A former farmworker himself, Deacon Arnold Hernandez, CM, knows firsthand about the long hours, sore muscles and heat exhaustion that comes with the strenuous labor of bringing in the harvest.Born in Del Rio, Texas, he worked as a field hand before moving to construction work, which offered higher wages.
Now as a deacon and member of the Vincentian Evangelization Team in the Diocese of Little Rock, he offers his experiences on the farm to the Hispanic farmworker ministry he developed in Warren six years ago.
“I just saw the need and that’s how I got started,” he said.
In September 2005 he compiled a booklet that not only includes an outline of his ministry in Bradley and Drew counties but also lists U.S. and Arkansas farming statistics and provides helpful resources. It is called the “Pastoral Project with Hispanic Farmworkers.”
The booklet is currently being translated into Spanish, Hernandez said.
“The reason this project was started is because most dioceses don’t have certain guidelines for farmworkers’ ministry,” Hernandez said in an interview with Arkansas Catholic. “It has to be a well integrated program.”
In addition to being a guide and educational resource, he said the booklet was also developed to include with grant requests. It is also given out to organizations, businesses, parishes and individuals who donate to the ministry.
“I’m going out soliciting from the businesses to provide funds for this ministry because we don’t have a budget in the diocese for that,” Hernandez said.
The pastoral project is sponsored by the Vincentian Evangelization Team and St. Luke Church in Warren with assistance from the Glenmary Home Missioners in collaboration with diocese. The Hispanic Ministry Office and Father Carlos Ignacio Lozada, CM, assisted Hernandez in compiling data and producing the booklet.
