General Convention: Strategic Vision for Latino/Hispanic Evangelism Adopted
Story by Marjorie George, Diocese of West Texas, Communications
A strategic plan that has been two years in the making, and on which several persons from the Diocese of West Texas collaborated, has been accepted and praised by both houses of General Convention.
Saying that “sadly, almost 40 years of documents, resolutions, good will, and immeasurable effort from talented individuals has yet to produce results,” the report from The Episcopal Church Office of Latino/Hispanic Ministries took a new approach to Latino/Hispanic ministry.
A point of departure of the report was that Latinos/Hispanics are actually not a race but a mixture of nationalities, ethnicities, and levels of integration to the U. S. mainstream culture. This leads to the reality that not all Latinos/Hispanics have the same degree of acculturation, speak the same level of English, or have access to education to the same degree. Therefore, not all Latinos/Hispanics can be evangelized in the same way.
Congruent with the report, resolution D038 calls for The Episcopal Church to increase the number of “active and viable Latino/Hispanic Episcopal congregations” from 308 to 354 – a 15 percent increase – by providing financial assistance to dioceses who are willing to make financial commitments to this ministry.
Additionally, the Office of Latino/Hispanic Ministries will identify 100 primarily small non-Latino/Hispanic congregations located in areas with high Latino/Hispanic populations and provide them with resources to help these congregations grow by 30 percent over the next three years. Read more 

The mission of the Latino/Hispanic Ministries Office is to support to the fullest extent the expansion of the Latino/Hispanic ministry in the Episcopal Church.
* Recruit and train clergy and lay leaders, and for that purpose it will develop training programs in different areas.
* Create resources to facilitate missionary work and for that purpose it will develop educational programs for leaders and for members of the congregations.Develop mission models that facilitate the Latino/Hispanic congregational growth in the Episcopal Church.
* Raise the consciousness of how the Latino/Hispanic ministry enriches our Church and advocate for the recognition and respect for this ministry.
* Facilitate an extensive participation of the Ninth Province in the life of the church.
* Work together with different organizations of the Church and departments of the Church Center.
Our philosophy seeks that the activities developed through this Office have a broad representation that reflects the diversity of the people within the ministry. Continue

Click here for information about the Hispanic Church Studies program at the
Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. |