Sacred Heart celebrates diversity, inclusion

Festival packs grounds for two days

Lorain’s ethnic diversity was welcomed as Sacred Heart Chapel held its 66th annual Sacred Heart Fiestas Patronales July 13 to 15.

The parking lot filled early around the church at 4301 Pearl Ave. as parish members and visiting officials gathered for the ceremony to open two days of music, food and fun.

The Rev. Bill Thaden, pastor at the church, said the parish members strive to reach out to others with love that flows from the heart of Jesus.

After processing from the church to the gazebo in back, members joined hands to form a wall that represented inclusion, not exclusion, and unity, not separation. Their arms were ready to open up to a warm embrace and a sign of peach, Thaden said.

“Sacred Heart Chapel is a community of people who came here at great cost, some decades ago, some recently,” Thaden said. “Some are recognized as citizens, some are not.

“All need to be received and welcomed into a new culture, language, lifestyle,” he said as the crowd applauded. “We all have experienced the full range, from warmth of hospitality to cold rejection.

“Perhaps that is why Sacred Heart is known to be a warm and welcoming community, because we have known the importance of being welcomed,” Thaden said, drawing more applause.

The parish’s mission statement says members will embrace diversity and welcome all, Thaden said. It is in the members’ blood, he said.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, recalled when her 9th Congressional District map was drawn to include Lorain. She said parishioners of Sacred Heart Chapel welcomed her.

“I never felt alone in Lorain because this parish made me feel so at home,” Kaptur said.

State Sen. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, a member of Ohio Hispanic and Latino Commission, credited commission member Mary Santiago, a Sacred Heart Chapel parishioner who is helping the entire state.

Manning read from a Senate proclamation recognizing the Hispanic heritage of the parish and its efforts to promote inclusion, diversity and equity.

“The members of the church have kept their faith alive in the community and on this special occasion, they have accepted the challenge of carrying their beliefs into the future,” Manning read.

The crowd gave another round of applause to Lorain International Festival Puerto Rican Princess Selena Vazquez, 17, a Lorain County Community College student through the Early College program of Lorain High School.

The speakers kept the tone as fun as it was inclusive. Kaptur, Manning and Thaden all prompted laughs from the crowd during some of their presentations.

Kaptur noted she planned to buy some good food and if she was a parish member, she would join its kitchen community.

Kaptur felt comfortable speaking some full sentences in Spanish, but Manning noted she did not trust her command of that language. Manning quipped that if she relied on her Spanish language skill, she might mistakenly say something inappropriate.