BRAWLEY \u2014 For Rev. Bernardo Lara, the dusty fields of the Imperial Valley were never just a landscape; they were his cathedral. Whether distributing ashes to farmworkers during their breaks or leading processions through the streets, Lara\u2019s ministry has been defined by a \u201cbruised and hurting\u201d church that prefers the pavement to the sacristy.<\/p>\n
Now, after a combined six years of service to the Catholic Communities of Brawley and Westmorland, Lara is preparing for a new mission. Following a diocesan announcement earlier this year, he will transition to Our Lady of the Angels in San Diego\u2014located in the heart of Barrio Logan near Petco Park\u2014effective July 1.<\/p>\n
A Ministry of \u2018Firsts\u2019<\/p>\n
Lara, who has served as pastor for the last four years and previously spent two years as a parochial vicar in 2015, describes Brawley as his \u201cfirst love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe saying goes that you never forget your first love,\u201d Lara said in a recent interview. \u201cBrawley was my first love as a priest and as a pastor. Leaving is bittersweet. It\u2019s more than half of my ministry spent here\u2014the stories, the connections, the projects that formed me.\u2019<\/p>\n
The transition follows the Catholic Church\u2019s fiscal year calendar. While the announcement was made between January and March, Lara will continue to celebrate Mass in the Imperial Valley through June.<\/p>\n
Taking the Church to the fields<\/p>\n
Lara\u2019s tenure has been marked by a visible, hands-on approach to social doctrine\u2014a specialty he studied extensively in Rome. Inspired by Pope Francis\u2019 call for a church that \u201cgoes out\u201d to meet the people, Lara became a familiar face in the agricultural fields during significant liturgical moments like the Feast of Guadalupe and Ash Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not common, and that\u2019s why it worked,\u201d Lara said, noting that many workers were surprised to see a priest in the fields. \u201cOne worker told me, ‘Priests don\u2019t usually stop here.’ But I prefer an accidental and bruised church that is in the street rather than a church that is sick from being confined to its own sacristy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lara credits his collaborators and fellow clergy for covering parish duties while he slipped away during “breaks” to reach those laboring in the sun.<\/p>\n
Healing old divides<\/p>\n
Beyond the fields, Lara\u2019s mission focused on dismantling the \u201cghosts of the past\u201d in Brawley\u2014specifically the historical and psychological divides symbolized by the local railroad tracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne side of the tracks was the poor side; the other was the economically better side,\u201d Lara explained. \u201cThat symbolism created walls… \u2018you are like this,\u2019 or \u2018they are stricter.\u2019 My goal was to see, judge, and act. Once you get to know people, you realize there is much more that unites us than divides us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under his leadership, the parishes of Sacred Heart, St. Margaret Mary, and St. Joseph in Westmorland saw increased collaboration and public processions, supported by the City of Brawley.<\/p>\n
A new chapter<\/p>\n
While Lara admits to a \u201cbittersweet\u201d feeling regarding the move, he expressed deep confidence in his successor, Rev. Antonio Morales, the current pastor of Calipatria.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is one of the best priests in the Imperial Valley right now,\u201d Lara said. \u201cThe community is in very good hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he prepares for the move to San Diego\u2019s urban center, Lara offered a final message of gratitude to his parishioners, quoting the late rock legend Gustavo Cerati: \u201cGracias totales.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an eternal gratitude for the affection, the opportunity to enter your lives, and the support,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people of Brawley showed that with a little push, they have the potential to leave those ghosts behind and keep growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
OLOV changes clarified<\/p>\n
Recently, the Imperial Valley Press reported about a series of changes at Our Lady of the Valley Parish, including the assignment of Rev. Edward Horning to Borrego Springs, the sabbatical of Rev. Mark Edney, and the \u201cretirement\u201d of Rev. Allan White.<\/p>\n
\u201cReports of my retirement have been greatly exaggerated,\u201d Rev. White wrote on social media. \u201cDominican friars do not retire. They just die. Until then, they carry on working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rev. White assured parishioners he hopes to continue teaching at St. Mary\u2019s School, to which he has devoted his life for the past eleven years. \u201cAs you can see, I am too young to retire in any event!\u201d<\/p>\n
Rev. Edney elaborated, \u201cThank you, Fr. Allan, for your dedication to St. Mary\u2019s School all these past years and in the years to come. I, too, will be teaching at St. Mary\u2019s School next year, as I have for the past 12 years. Yes, I will be on sabbatical, but not from our school.\u201d<\/p>\n
A social media user later asked, \u201cDoes that mean you are not ditching us and moving to Yuma?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rev. Edney answered, \u201cYuma is not so far away as to prevent him from serving in El Centro. Many people commute greater distances every day! You make the sacrifices.\u201d<\/p>\n
No other changes were reported by the Diocese of San Diego as requested by the Imperial Valley Press last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BRAWLEY \u2014 For Rev. Bernardo Lara, the dusty fields of the Imperial Valley were never just a landscape;…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[27481,45133,92243,92245,51673,36546,6163,92244,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-198281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-catholic-church","tag-catholicism","tag-christian-denominational-families","tag-christian-organizations","tag-christian-practices","tag-christianity","tag-religion","tag-religious-organizations","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}