CATHOLIC MIGRANT FARMWORKER NETWORK MISSION.

"To promote the formation of welcoming church communities by advocating social justice, dignity, and respect for all in order that we may be a missionary church."

GOALS:
· Develop a network of communication at all levels of the Church
· Promote the human and spiritual development of migrant farmworkers
· Promote pastoral leadership from within the migrant community
· Form a mobile team for leadership formation of migrant farmworkers

Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network
​Board of Directors

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Executive Board
Fr. Thomas Florek, S.J.
Executive Director
Newly appointed Director to engender new life and direction to our organization
Chicago, IL
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Teresita Kontos
President
Coordinator of Farmworker Ministry
Diocese of Tucson
Yuma, AZ
 
Jose López
Vice President
Director of Migrant Ministry
Diocese of Stockton
Stockton, CA

Active Co-Founder
​Fr. Richard Notter
Co-Founder of CMFN
Circus & Traveling Shows Ministry
Toledo, OH 

Board Members
Alejandro Siller-González, MAS
Leadership Formation, Intercultural Competencies formation Workshop (USCCB), Immigrant Pastoral Ministries.
 
David Corrales
Grants Specialist
Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, U.S.C.C.B.
Washington, D.C.

Deacon Salvador Carranza
Director of the Office of Hispanic Ministries.
Boise, ID
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Deacon Carlos Luna
Christian Evangelization in the Migrant Camps
Yakima, WA

Ex-officio
​Board Members
Sr. Joanna Okereke, HHCJ
Assistant Director
Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees, and Travelers U.S.C.C.B. 

Madeline Watkins
Program Coordinator
Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees, and Travelers U.S.C.C.B. ​
 
Founding Members
Reyes Ruiz
Zeferino Gonzalez
Fr. Richard Notter
Rosamaría Salazar
Fr. Vicente Albano, SOLT
Patricia Stockton
Fr. Steve Grozio, CM
Fr. Thomas More Janeck, OFM Cap.
​Jose Lopez 

Board's deep dive

FR. THOMAS FLOREK, S.J.

Fr. Tom Florek, S.J.

​I’m Fr. Tom Florek, SJ, Jesuit and recently have accepted the invitation to join the CMFN team. Growing up in a multi-cultural family in Wisconsin prepared me to live in our interconnected world and to value diversity as a significant gift of my inheritance and in others.  I came to know the wave of Mexican and Puerto Rican immigrant families while teaching at Bruce Guadalupe Community School in Milwaukee in the early 1970’s.  A Fulbright scholarship for studies in Mexico helped me to understand the rich history, culture and social reality of our neighbors.
 
Years later as founder and director of the ICLM lay formation institute serving Mexican, Caribbean, Central and SA immigrants to the Midwest, we participated in the II National CMFN Consulta at Creighton University in 2007.  The 150 migrant farmworker participants together with the CMFN membership taught me the historical force combined with an integrated faith of an otherwise invisible farmworkers serving the U.S. in their field and factory labor.
 
It is my hope as director to help prepare and promote the historical prophetic force of the migrant farm and factory workers.  Together by linking with diocesan evangelization programs, regional & national networking of ecclesial and social services, and leadership formation, we desire to breathe new life into the community of migrant farmworkers: “We are a community of migrant farm workers and rural immigrants, who walk towards the Kingdom without fear, giving witness as actors and not as spectators. . . being a people that moves forward . . . committed to the migrant pastoral and serve with a spirit of communion to a multicultural community. . . starting with a commitment to the formation of youth in our community.” [II National Consultation, May 2007]

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Teresita kontos

Teresita Kontos

Teresa is a native from Sinaloa, Mexico, daughter of a farmer, a rural teacher, wife and mother of two.  She previously served as Vice President of CMFN where she demonstrated her leadership skills and commitment to her projects. Now as President of CMFN, she is expanding the reach of her ministry of Pastoral Campesina which advocates for the migrant and rural immigrant farmworkers in the Yuma, Arizona area.
"In my role as the leader of Pastoral Campesina and President of CMFN, I have the privilege of working with priests and volunteers to support the families of our farmworkers and being inspired by their stories and dreams of a better future."

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Jose Lopez

Jose Lopez

Jose Lopez was born in Jaripo, Michoacán, Mexico and has worked in the fields of California for from 1971 to 2001 (30 years).  He is currently director of Youth Ministry and Migrant Ministry in the Diocese of Stockton.  He also represents Region Eleven in the Catholic Migrant Farmworkers network (CMFN) organization where he is currently Vice President and active member from 1997 of LA RED, the National Catholic Network of Hispanic Youth Ministry since its foundation.

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Fr. richard notter

Fr. Richard Notter

​Hi!  My name is Father Richard Notter.  I’m an 83 year old priest who was ordained in 1963 for the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio.  I am of German and English ancestry, and am fluent in Spanish. I first became involved with the Hispanic community when, as a seminarian, I assisted a priest from Mexico in ministering for the summer to migrant farmworkers.  I have lived in Mexico and visited much of it.

