Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are often our invisible neighbors, even while they make possible our abundant and relatively cheap food and the agricultural system that is our state's biggest industry.
Often, their dignity is denied and their rights violated simply because they are poor, people of color and/or unable to speak English. Yet as people of faith, we see again and again the unmistakable and unchanging pattern in sacred Scripture: God is on the side of the oppressed.
In order that we might be where God is, our Diocese has become a covenanting denomination with Rural and Migrant Ministry, which works for hope, justice and empowerment for farmworkers and other powerless rural people. You are invited to join with your fellow Catholics and other people of good will to learn more about the lives of farmworkers.
Cesar Chavez, champion of nonviolent social change and then-president of the United Farmworkers of America, once said, "Someone asked what we expected from the Church. We did not want more churches or cathedrals; rather, we wanted the Church to be present with us, beside us, willing to sacrifice for justice, ready to be Christ among us. The poor in many places call on the Church to risk comfort and privilege for the sake of God's peace and justice."
You are that Church. Please write or call the diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice to learn more about the lives of farmworkers and how you can help. It doesn't have to be a great investment of time, but simply your willingness to add your voice to that of others when it's needed.
As with previous Advents, the Commission also offers you the opportunity to join with your fellow Catholics to honor your loved ones this Christmas by making a donation in their names to the struggle for justice for farmworkers here in our part of New York. Donations in any amount are needed and welcomed. Please write checks to: Commission on Peace and Justice, and mail to 40 North Main Ave., Albany NY 12203.
(The author is director of the Albany diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice.)