Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis began the task of officially restarting the Office of Ethnic Ministry last weekend by hosting the first Archdiocesan Convocation for lay and clergy leaders of ethnic ministries.

The Dec. 11 meeting drew close to 120 leaders from diverse communities throughout the city to initiate the formation of a leadership council to assist Bishop Solis in the development and function of the new office.

"By having all the major groups represented it was a good start to bringing people together," said attendee Andy Shaw, executive director of the African-American Center for Evangelization and a member of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Los Angeles.

"It's a way to share our skills and talents without the need to compete with each other for resources," he added. "The office can bring a more diverse picture to the archdiocese without anyone or any group losing its identity. If we can pull this off, it's something for the rest of the world to look at."

Although the Office of Ethnic Ministries in the Los Angeles Archdiocese was dissolved three years ago due to budgetary reasons, the work of the various communities it served has continued. Volunteers of the ministries have quietly worked to serve their communities --- holding conferences, producing programs and struggling to raise the funds needed to keep the work going.

Now with the re-opening and reorganizing of the Office of Ethnic Ministries under Bishop Solis, who was ordained earlier this year, the diverse communities that make up the Archdiocese are once again coming together.

"It was a misunderstanding to say that the office was shut down," noted Bishop Solis in an interview with the Tidings. "The work of the diocese of promoting these multicultural tasks of evangelization or ministry has always been going on. It never stopped."

Good Shepherd Sister Mary Christina Sevilla said she welcomes the new Office for Ethnic Ministry and approves of Bishop Solis' approach in consulting with the communities during the development phase of organization. She said it has been a struggle over the last three years to maintain the Office of Filipino Ministry, keeping the program running on donations from the Filipino community.

"Bishop Solis is building [the office] from below and this is very wonderful because he's finding out the needs of the people and how we can all come together to serve the archdiocese," said Sister Sevilla.

Bishop Solis envisions the office consolidating ethnic ministry efforts under one roof and establishing a council of leaders taken from each community to address issues and concerns throughout the archdiocese.

"The role of the ministry is not simply to recognize, affirm and support the cultural aspects of these diverse cultural groups but in doing this we bring out the awareness of who we are and the values that we embrace so that we can promote the awareness and understanding between cultures and between peoples and this will help facilitate the idea of welcoming and embracing each other," explained Bishop Solis.

Both lay and clergy leaders who attended the kick-off convocation were enthusiastic about the possibilities presented for their ministries and eager to begin working with each other to promote multicultural ministry with the Archdiocese.

"It's important for groups to get together to know one another," said Salesian Father Joseph Cheng, pastor of St. Bridget Chinese Catholic Center in Los Angeles.

Noel Diaz, founder and director of El Sembrador Ministries and a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Los Angeles, praised the dynamic vision and leadership abilities of Bishop Solis, and said that his "sense of mission showed us the importance of uniting ourselves and finding the richness of our diversity."

"It's very encouraging to see the direction the archdiocese is taking by taking the initiative with the ethnic groups," said Diaz.