Power in the Parish

Early on a Sunday afternoon in July, between the Spanish and Filipino Masses at Queen of Heaven parish, parishioners pass alongside a string of tables assembled on the long cement pathway toward the parking lot.1 The tables sprawl out under tents in the summer sun. Some ofer books and pamphlets—such as one table from the Movimiento Cristiano Familiar, or Christian Family Movement. Others sell food—parish school parents profer donuts and candy. The tables are handled by representatives— nearly all either Latino or Filipino—from countless groups and ministries of the parish. Most conversations occur in English or Spanish, or some combination thereof. Beyond the tables are restrooms along the north wall of the church. Opposite the church is one of several other parish buildings, this one containing multiple meeting rooms used by the diferent groups and ministries. The building also contains a gift shop where people can buy candles to light inside the church, devotional manuals in English (aimed at Filipinos) and in Spanish, small images of saints and the Virgin Mary, and gifts for baptisms and other religious occasions.