By Antonina Zielinska

As if leaping straight out of Jesus’ parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Mt 20), Queen of Angels parishioners went out to find day laborers still standing around looking for work at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.

Although the Sunnyside parishioners did not have jobs to offer, they did come to share prayer and food on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Among the men who came to join the prayer circle forming on the sidewalk were Alberto and Alonso. Both men agreed that groups like these parishioners were important because they offer two valuable ministries. They bring the Word of God and bodily nourishment to the laborers.

Although both men said they do not attend regular church services, both said the Word of God and prayer play an important role in their lives.

“We have to give thanks to God for everything he gives us,” Alberto said.

Hunger is a reality for day laborers, Alonso said, especially in the winter months.

“There’s workers here who have not had a job for a couple of days and are hungry,” Alonso said.

Alberto said many laborers are able to have seasonal jobs in the summer and in the winter they come looking for day jobs. When the cold comes, there is less work and more workers. Alonso said the most difficult part of being a day laborer is standing in the cold for five or six hours starting at four or five in the morning and not getting a job.

Carlos Apestegui, who is a founding member of Desayuno Jornaleros (Breakfast for Day Laborers) ministry at Queen of Angels, understands the hopelessness that comes with waiting for work day after day and worrying about how to provide for one’s family and paying basic bills. He understands that hunger is a real part of a day laborer’s life. He understands because he was a day laborer himself, and still goes back to this type of work when he needs to.

Hope and Self-Worth

He said a lack of work brings hopelessness, despair and low self-esteem. His ministry tries to combat these issues with the Good News and a helping hand. He said something as simple as hot soup in the belly and a sandwich in a bag can reenergize a downtrodden laborer and bring forth hope and a better sense of self-worth. The Holy Spirit does the rest.

The parishioners at Queen of Angels are the main financial sponsors of the Desayuno Jornaleros. It costs about $500-$600 every time the group goes out, which is about once a month. They offer laborers homemade soup and hot coffee and a bagged lunch for later in the day. Food items are bought wholesale. Parishioners get together at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, get the goods together and go out to meet day laborers.

“They embody the suffering of Christ,” Apestegui said of the people he ministers to. “We have to walk with them… So that they know that the Church cares for them.”

Parishioner Digna Aguaiz has been volunteering with Desayuno Jornaleros for years; she now comes with her children, so that they too may learn to serve God and His people.

“We come to share the presence of God,” she said, “We have to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of people.”

However, Aguaiz said the ministry is not all about giving; she gains a lot from the group as well. She said the group has offered her and her children a sense of community and place where they can come as a family to do some good.

Marlene Valdes came to volunteer for the first time. She said she is happy to help her neighbors whom she often sees waiting for work on the street.

Valdes also said she is thankful for having found Desayuno Jornaleros.

“It is a good example for me to follow,” she said.

Apestegui said the group started at the Sunnyside parish after he was walking down the street looking for a different church and came upon Queen of Angels. He presented the ministry, which at the time was being run out of people’s homes, to Father Ricardo Perez, former parochial vicar. The parish embraced the initiative and it has been centered out of Queen of Angels ever since.

Apestegui encourages anyone who wishes to help their community not to look far and wide spending time and resources on travel. Instead he encourages people to show initiative and speak with their parish priest about the needs of the community and how to meet them best.