austraLasia 1186
New Yokohama parish is a regular Pentecost
YAMATO (YOKOHAMA CITY): 4th July 2005 -- Just three months into the experience, the three Salesian confreres who form the pastoral nucleus of Japan's latest push into migrant worker ministry have declared that they are working through a daily Pentecost experience - and loving it.
Yamato parish is a complex reality, but one which the Province had decided to accept as part of the restructuring of ministry requested by last year's Provincial Chapter. It comprises around 1,000 Japanese Catholics, 500 Filipinos most of whom work at the nearby US airbase, 150 Sri Lankans, 200 Latinos, all Spanish-speaking, around 50 from the Afro-Asian community who speak mostly English, 200 Vietnamese, and a number of American military personnel who seek spiritual help.
Frs Lap, Nagasawa and Cavaliere between them cover Vietnamese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, English and individually have attempted to gain proficiency in as many of those languages as is practicable, besides those which they already speak well. It is more than just learning languages, they find. All these ethnic groups crowded in upon one another give rise to a number of cultural challenges, the need to encourage harmony and team work. Three times a year the parish celebrates an 'international' Eucharist where all the relevant languages are included.
The experience for the Japanese Catholics is a novel one. They are normally accustomed to a single parish priest. At Yamato they see three apparently equal priests (though Fr Lap is the one in charge of the parish). The outward-looking nature of this ministry is also to some extent novel in Japan, though a notable feature of the Salesian presence now in that province. Yamato is the second parish focusing on migrant worker ministry, the other being Hamamatsu, reported in austraLasia October last year. This latter parish focuses mainly on Brazilian migrant workers.
In physical terms the parish compound at Yamato is small, crowded even, with minimal parking space. The area is residential with very little space for anything else. Each of the priests is in demand beyond parish confines. Fr. Lap has already had extensive contact with Vietnamese migrants in Japan, especially in Tokyo-Yokohama. Fr Cavaliere is the only Spanish-speaking priest in the entire Kanagawa prefecture where there are thousands of Catholic Latinos attending Mass in its many parishes.
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New Yokohama parish is a regular Pentecost
YAMATO (YOKOHAMA CITY): 4th July 2005 -- Just three months into the experience, the three Salesian confreres who form the pastoral nucleus of Japan's latest push into migrant worker ministry have declared that they are working through a daily Pentecost experience - and loving it.
Yamato parish is a complex reality, but one which the Province had decided to accept as part of the restructuring of ministry requested by last year's Provincial Chapter. It comprises around 1,000 Japanese Catholics, 500 Filipinos most of whom work at the nearby US airbase, 150 Sri Lankans, 200 Latinos, all Spanish-speaking, around 50 from the Afro-Asian community who speak mostly English, 200 Vietnamese, and a number of American military personnel who seek spiritual help.
Frs Lap, Nagasawa and Cavaliere between them cover Vietnamese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, English and individually have attempted to gain proficiency in as many of those languages as is practicable, besides those which they already speak well. It is more than just learning languages, they find. All these ethnic groups crowded in upon one another give rise to a number of cultural challenges, the need to encourage harmony and team work. Three times a year the parish celebrates an 'international' Eucharist where all the relevant languages are included.
The experience for the Japanese Catholics is a novel one. They are normally accustomed to a single parish priest. At Yamato they see three apparently equal priests (though Fr Lap is the one in charge of the parish). The outward-looking nature of this ministry is also to some extent novel in Japan, though a notable feature of the Salesian presence now in that province. Yamato is the second parish focusing on migrant worker ministry, the other being Hamamatsu, reported in austraLasia October last year. This latter parish focuses mainly on Brazilian migrant workers.
In physical terms the parish compound at Yamato is small, crowded even, with minimal parking space. The area is residential with very little space for anything else. Each of the priests is in demand beyond parish confines. Fr. Lap has already had extensive contact with Vietnamese migrants in Japan, especially in Tokyo-Yokohama. Fr Cavaliere is the only Spanish-speaking priest in the entire Kanagawa prefecture where there are thousands of Catholic Latinos attending Mass in its many parishes.
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