As I read of New Haven’s groundbreaking City ID Program, the subsequent ICE Raids, the rally which followed and the rallies that will follow, I am reminded to drop a note to our own pain in the city’s side columnist from The Hartford Courant, Helen Ubiñas, or as the Hartford Courant website lists her, Helen Ubi�as. Helen almost single-handedly contributed enormously to the pro-immigration fight in New Haven.
Stardate: 2005…At the behest of a minority “squeaky wheel” group of people at Sacred Heart Church in Hartford, Helen writes an article regarding the church’s priest, Father Jimmy and his inability to fully grasp the spoken language of the church…Spanish. A committed priest since day one, Father Jimmy was accepted by the congregation and became known for his ability to include the youth of the church in the mass hence, getting his message out to them.
This was not enough for a rogue group of people who’s power had waned. (I’m not sounding too judgemental am I?) They did what any uppity group of putta ricans would do…they called the Courant and Helen Ubiñas. Helen did her usual thing and wrote a kick ass albeit controversial piece and the powers that be at the archdiocese did what powers that be usually do…react. Father Jimmy was reassigned to Mexico for some intense language immersion before his next assignment. Who knew that the great Ñ had so much power?
This reminds me of a funny story my father told me. Helen, like many of us first gen mainlanders, is weak with her families primary language of Spanish. So I was not surprised when my father told me that a young woman approached him asking questions about Father Jimmy’s Spanish and how that affects the message to the parish. My father was so confused with Helen’s Spanish that he asked to continue the interview in English. He smiled when he heard of the column, muttering some “let her who has no sin cast the first stone.” stuff…
But one communitites loss is another’s gain. Fast foward to 2005-07: Father Jimmy aka James Manship is now the priest at Santa Rosa de Lima. He is the spiritual leader of a church which averages over 300 people a mass. His Spanish is still somewhat suspect. I sat in on a couple of his masses and my experience is that he is fine with the stuff that’s prepared (for his homily.) But if he chooses to be moved by the spirit and speak off the cuff, he gets himself in trouble. His command is not such that he can do that…hence, he ends up sounding terrible. Regardless, his spirit is pure and his message does get across…and the people love him.
He has been the point person for his church in the move towards a city wide ID card and, in response to ICE raids in New Haven, hosted over 1,500 people at the church to protest and rally the community. His personal vision is tinged with the tenets of Appreciative Inquiry. AI is explained in the following:
“The traditional approach to change is to look for the problem, do a diagnosis, and find a solution. The primary focus is on what is wrong or broken; since we look for problems, we find them. By paying attention to problems, we emphasize and amplify them. …Appreciative Inquiry suggests that we look for what works in an organization. The tangible result of the inquiry process is a series of statements that describe where the organization wants to be, based on the high moments of where they have been. Because the statements are grounded in real experience and history, people know how to repeat their success.”
Society has various sayings to explain any series of causal relationships. “When one door closes, another opens.” “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” “Everything happens for a reason.” etc… I have no explanation but I am thankful that St. Rosa de Lima has someone like Father Jimmy in their fold. There will be a rally/march on Saturday, March 16th in Fair Haven. I’ll be there with bells on and I’ll make sure to say hello to Father Jimmy and, again, thank you Helen.
For a more in depth report on Father Jimmy, read the New Haven Independents story here…
For a comment Thread including a response by Father Jimmy himself, look further here…