Don and Celine Woznica have lived in Oak Park for more than 30 years. Their years living and working with the poor in Nicaragua prepared them for their current work with the Oak Park Migrant Ministry, which is sponsored by the Catholic Parishes of Oak Park. Celine is the director of Program Development and Don is the co-director of Short Term Services. Last Sunday, they delivered the sermon at Unity Temple about their ongoing journey and they agreed to let us print a portion of their talk.
Our Migrant Ministry mornings began in June of 2023 when there was a need for the migrants sleeping at the District 15 police station in Austin to take showers. Incorporating a very useful strategy called “nag-vocate,” it was arranged for the migrants to take showers at the closed rectory of St. Catherine/St. Lucy, which was being used as a Housing Forward shelter in the evening, but was free during the day.
As time went on, the Tuesday/Thursday ministry outgrew the St. Catherine-St. Lucy rectory, as we were eventually assisting up to 500 migrants a week. By this time they were coming from shelters from all over the Chicago area. They no longer needed to take showers, but instead were in need of clothes, coats, winter gear, shoes, boots, and bedding. We ended up having to expand into the church, turning the baptistry into Famous Footwear, and the choir room into a coats and blankets distribution center.
We needed more space. The former St Edmund School building became available to us when the Children’s School that had been leasing it moved out. We moved in on Dec. 19, 2023. We now have an entire school building, and our ministry has really grown. In addition to the “free stores” for the distribution of goods, we have a breakfast area and a children’s playroom, and provide immigration support services (including assistance in completing the asylum application), social services, ESL classes, and health care. To date, we have served over 18,000 migrants.
That’s our program. That’s the impact statement regarding the services we provide and the numbers served in the various ministries. What about the larger impact, that which cannot be measured in numbers? What has this journey taught us, especially about trust?
The journey is rough right now. Many of the migrants we know are at risk of deportation. Temporary Protective Status is scheduled to end in two weeks and Humanitarian Parole will be ending on April 25. Many of our migrant brothers and sisters are legally in the U.S. because of those two programs. We have had three possible ICE sightings outside of Centro San Edmundo. We have a rapid response plan in case ICE tries to enter St Edmund, and we are putting the final touches on a terribly sad family action packet that, among other things, guides parents in filling out the document needed to assign temporary custody of their children, in case they are separated and the parents are deported.
Things are rough, yet we keep trudging along in this journey, continuing to accompany our families, and opening up every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7 a.m. to welcome our migrant brothers and sisters. Despite the risks and pressures, we have decided to continue our journey, just as we did 40 years ago in Nicaragua. We made the decision then and now because we trust that it is the right thing to do and we gain strength from the people around us.
We trust that the Migrant Ministry is the right thing to do because it is resulting in so much good — just like in Nicaragua when we recognized that the Nicaraguan Revolution was doing some pretty awesome things in improving the lives of the average Nicaraguan. The Migrant Ministry is doing good not only in the services we are providing and the number of migrants served, but also in the unity that is resulting. We are united, not only with our migrant brothers and sisters, but also with the diverse faith traditions within our own community. We are not so siloed anymore! The Ministry is sponsored by the Catholic Community of Oak Park, but it is an incredibly interfaith effort, involving not only Unitarians, Christians, and Jews, but also the unchurched — and even one person who professes to the religion of Santa Claus — be good for goodness’ sake.
We continue in the ministry because just as the Maryknoll Sisters inspired and gave us strength 40 years ago in Nicaragua, we have been inspired and gained strength from the migrants. They share stories of amazing human resilience, kindness, generosity, and determination. These stories are like manna for our journey. The migrants trusted in their journey and we have learned from them.
We hold up the single mother who made the long trip with a toddler and a 9-year-old blind son.
Likewise, we hold up the mother who lost her husband in the Darien Gap but continued the journey with her three children so as not to shatter the dream they had shared. Her last image of her husband was him tossing their toddler son to her as the strong current carried him down the river.
We honor the migrants at District 15 who allowed the local houseless who hung around the station to eat first when meals were delivered, because “hunger knows no nationality.”
We celebrate the two migrant women who arose at 4 a.m. and walked from near the Morton Salt Shed to Centro San Edmundo (8.4 miles) to get needed clothing and supplies.
And there are so many more stories …
Our present journey is tough. But it is nothing compared to the journey that our migrants undertook through seven countries and areas controlled by drug cartels and human traffickers.
Our journey is different and admittedly stressful, but we see so much good in what is happening, gain strength from so many amazing people, and, as a couple, we have made it our journey. How can we not trust in this journey, despite its risks?
Thank you for inviting us to share some reflections with you this morning.