Feb. 24th, 2011: The Unsung Heroes and Heroines of Our Parishes

(This article was written for the People of God, the Archdiocesan Newspaper for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. It will be published in April.) Parish secretaries and receptionists, in my opinion, are the unsung heroes and heroines of our Catholic parishes. First, they greet all people who walk into our parish doors. They are the first face that all people meet and are the first impression of our parishes. Second, they tend to have many projects, atypical of a regular secretary or receptionist, which the parish needs to function. For example, many secretaries/receptionists put together the weekly bulletin, others schedule liturgical ministers, one particular secretary I just met does all the behind the scenes work for baptisms, weddings, and quinceañeras. Third, they interact with a population that is in desperate need of social services. Many times secretaries/receptionists receive walk-ins or phone calls from people in need of assistance for rent, utilities, food, clothing, and/or shelter. They attempt to connect people to services throughout our cities and towns.

On Wednesday, February 16th, at the Hotel Albuquerque, to better equip our church secretaries/receptionists with the knowledge of what social services exist in our counties, Catholic Charities, offered a free lunch and presentation to 60 church secretaries/receptionists; 28 parishes from Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Belen, Rio Rancho, and Corrales, were represented.

The afternoon started with a wonderful New Mexican meal catered by Hotel Albuquerque complimented by classical guitar playing by a local musician, Ben Chinisci. Following this we had a presentation given by myself, Rosie Chinea Shawver, and a representative from each of our five different centers (Center for Self-Sufficiency and Housing Assistance; Center for Community Involvement; Center for Educational Opportunity; Center for Immigration and Citizenship Legal Assistance; and Center for Refugee Settlement and Support) describing the services that Catholic Charities provides in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The afternoon reception ended with providing additional information on additional places, outside of Catholic Charities, where secretaries/receptionists can refer people to for social services in their counties.

In the afternoons final prayer we asked God to surround us and fill us His Spirit. We asked that we be a light for God’s people and to be salt for a community who is caught in the struggles of everyday life. In this brief encounter I had with the secretaries/receptionists from our parishes I am in awe of the ministry that they do and feel called to. They are the light in our parishes leading and caring for those who are drained by societal woes. Our secretaries/receptionists are the salt that helps us and others preserve their inherent, God-given, dignity and grow closer to whom Christ has called them to be. Next time you see your parish secretary/receptionist I urge you to thank them for their ministry.