Baltimore Eats - Savor The World

The Immigration Outreach Service Center at St. Matthew's Catholic Church was born six years ago in response to the diverse needs of Father Joe Muth's parishioners.

At St. Matthew's flags from forty countries adorn the sanctuary of the church. Several times a year the church holds a Kenyan Mass in Swahili, complete with dance and drums, and once a month the Nigerian Igbo community worships here. This April, the church will mark the beginning of Holy Week by sitting down to a Palm Sunday Seder with the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and end it with a traditional Sudanese Easter Celebration. Baltimore doesn't get much more richly multi-cultural than this.

When St. Matthew's holds its potluck suppers, parishioners bring dishes unique to their own cultures. "We gradually had to ask people to label things, because some stuff is really spicy," laughs Father Joe. Jean-Marie Holloway, Executive Director of The Immigration Outreach Service Center, chimes in, "Not everyone has an international stomach!"

The Center provides immigrants with legal support on immigration status, health care, and job issues. It also offers counseling and comfort. At one workshop, "From Cries of Anguish to Hope," the IOSC opened it's doors to the survivors of torture and trauma, and people told stories that they had never shared before, breaking the grip of lingering fears and beginning the healing process. "People come here and express their innermost fears. They feel they can share their stories in confidence," says Holloway.

The bonds that are forged in this community are strong. Every summer, the center holds a series of popular support groups where people share their experiences and discuss the challenges they face adjusting to a new culture. "People don't want to lose themselves in the process of integrating into American culture. We try to help them maintain a balance, to say: 'Hold on to yourself and what you know.' while you assimilate," says Father Muth. "A lot of the groups here come together, whether it's the Kenyan groups or the Nigerian groups, to help new immigrants learn about American culture, things they didn't know themselves when they came over."

John Shields has been a friend of the center for years and on April 24th the IOSC will host its fourth annual "Savor the World" benefit at Gertrude's Restaurant. There will be an extraordinary multi-stationed buffet dinner provided by local ethnic restaurants, like Cafe Zen and Kathmandu Kitchen, and exciting entertainment by dancers from Kenya, Ireland, and the Philippines. Artwork created by children at the center will be framed and bid upon in a Silent Auction.

The political climate since September 11th has made the lives of immigrants, and those seeking to immigrate, more difficult but the message of "Savor the World" is entirely optimistic. At last year's event a man spoke about his struggle to bring his family here from Kenya. This year he will speak again, now accompanied by his wife and five children. The community of St. Matthew's and The Immigration Outreach Service Center invite one and all to join the celebration of this success, and so many others.

-Tamar Jacobs