In the book of Genesis, the young patriarch Joseph was given a very beautiful coat by his father Jacob.  Into its fabric were woven strands of many different colors, each one distinct and special in its own right, and yet when all these threads were blended together, the coat was breathtaking in its beauty.  Here at St. Camillus, we are like Joseph’s coat.  Like different threads, we come from the four corners of the globe, we speak many different languages, and we come from distinct cultural experiences.  Each group has distinct ways to come together to celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of its own culture. Despite all these differences in our parish family, all this multicultural diversity, and all these rich cultural heritages, we are woven into one body, the Body of Christ: like Joseph’s coat we are a thing of great beauty.

Multiculturalism is one of our hallmarks, and we view our diversity as a true gift.  We continually strive to preserve and celebrate the richness of our own individual cultures, while at the same time growing in appreciation and understanding of one another’s.  We attempt to do this liturgically, as we gather as one to celebrate our main liturgical feasts like midnight Mass at Christmas and the Easter Vigil. This celebration of our diversity does not end with liturgy, as is obvious to all those who have attended our annual Parish Festival and Heritage celebrations where our variety of music, dance, dress and culinary delights are on full display.  We are also very aware that the call of the Spirit to be unified in our diversity is one that calls us to strive together to find new and exciting ways to come together to know and care for one another more deeply.  This can’t happen without the hard work of many people.  Won’t you be one of these men and women who share with our Multicultural committee their innovative insights as to how our parish can grow to become truly a family where all feel welcome, where all feel as if they have come home, and all work to make this vision a reality?