The Bounty of the Lord in New Haven

Writer: Sr. Romina Sapinoso, SC

Yesterday’s psalm resounded in my heart as I prayed it: “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.” (Ps 27) 

These words were particularly encouraging to me as a bus rider this year as we prepare for possibly the most crucial election that, however it goes, will shape our future in ways none of us can probably anticipate.

On Day 4 of the first leg of the Nuns on the Bus & Friends “Vote Our Future” tour, we got to meet the fantastic folks behind Fair Haven Health Clinic, a federally funded health center that provides care for a population that is over 90 percent people of color and immigrants. Fair Haven gives these folks access to care from the cradle to the grave regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

A clinic established the same year as NETWORK, in 1972, Fair Haven has expanded its services to be comprehensive and of excellent quality. On top of essential services, they provide behavioral, dental, and maternal care. They are also present in schools, provide care coordination, and address other factors affecting health, such as food insecurity, partner violence, language barriers, etc. The bounty of the Lord in the land of the living indeed!

During our visit to the site, we were joined by members of the community who lock arms to care for their most vulnerable members: those experiencing poverty, homelessness, hunger, racism, and discrimination. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, State Senator Martin Looney, Mayor Justin Elicker, and members of different organizations advocating for community issues, such as IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services), Junta for Progressive Action, and Apostle Immigrant Services, among others, sat with the bus riders at a roundtable for a listening session.

Immigration was an issue that everybody around the table wanted to discuss. Kica Matos of the National Immigration Law Center raised essential concerns about members of the largely immigrant community in New Haven. Jacqueline Gonzales, whose parents also migrated to this country, expressed her concern for the arduous journey immigrants experience to get here and the importance of supporting the small business owners of New Haven, mostly immigrants.

When I received immigrants released from ICE detention as they passed through the border in El Paso, I always wondered what kind of community they would find as I sent them off to their final destination. I always prayed and sent a blessing to them for a safe journey and for them to somehow find a landing place that is welcoming and safe.

Seeing the courage with which the folks from Fair Haven – and the people of New Haven who attended our Town Hall at the historic United Church of Christ – engage the complex issues of their diverse community, the psalm comes to life for me: “I believe I will see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” Let’s remain hopeful, stouthearted, courageous, and together, lock arms, and get to work as we wait on the Lord.

This reflection is from the 2024 Nuns on the Bus & Friends bus rider blog.