Increasingly at the Migrant Ministry, we are being called to alert migrants about significant changes in immigration policy, issue warnings about potential scams, and fight misinformation... Colorful, low-literacy information posters and flyers using eye-catching emojis are a key part of the Migrant Ministry’s efforts to educate migrants about key concerns... Migrants are encouraged to take photos of the posters and share them widely on social media...

The Immigrants' Creed - This Creed was written by Bishop Hector A. Burgos-Nunez, a United Methodist bishop from Puerto Rico. We are grateful for these words that so eloquently express our longing for God’s kingdom. We are grateful for the interfaith nature of our Migrant Ministry. We are grateful for the many volunteers who support this ministry... Thank you for making our work possible!... Donations are accepted on Monday mornings from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School...

Ecumenism 60 Years after Vatican II - This writer grew up in a parish where the pastor considered a “mixed marriage” to be when a parishioner married someone from another parish... Oh, religiously we were so siloed then! Catholics could not enter into the worship space of another faith tradition, not even for weddings or funerals... Ecumenism promotes cooperation and visible unity among different Christian denominations...

Our country’s motto as it appears on the great seal of the United States: E Pluribus Unum, translated to “out of many, one” has great significance for our migrant families... But for the 40 or so volunteers marching in the Oak Park 4th of July parade, it was clear that they all wanted to return to an even better, more welcoming immigration system... WE ARE IN GREAT NEED OF WINDOW AIR CONDITIONERS. Donations of items are accepted on Monday mornings at the former Saint Bernardine School...

The Migrant Ministry mourns with our beloved migrant brothers and sisters the unfathomable death and destruction caused by the terrible twin earthquakes that shook Venezuela on June 24, registering 7.2 and 7.5 respectively... We received notice about the earthquakes within the first hour of their occurrence... Our prayers for the people of Venezuela continue... At 10:00 AM on Tuesday morning, we paused our ministry and invited everyone, migrants and volunteers alike, to gather in the hallway...

In early 2022, a group from Ascension, Saint Giles and Saint Luke’s in Berwyn met and began to talk about ways to welcome our migrant neighbors. By mid-summer Ascension- Saint Giles felt ready to welcome a family but where to find one... Many of our favorite stories are filled with the Holy Spirit... Finally, there was the day we were desperately seeking an apartment for a new family in a tragic situation... Donations are accepted on Monday mornings from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School...

What better way to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday than marching in our local July 4th parade to honor our nation’s history as a welcoming place for immigrants from all over the world!... After much thought, we found the perfect wording to follow the name of our organization: E PLURIBUS UNUM. “Out of many, one.”... Interested in marching with us for the July 4th parade?... Donations are accepted on Monday mornings from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School...

Father’s Day is also celebrated on the third Sunday in June in many of the countries of origin of the migrants we serve, including Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico... Fathers carried their children through the treacherous Darien Gap and protected them from the human traffickers, drug cartels, and other risks experienced on their way to the United States... Donations are accepted on Monday mornings from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School...

On a lovely summer evening a group of amazing volunteers held a fundraising event to benefit Migrant Ministry at a local venue... By the end of the evening almost 250 people had paid to enter - people of all ages including a few infants and a few pastors... Two local bands provided music, energy and a sense of celebration. A huge variety of auction and raffle items were available... Donations are accepted on Monday at the former Saint Bernardine School...

On this feast day of Corpus Christi, we recall a very profound event that took place last October. Following Mass at Saint Eulalia Church in Broadview, over 1,000 people of faith participated in a Eucharistic Procession from the church to the Broadview Detention Center... It was an experience of Corpus Christi - the Body of Christ being brought to the broken Body of Christ, the migrant men, women, and children crammed in unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the Broadview Detention Center...

On Friday, May 15, 2026, Broadview Detention Center was again open for daily pastoral visits... Both men and women are at the detention center, and the countries represented include Palestine, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, China, India, and El Salvador... One morning, it took the pastors two hours to calm the detainees. Not a single criminal among them. How can we be so cruel?... PLEASE COME TO OUR FUNDRAISER ON JUNE 4 AT ROBERT’S WESTSIDE...

Born in Haiti near the border with the Dominican Republic, the two Haitian refugees grew up speaking Creole, French, and Spanish... The migrants’ persistence in seeking a better life and learning English as a key tool is inspiring for the volunteer tutors... ESL is currently offered on Tuesday mornings at Saint Bernardine’s during Ministry hours... PLEASE COME TO OUR FUNDRAISER ON JUNE 4 AT ROBERT’S WESTSIDE... WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR DONATIONS ON MEMORIAL DAY...

As the weather improves, we are starting to get requests for help from the migrants with a variety of cleanup activities, from yard work, gardening, basement cleanup, house cleaning, or packing to move to a new location... Migrant Ministry volunteers are amazed at the willingness of our migrant families to take the most menial jobs to earn money to feed their families... If you need help with gardening, cleaning out your basement or attic, or any of those things listed, please send us a note...

Migrant Ministry volunteers have long admired the migrant mothers we serve. They made the very, very difficult trip north through seven countries and the treacherous Darien Gap seeking safety and a better life for their children. Once here, they advocate tirelessly for their children... We honor and celebrate all the migrant mothers, but especially the single mothers – the strongest women we have ever met!... Light-weight clothing, shoes, jackets, and bedding donations are accepted on Monday mornings...

It seems like there are new roadblocks for our migrant families every few weeks. Especially difficult are the new fees that have been added to some applications that were once free... In most cases, the initial application that was once free now costs $560 and that fee can be much higher depending on certain statuses... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School, 815 Elgin in Forest Park...

An operation as large as the Migrant Ministry requires a lot of volunteers. We are blessed with over 250 active volunteers and others who help when they can... But our ministry would not be possible without OUR UNSUNG HEROES! The volunteers who do all the behind-the-scenes work, never actually interacting with migrants but showing up regularly, every week, to do the backend work that powers our ministry... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former St. Bernardine School...

As we continue to accompany families and individuals, the ways that we support the stranger in our midst continues to expand, evolve, pivot… There are many words for this work that your support allows us to do... What are the challenges we see today, this week, next month? Our community of volunteers continues to expand as the needs expand. All with a smile and a hug; such joy!... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former St Bernardine School...

Thank you, Ascension 5th and 8th graders, for your generous donation of Easter baskets for the children served by the Migrant Ministry. Wow! So many beautiful baskets, each one filled with sweet treats and small toys - carefully curated by CHILDREN FOR CHILDREN!... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School... Easter baskets and bags were distributed to families accompanied by the Migrant Ministry and Easter baskets to children...

The Migrant Ministry continues its efforts to meet the short-and long-term needs of our migrant brothers and sisters, but is increasingly called to serve in new ways. A new ministry is developing to support migrants who have been detained, often for months, in deplorable conditions in detention centers... This is a concrete way of demonstrating compassionate support of New Neighbors... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School...

For almost three years now, migrants have traveled from across the city to our Ministry Mornings. We are now in our third location and have made adjustments to meet a changing reality, but the mission and vision of the Ministry remain the same... We are a welcoming space for our migrant brothers and sisters... But it has become evident that Centro San Bernardino is increasingly a place of deep encounter... An ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST...