Disciple: Time of Transformation
The Episcopal Farmworker Ministry is Building a Vision for the Future.
By Diocesan Staff
In 1982, a single volunteer reached out to minister to the then-mostly Haitian migrant workers in eastern North Carolina. In the course of offering transportation to service agencies, assisting with translation, teaching English classes and organizing recreational activities, the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry (EFwM) was born.
With a goal from the start of providing comfort and assistance to those who plant, grow and harvest the food that graces our tables, today the ministry serves more than 3,500 migrant workers. Most of them now hail from Mexico, and the majority work in deplorable conditions and endure dangerous and exhausting work environments, inadequate wages and substandard housing.
EFwM works to relieve some of the suffering by tending to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of farmworkers in several ways. It provides clothes, hygiene products and food; it offers English as Second Language classes and counseling on immigration issues; and, of course, it offers spiritual guidance, counseling and the sacraments. Of late, the ministry has expanded its focus to include the issues stemming from the near-constant exposure to pesticides endured by the workers.
After 32 years, the ministry is still going strong. It has adapted to change while remaining true to its founding principles. To understand the impact of the ministry’s work, the vision for its future and how Harvest for Hospitality is striving to make that vision a reality, we spoke with the Rev. Lisa Fischbeck, vicar of Church of the Advocate, Chapel Hill and the co-chairperson of Harvest for Hospitality, and the Rev. Ron Abrams, rector of St. James, Wilmington and chairman of the Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry board of directors.
If you had to encapsulate the purpose of the EFwM in a single sentence, what would it be?
Ron Abrams – I believe the ministry increases the quality and length of life of the farmworkers doing the labor in the state of North Carolina.
Lisa Fischbeck – With the service the EFwM provides, there is definite improvement in the daily and weekly quality of life for farmworkers as their physical and spiritual needs are addressed.
How have things changed for the farmworkers, and how has that affected the ministry?
LF – There are now a variety of farmworkers. There are the migrant (seasonal) farmworkers, and more and more there are farmworkers who live [here] year-round. Some come with their families, others are alone and far from home.
RA – The ministry is starting to help with the assimilation [of the resident farmworkers, their families and their dependents] into our society and culture. The farmworkers really are the least amongst our society in many ways and are treated that way. The EFwM advocates for the respect and dignity of every human being as our baptismal covenant calls us to proclaim and live out.
What does that mean in terms of the direction the ministry needs to go?
LF – The EFwM has truly evolved over the last 30 years, and it has responded to the changing populations and needs of the workers. So the question is how are those things changing in the next decade? One change is that people are becoming more residential. Another is that our culture and society are changing in how we respond to people in need; there is more of a comprehensive and relationship-based approach, and there’s a burgeoning social entrepreneurship movement. One of the things I question is how the EFwM will change the way we do ministry based on the changes that are going on in our culture and society. How will we engage the next generation—the people who are now under 40—in the EFwM?
RA – That’s absolutely true. It is a parallel in some ways to what’s going on geographically and with regard to the agricultural community in North Carolina. Fifty years ago when people asked, “What’s the biggest crop in North Carolina?” the answer was tobacco or cotton. Now it’s the sweet potato, and that’s symbolic of the change, because the reality is harvesting that crop is not easy. It’s very heavy and painstaking. It’s symbolic of the changing needs that must be met.
LF – The change is happening at all different levels.
RA – The change is happening at every level. The ministry must be able to meet the needs of the 21st century, which are different than they were 20 years ago because churches are struggling financially. Forty percent of the [EFwM] budget comes from parishes and individuals within parishes. That’s why this Harvest for Hospitality campaign is so unbelievably wonderful and exciting to me; it’s going to [bring] the needs and the ministry of the farmworkers to the grassroots level of the diocese.
Let’s talk about the Harvest for Hospitality campaign. Ron, you mentioned how it is bringing the farmworkers’ plight to the grassroots level, but Lisa, you’ve also talked about it as a means to work toward the transformation of the ministry.