I was one of the founding board members of the Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network and was its first part-time director. I am back on the board again.  However my main ministry now is as chaplain with people also on the move – circus and traveling shows, which is another of the Vatican’s pastoral ministries to migrant and itinerant people.  I am also Vice Chairman of its Retirement Project which operates a campground for retired circus and carnival people.
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My hope is that this new effort of the Network will expand its service to and further formation of migrant and rural agricultural workers, and I’m very pleased to have Fr. Thomas Florek, SJ now offering his experience and talents to the effort.

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alejandro Siller-Gonzalez

Alejandro Siller-Gonzales with Our Lady of Zapopan "La Generala"

Born in Saltillo Coahuila and raised in the City of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, México.
I was invited to work in the Mexican American Cultural Center to serve immigrants, rural workers and intercultural communities so I migrated from Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico to San Antonio Texas, December 12, 1998. I got to know about CMFN at MACC and was invited to join their Board of Directors. Developed a bilingual Manual for Pastoral Leadership Formation for Migrant Farmworkers and Immigrants, including Church pastoral leaders.
As work between MACC and CMFN was interrupted, I joined the Congar Institute. I became certified by USCCB as presenter for “Intercultural Competencies”. I continued to serve the farmworker community in relationship with the Glenmary Community. I was also invited to join in the planning of the V National Hispanic Encounter.
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My present commitments are my hope. Serve with CMFN’s mission on farmworker pastoral leadership and on the urgent immigration reform for rural workers.

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David Corrales

David Corrales

David holds a Bachelor of Arts in General Business from Marymount University, and a Master of Arts in Integral Economic Development Management from the Catholic University of America.
David currently works as the Grants Specialist of the USCCB’s Collection for the Church in Latin America, managing a grant making process to build the capacity of Catholic initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to this position, he was the Program Coordinator of the USCCB Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church, where he managed projects in support of national ministries to migrants, refugees and people on the move in the United States. He has previously worked as Grants Administrator for the USCCB Collections for Africa and Latin America, consultant for the Executive Secretariat of Integral Development at the Organization of America States (OAS), and Operations Manager for Neo Niche Strategies. He is originally from Nicaragua, is married and has two children.

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dcn. Salvador Carranza

Salvador Carranza

​Deacon Salvador (Sal) Carranza is originally from Michoacán, Mexico. He immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 13 to the city of Rupert, Idaho. The Lord first called Sal to ministry as part of his local church choir which then let him to serve in other ministries such as Cursillo, Marriage Preparation, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry and now as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adults Evangelization. He is also blessed with a wife and three children who remind him on a daily basis of God’s amazing love for us. In his involvement with the Youth and Young Adult Minister, he felt invited to discern the vocation of the permanent diaconate and by God’s will and for His glory he was ordained to the permanent diaconate in October 2018. 

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dcn. Carlos Luna fernandez

Dcn. Carlos Luna Fernandez

​My name is Carlos Luna Fernandez. I’m a permanent deacon from the Yaima Washington Diocese. I was born in Michoacan Mexico and came to the United States as immigrant at 17 years old. I worked in the fields for 20 years and I identify with the farmworkers.  Now I’m helping in the Christian Evangelization program in the migrant camps. My hope is that our migrant brothers do not lose their faith and come to know even more God in their lives.

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Sr. joanna okereke

Sr. Joanna Okereke

Sr. Joanna Okereke, HHCJ from Nigeria, is a member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus.
Sr. Joanna is the Assistant Director, of the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees, and Travelers/ USCCB. She serves as an Ex Officio Board Member of CMFN.
She is charged with the pastoral care of migrants, refugees, and people on the move communities. Her ability to develop and strengthen the implementation of goals and objectives of the USCCB, providing leadership, spiritual support, motivating/encouraging team-building and implementing the US Bishops’ strategic plan and pastoral efforts is very significant in her responsibilities, spiritual growth, and social involvement in the community.

​She hopes that with effective leadership, clear sense of purpose, certainty of direction and the ability to provide support, the activities of the CMFN would succeed, fulfill purpose and achieve our dreams.

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Madeline Watkins

Madeline Watkins

​Madeline Watkins, MTS is the Program Coordinator for the USCCB Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers (PCMRT). In this capacity, she collaborates with local, diocesan and national leaders to ensure the voices and pastoral needs of migrant farmworkers and ministers reach the ears of the US Bishops. Originally from Texas and the proud granddaughter of Tejano migrant farmworkers herself, Madeline is humbled and honored to serve as an Ex Officio Board Member of CMFN. She has great gratitude for the mission and work of CMFN to ensure migrant farmworkers know the love and goodness of Christ through the Church’s close accompaniment.

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CATHOLIC MIGRANT FARMWORKER NETWORK
Journeying without fear and together in hope
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