We gave them a couple of soccer balls … and … you would have thought that they had won the lottery!”

As summer changes into fall and the end of the harvest approaches, most of the workers move back home or on to other jobs, and the ministry winds down as well. But it will be up and running again come next spring.

Parishes interested in establishing ministries for migrant workers are encouraged to contact Michael Conway through St. Augustine’s Church in Baldwinsville at 315-638-0585 or [email protected].