LF – The campaign is about a new time, a new opportunity and a new generation. It’s about building on work that has been really good for more than three decades. Father Tony [Rojas] has been an amazing sacramental and spiritual presence, and he’s touched the lives of thousands and helped them know the love of Jesus. Sylvia [Cendejas] and Maria [Acosta] have really stayed up to date on changing programs and rules and regulations. They’ve done remarkable work. This campaign is building on that foundation and taking it to a new level in a new generation.
There are two parts to this. The first is how we engage the next generation of volunteers in the EFwM. Grassroots for folks under 40 immediately goes to things like social media and various fundraising approaches that are different from giving to the local church that then gives to the ministry. So one thing I’m hoping we can tap into in this campaign is finding ways to engage younger generations in fundraising.
But the other thing is the Episcopal Church is uniquely situated to be an instrument for reconciliation and transformation. As part of the campaign, I’m hoping to look at our history and our theology of reconciliation and transformation. [The Church and the Diocese] have a history with this ministry that gives us an awareness of, a compassion for, and a relationship with the workers. In our congregations we have growers and longtime farmers, and as Anglicans, we have this history of bringing together people with diverse experiences and points of view and producing a creative tension – in this case it could be the growers and the workers – so how do we find a middle way to bring growers and workers together in a transformative and reconciling way? That would be really life-changing and could become a model for other farmworker ministries around the country.
RA – And I agree; we are a model for other farmworker ministries around the country. Other places are looking at us to see what we’re doing. I think the transformation is about being a bridge, a bridge between the farmworkers, the growers, the faith community and society as a whole. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a four-way bridge, but that’s what I feel like we’re doing. [Episcopalians] are one of the few mainline denominations intimately engaged with the farmworkers.
Is Harvest for Hospitality a means of building that bridge?
RA – I think it is.
When you think about the ministry five or 10 years from now, what do you envision it might look like with those bridges in place?
RA – One of my dreams is being able to build a better quality of transitional housing for some of our farmworkers who are [currently] living in conditions in which many of us wouldn’t put our animals. Also, helping the children of the farmworkers assimilate into the totality of the American dream without prejudice and injustice.
LF – This links together with our emphasis on engaging younger generations. The social entrepreneurship movement has been a great example of creative problem solving and funding; how do we bring that to this ministry? To significantly broaden the participation in the ministry would be a great thing.
RA – One of the other dreams I have for the ministry is to make it more ecumenical. It’s much bigger than any one denomination ultimately, and I would love to see [the Episcopal Church] reach out and build another bridge to the ecumenical community. It’s holy ground that every Christian can stand on.
What are some of the immediate things you’d like to see accomplished?
LF – I [recently met] a fellow who is part of an organization that goes into the schools to find bright kids and help them get prepared to apply and get into college. He said he would love to be able to bring that organization to the EFwM to help some of the bright and talented kids who are now living here year round. He’s an Episcopalian who happens to be part of an organization that’s outside the church and could provide real assistance. There have got to be dozens of other examples like that.
There are so many [housing] models out there; in fact, there is even one in our own state beginning to improve the housing for both migrant and long-term resident farmworkers. It’s so compelling to see the situations in which the farmworkers are living and see how wretched it is; I would think the farm managers and owners would be interested in solving that problem if we could come up with a win-win, and they would feel good about being able to provide good housing.
RA – We have to make the people aware of something that’s been kind of hidden. They see lettuce or they see sweet potato on their dinner table, but they don’t see - at that moment - the face and heart of the farmworker who helped get it there. What we’re doing is flushing out that there are human beings behind those crops.
The Rev. Lisa Fischebck is co-chair of the Harvest for Hospitality campaign and the vicar of Advocate, Chapel Hill. The Rev. Ron Abrams is chair of the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry’s board of directors and the rector of St. James, Wilmington (Diocese of East Carolina).