Bishop’s Book Tells of Ministry on Skid Row
To order contact
SAN
JOAQUIN RELIGIOUS GOOD
At (559) 227-7373
1 (880) 727-7373
or
Ask your local bookstore to order it for you.
E. T. Nedder Publishing
www.nedderpublishing.com
“Everyone of our lives is filled with stories,
and in those stories, with the events and people in our lives, God is speaking
to us, teaching us, and loving us, in the good, the bad and the humorous
happenings. We just have to listen to
God speaking to us in the silence of our hearts.”
Bishop
John T. Steinbock
Bishop John Steinbock spent 10 years in three different parishes in East Los Angeles and 11 years in ministry at the old St. Vibiana’s Cathedral on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
His ministry in East Los Angeles included ministry with many involved in gangs. His ministry in downtown Los Angeles included ministry amongst the men and women of the streets, the people working in the garment factories and the poor Spanish-speaking families living in the rundown hotels.
Now, he has written a book, “Ministry of Presence, Vignettes of Skid Row and East L.A. Ministry,” composed of 100 short, real-life stories and incidents of his life as a priest in those years.
At the end of the book, he has three main reflections written at different times in his life: one on his retreat preparing for ordination as a priest in 1963, another while in the midst of ministry on Skid Row in 1983 and a reflection in 2001 looking back at that ministry after many years as a bishop.
The title comes from a section of his reflection looking back at that ministry: “One of the greatest lessons I learned in my life in East L.A. and on Skid Row is what ministry is all about. It is simply being with people, caring for people, sharing their lives, their sorrows and their joys, loving the people. It is a ministry of presence. Sometimes you can help, and sometimes you can’t. One may not be able to respond to the many problems in peoples’ lives, but one can be with them in their sufferings and joys. And the priest is with the people, so that they understand that the Lord Jesus is with them, loving them, suffering with them….”
Bishop Steinbock’s comments regarding the book is that he hopes those who read it will find it both entertaining and spiritually uplifting, and that it will help others to reflect on the stories of their lives.
He stated: “Everyone of our lives is filled with stories, and in those stories, with the events and people in our lives, God is speaking to us, teaching us, and loving us, in the good, the bad and the humorous happenings. We just have to listen to God speaking to us in the silence of our hearts.”
The book is available at San Joaquin Religious Goods store in Fresno, or you may ask the bookstore in your area to obtain it. It is published by E.T. Nedder Publishing, 1526 East 16th Street, Tucson, AZ 85701, toll free 1-877-817-2742.
The cost of the book is $12.
Bishop Steinbock thought it was a little expensive for its size, 84 pages, but he said he will donate half of the net income to Catholic Charities and half to other causes, yet to be determined. In this way, he said, his experiences amongst the poor will continue to help the poor.