Anne Attea, center, formation and social justice director at Ascension in Minneapolis, makes a point during the “Giving Insights” series May 24 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. At left is Father Dale Korogi, pastor of Ascension, and at right is Akiko Maeker, principal partner and coaching director of Interculturalist LLC in the Twin Cities.

Anne Attea, center, formation and social justice director at Ascension in Minneapolis, makes a point during the “Giving Insights” series May 24 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. At left is Father Dale Korogi, pastor of Ascension, and at right is Akiko Maeker, principal partner and coaching director of Interculturalist LLC in the Twin Cities. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Catholics of various nationalities and ethnicities want to feel they belong in local parishes — and when they are welcomed and accepted, the parish benefits from the gifts they bring, panelists said at a forum last month at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis titled, “Building an Intercultural Church.”

“We’re looking for ways to truly build something new, create a new tapestry, weaving together the richness of one community and the richness perhaps of the community that is already there and create a new vibrant tapestry,” said panelist Anne Attea, formation and social justice director at Ascension in Minneapolis, who previously served as the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ director for Hispanic/Latino Ministry.

The May 24 forum was part of St. Paul-based Catholic Community Foundation’s “Giving Insights” series exploring philanthropy’s impact. The 128 attendees — about half viewing by livestream — consisted mostly of parishioners in the archdiocese, along with parish staff members, priests and women religious.

Attea was joined by fellow panelists Akiko Maeker, principal partner and coaching director of Interculturalist LLC in the Twin Cities, which works with organizations on leadership and management performance, and Mar Muñoz-Visoso, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church. The panelists considered the meaning and practices of intercultural competence and ways Catholic parishes and other institutions can advance goals of evangelization by welcoming and helping new populations integrate into Catholic life.

Founded in 1992, CCF financially supports the spiritual, educational and social needs of the state’s Catholic community. The foundation helps steward financial resources of Catholic individuals, families, parishes and institutions, and over the years it has distributed $207 million in grants to client-requested causes.

Hosted by Chris Nelson, CCF vice president of development and donor engagement, the forum was moderated by Father Dale Korogi, pastor of Ascension and executive director of Ascension Catholic School, both located in a culturally diverse Minneapolis community.

Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams, known for his support of building intercultural parishes by making them bases for evangelization on the streets and in people’s homes, had been scheduled to moderate the forum but was unable to attend.

Father Korogi began the panel discussion by asking what evangelization looks like in a multicultural community, and why intercultural competencies are vital for the new evangelization.

Maecker said intercultural competence is the capacity to shift perspective and adapt behavior to learn from people of different backgrounds and to find commonalities.

An important, though not necessarily defining, intercultural competence is language, Attea said, noting that of the archdiocese’ 188 parishes, 40 (or 20 percent) of them offer Masses in a different language. Welcoming new Catholics is another intercultural competence, as is a parish’s approach, whether a given parish wants them to assimilate or invites them to help build something new, Attea said. Parishes that seek to welcome new parishioners can be intentional about praying together, inviting different groups to share meals with a bilingual parishioner at each table and facilitating parish work projects, she said.

Liturgical celebrations, such as the patronal feast day of a parish, are also opportunities to bring together a number of parish groups, said Muñoz-Visoso, who has experience in both Latino ministry and communications. The goal should be full integration with welcoming, belonging and ultimately ownership, instead of assimilation, which doesn’t encourage members to value their roots, she said.

Intercultural competence does not require parishes to know everything about new members, but it’s an opportunity to recognize that together they are a family, Muñoz-Visoso said.

“If we don’t welcome people, how in the world are they going to develop a sense that they belong there?” she said. “That ‘this is my parish,’ that ‘this is my community, that I can grow and thrive here and bring my assets.’ And the sense of ownership is (when) one has the sense of belonging and feels responsible for the well-being of that community.”