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December 13, 2006

Life in the Espíritu

New mobile ministry reaches out to Immokalee migrant workers

by Emily Enders Odom
Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands communications officer

Immokalee workers are served coffee before heading for the fields. Photo by Dave Moore.

IMMOKALEE, FL — The Spirit is moving — quite literally — in Immokalee.

     Spirit, or Espíritu, is a 31‑foot motor home which functions as a mobile church for the Beth‑El Farmworker Ministry at Immokalee, a mission project of Peace River Presbytery’s Joining Hearts & Hands  (MIJHH) campaign. 

     The national MIJHH campaign was launched by the 2002 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to raise $40 million over five years for new overseas mission personnel and for church development in this country, particularly racial ethnic and immigrant congregations.

     Beth‑El, a Wimauma, FL-based ministry to help farmworkers to achieve self‑sufficiency, is expanding into Immokalee with additional funding from Tampa Bay Presbytery and Grace Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the two other members of its governance.

     Choosing not to wait until the conclusion of the presbytery’s fundraising effort, which includes a plan to purchase land and build a facility at Immokalee, Beth‑El’s executive director, Dave Moore, seized an opportunity to inaugurate the ministry immediately. 

     “The 2002 motor home manufactured by Itasca was originally named Spirit,” Moore said.  “It seemed a given for us to change it to Espíritu, which is the Spanish word for Spirit.  Espíritu has allowed us to establish a presence in Immokalee through Christian hospitality and outreach.” 

     Each Friday and Saturday morning, beginning at 4:00 a.m., Espíritu motors to central Immokalee, where coffee and bread are provided for some 190 farmworkers before they catch the buses to the fields.  On Friday evenings, a small, hot meal is offered to the workers as they return from the fields.  Beth‑El has been serving up to 160 workers on Friday evenings.  They also carry clothing, bathroom kits, and blankets each week for Friday evening distribution.

     Recently, a Bible study has been added at Immokalee on Saturday mornings.  Spanish‑language worship in the Reformed tradition will soon follow.  “The Immokalee farmworkers have not yet had the opportunity to celebrate Reformed worship in their native language,” Moore said.  “We have recently called a bilingual pastor to Immokalee, who should begin to hold services by mid‑January 2007.”

     The plight of the migrant farmworker has been a deep and growing concern of Peace River Presbytery, whose total fundraising goal for Joining Hearts & Hands is $8 million.  Of that total, $6.5 million will be applied to the national campaign.

     “The need for expanding our ministry in this area has long been evident to us,” said the Rev. Graham Hart, general presbyter of Peace River Presbytery.  “Our partnership with the Beth‑El mission through Joining Hearts & Hands is allowing us to more adequately address the Immokalee farmworkers’ most basic needs, both spiritual and physical.” 

     Its unique and creative approaches to ministry have already earned the Beth‑El Farmworkers Ministry two distinguished church awards this year.  Beth‑El was honored at the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC) General Assembly in Orlando, FL, November 7‑9, for its ecumenical outreach, one of only five such awards bestowed by the NCC this year.  Beth‑El was also presented with a Human Rights Award by the United Nations Office of Church Women United, for advancing the cause of human rights in a profound way.

     “It is exciting to witness the zeal in Peace River Presbytery to renew our church for mission,” said David York, director of the national MIJHHcampaign.  “This latest innovation by Beth‑El and Peace River — the Espíritu mobile ministry — is allowing our brothers and sisters at Immokalee to truly taste and see God’s unconditional love and grace.”