Does your parish offer English language classes as an outreach ministry to immigrants?

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anp1215

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My husband works with a Guatemalan man who moved to the U.S. about 2 years ago. He mentioned to me that he took English classes at an Episcopal church. I had never heard of a church offering English classes and thought that was such a great idea, especially for our area which has a large and ever increasing population of Hispanic immigrants.

I really want to start a ministry like this at my parish which offers free English classes and possibly even resources/help with getting a job and settling in our community.

I was wondering if there is such a ministry at your parish, and if so can you tell me more about it? Are the classes well attended? Besides classes, what else does the ministry offer? Any info you have is appreciated. Thanks!
 
not as a parish ministry but the secretaries maintain a contact list of parishioners and programs who offer ESL. since so many community groups and school districts offer it free, it is felt unneccessary for the parish to duplicate the effort.

as when proposing any new parish ministry, do some homework
find out what need is there, have people asked for the service in the past, is the demographic of the parish changing so that such service may be needed more and more, are there similar programs available in your area, are there enough volunteers, and does the pastor support the idea.
 
anp1215 said:
My husband works with a Guatemalan man who moved to the U.S. about 2 years ago. He mentioned to me that he took English classes at an Episcopal church. I had never heard of a church offering English classes and thought that was such a great idea, especially for our area which has a large and ever increasing population of Hispanic immigrants.

I really want to start a ministry like this at my parish which offers free English classes and possibly even resources/help with getting a job and settling in our community.

I was wondering if there is such a ministry at your parish, and if so can you tell me more about it? Are the classes well attended? Besides classes, what else does the ministry offer? Any info you have is appreciated. Thanks!
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Our parish doesn’t offer the classes you mentioned but does have Spanish services, English services and Dinka Services.

However, the language classes are a great idea. Catholic Family Services in my city (Amarillo) does offer ESL classes and has a ministry for refugees. You might give them a call and ask them about how to get started. I don’t have the number handy, but I’m sure you can get it via Google.
 
No, there is little to no need.

The influx of immigrants in my area are Chaldean Iraqis, and they are properly served by the two Chaldean parishes in my area.
 
anp1215 said:
I was wondering if there is such a ministry at your parish, and if so can you tell me more about it? Are the classes well attended? Besides classes, what else does the ministry offer? Any info you have is appreciated. Thanks!
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St. John Vianney, on the West side, has ESL as part of their Social Services ministry. I suggest you contact them. I know they would be willing to share their model and resources.

Social Services main page:

stjohnvianney.org/ministries/social-services/

ESL page:

stjohnvianney.org/english-as-a-second-language-esl/
 
Just as an aside, I personally think that parishes should offer foreign language classes (i.e. Spanish, Polish) for those who are English speaking! My parish has a huge immigrant population and sometimes those who are English speaking are the minority!

Neden
 
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