Clergy, school principal witness to migrant orchard worker ministry (Video/ photos)

Two Archdiocesan priests and a Catholic school principal recently traveled to the Diocese of Yakima in Washington State to learn about ministries serving migrant orchard workers who pass through the area every summer and are offered spiritual support on their journey.

Father Martin Schratz, pastor of St. Ann Church in Hoboken; Father Danny Pabon, administrator of St. Leo’s Church in Elmwood Park; and Lisa Perez, principal of Hoboken Catholic Academy, traveled out west on a Pastor Mission Immersion Trip sponsored by the Catholic Extension Society. The Mission Immersion program, funded through the Lilly Endowment Inc., aims to broaden church leaders’ horizons through enriching learning experiences of the Church’s activities in 66 missions in the poorest areas throughout the U.S.

Father Schratz, Father Pabon, and Perez learned that every summer, about 65,000 Hispanic migrant farmworkers travel to the Diocese of Yakima with H-2A (seasonal worker) visas to cultivate and harvest the region’s cherry crops. They will follow the harvests, picking cherries and, when the weather turns cool, turning to other crops such as apples before returning to their homes in Mexico or Guatemala. 

Beginning with the cherry season, from mid-June through late July, migrants begin their labor-intensive workdays around 4 a.m., climbing ladders, harvesting bunches, and placing them in pouches around their necks. They make a living getting paid by the bucket, which was eye-opening for Father Schratz.

“It was about 110 degrees, so their days start early and end around 10, when the sun begins to beat down on them,” Father Schratz said. “The afternoons are spent in the processing and packaging plant, where it’s really cold.”

Many bring their families. For those who don’t, money is sent to Mexico to support family back home. Many of the migrant workers are Catholic. The Diocese of Yakima supports them in their endeavors, labor, and faith.

Workers’ accommodations are simple: eight men in a tent. The families are housed in rustic cabins that accommodate two families each. The bathroom and washing facilities are communal. Cooking takes place over barbeques on the property.

Bringing the Church to them

Because the migrants live in such a remote area, Father Schratz said the diocese brings the Church to them with the support of the Catholic Extension Society.

Seminarians, priests, and even Bishop Joseph Tyson, Archbishop of Yakima, work alongside the pickers in the orchards or the processing plants. They also hold Mass for them on Wednesdays and Sundays. 

“Bishop Tyson is in the fields with the workers. The kids come running up to him and hug him. He and the priests are really engaged with them,” Father Schratz said. “Many think a building is the Church, but the Church is anywhere it needs to be.”

Migrant ministry is a vital formation process for the seminarians, and it is spiritually welcomed by the immigrants they serve, according to the Diocese. The seminarians work side-by-side and break bread with the people they will help in the future as priests. The migrants get to ask questions about their Catholic faith during breaks, lunchtime, and after work. The seminarians also visit the migrant camps to learn about the migrants’ needs.  They provide catechetical formation, such as baptisms. And last year, Father Schratz said a seminarian even helped a woman give birth to twins.

A family affair

Perez, who was on her second trip to Yakima, said she wanted to see the work the Catholic Extension Society and volunteers do with families and children. This includes a literacy wagon, which provides books, activities, and teaching to the children and peace of mind for their parents as they work in the orchards or plants.

“The parents don’t have to worry about their children while they go to work,” Father Schratz said. “It also combats learning loss in the summer months.”

This year, student volunteers brought recorders and taught the children to play the flute-like instruments. Perez said environmental science students also taught them STEM lessons. 

“What amazed me most was no matter how hard they worked, how hot it got, or that they had to share a tent at night, they were always smiling, and their faith was always strong,” Father Schratz said. 

Perez said she returned from her trip with a renewed spirit for her faith.

“As a practicing Catholic, when I hear the term ‘missionary work,’ this is what I think of now,” Perez said.

Photos and video Catholic Extension Society