Social Holiness in Action: “Many Might Know” Hispanic Ministry

“Go therefore and make disciples…” On Tuesday nights in July and early August, members of Church of the Cross United Methodist do exactly what Jesus commands here in Matthew 28—they go into the world, meeting needs and making disciples. The Many Might Know Hispanic Ministry is a partnership between Church of the Cross and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC).

Each summer FLOC sponsors mobile health clinics in migrant camps throughout Northwest Ohio. For more than ten years, Church of the Cross has been partnering with FLOC to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the families in local migrant camps. While FLOC provides health services, Church of the Cross provides a meal for the families and Vacation Bible School activities for the children. They also distribute clothing and hygiene items, meeting some of the material needs of the families.

Most importantly, Church of the Cross adds a spiritual component to FLOC’s mobile health clinics as they teach Bible stories to the children and pass out Spanish Bibles to all in attendance. While meeting physical needs is critical, this strong spiritual component of Many Might Know is what truly makes this a ministry, not simply a social service. Church of the Cross is an example to us all of what Wesleyan social holiness looks like— a collision of love of God and neighbor, overflowing into the world as a witness to God’s grace.

Puente de Esperanza: Fiesta!

On July 17, nearly 400 people attended Fiesta, an outreach event of the Puente de Esperanza (Bridge of Hope) Hispanic ministry partnership. Puente de Esperanza is a partnership of Fremont Hayes Memorial, Gibsonburg Faith, Gibsonburg Trinity, and Fremont Trinity, Lindsey Trinity, and Woodville United Methodist churches. Based at Hayes Memorial and with a satellite site at Gibsonburg Faith, Puente de Esperanza serves the Hispanic community of greater Sandusky County.

Lay Missioner Alamar Arriaga has been organizing Fiesta for the past six years, and this year the event was greatly expanded. New additions in 2011 included a bilingual worship experience and collaboration with various agencies for Farmworkers’ Appreciation Day. Pastor Guadalupe Rios of the Torre Fuerte faith community at Unity UMC in East Toledo preached the sermon at the bilingual worship service, with his son Jose Rios providing translation.

In keeping with past years, Fiesta also featured a homemade meal, bouncy houses and games for children, a live band and DJ, many booths to visit, and prizes for attendees of all ages. In addition to providing a day of entertainment for the migrant workers of greater Sandusky County, the incorporation of a worship service this year provided a spiritual foundation for the event. Puente de Esperanza is also launching a weekly bilingual Bible study and worship experience beginning on July 30 at 6pm, which will be held at the YMCA in Fremont. With worship as the foundation of the ministry, the churches of Puente de Esperanza are eager to follow the Spirit and build bridges of hope in Sandusky County and beyond!

New Hope UMC: A New Partner in Hispanic Ministry

New Hope United Methodist Church in Toledo, OH is a small church with a big heart for missions. New to Hispanic ministry, they began a mission project called “Mission Mexico.” As part of this mission project, they collected clothes to be distributed at migrant camps as part of the Many Might Know Hispanic Ministry and mobile health clinic. The congregation collected several large boxes of clothing to be distributed. New Hope will also partner with Church of the Cross and Maumee United Methodist churches to provide VBS programs in the migrant camps after the mobile health clinics.

On June 12, New Hope celebrated their new commitment to Hispanic ministry with a fiesta event including worship, a potluck, and a Hispanic ministry workshop. Rev. Lupina Stewart, Hispanic Ministry Coordinator of West Ohio Conference, preached the sermon and invited members of the congregation to be commissioned for the mission of Hispanic ministry. All those in attendance chose to commit to this mission, and Lupina had the honor of commissioning the entire congregation for the work of Hispanic ministry.

During the service, New Hope also presented Lupina with a $300 check for Maumee Watershed District’s scholarship program in partnership with the Oriental Conference in Mexico. These funds will provide a semester of schooling for a Mexican pastor’s kid. Following worship, New Hope provided a taco bar and potluck for those in attendance as well as community members. This time of fellowship included a piñata contest featuring piñatas made by members of New Hope’s youth group. Following the potluck, Rev. Lupina Stewart led a short workshop on Hispanic ministry.

New Hope UMC is proof that small congregations can come together to make a big difference. Although the congregation is new to Hispanic ministry, they are an example of what is possible if we are willing to be in partnership—with God, with other churches, and with one another. God calls us to work together and be in ministry with all our neighbors; New Hope has answered that call—will you?

glimpses into my summer

This summer, I have been serving as the Hispanic Ministry Intern for Maumee Watershed District. As part of my internship, I have written several articles about the different Hispanic ministries that I have been working with this summer. These articles have appeared in the district E-Newsletter, but I thought I would post some of them here for those of you who are curious about what I have been up to this summer!

Today I’d like to share an article that appeared in the daily newsletter of the West Ohio School of Christian Mission. It gives some background about how I got involved in Hispanic ministry and what I am doing as I serve as Maumee Watershed’s Hispanic Ministry Intern this summer:

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Growing up in rural Northwest Ohio, Katie began building relationships with the Hispanic community early in life. Her first experience in Hispanic ministry came at age 12, when she volunteered for six weeks during the summer at a school for the children of migrant workers. As Katie spent the next four summers volunteering at the school, God planted the seeds of her calling to Hispanic ministry and the ministry of teaching. In high school, she began taking Spanish classes at her high school during the week and at a nearby college on the weekends.

With a growing love for the Spanish language and the Mexican culture, Katie traveled to Piedras Negras, Mexico on her first mission trip at age 17. She served at the Casa de Misericordia United Methodist Orphanage, a ministry of the Oriental Conference, a partner conference of West Ohio. Katie has returned to Piedras Negras twice since her initial trip, and these experiences have fueled her passion for Hispanic ministry in Mexico, the United States, and beyond.

Now a junior Biblical Studies major at Bluffton University, Katie is serving this summer as the Hispanic Ministry Intern for the Maumee Watershed District. The internship is an opportunity for her to immerse herself in the diverse and exciting Hispanic ministries of the Maumee Watershed District. Katie travels across the district, visiting and supporting the six Hispanic ministry sites in Maumee Watershed. In any given week, her travels take her to ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, mobile health clinics at migrant camps, bilingual prayer and worship services, and various churches to discuss Hispanic ministry.

Katie is grateful for the opportunity to continue her journey of discernment this summer as she serves alongside the people of Maumee Watershed and West Ohio, meeting the needs of the Hispanic community and sharing the love of Christ. And Katie hopes to serve alongside the people of West Ohio Conference far beyond this summer, as she follows God’s call and begins candidacy for ordination as a deacon.

party like a Mennonite

Tomorrow I head to the national convention of Mennonite Church USA! I will spend my 4th of July in mediation training, and will serve as an on-call mediator for the rest of the week during the convention. This opportunity is part of my mediation certification through Bluffton, and it could not be a more perfect opportunity for me! Much of my motivation for being certified in mediation has grown out of experiences of church conflict. As I have studied mediation and peacebuilding at Bluffton, I have focused on church conflict transformation in many papers and projects; this week, I will have the chance to put the theory I have learned into practice, which will in turn shape my theory as I move forward. This week continues the cycle of action and reflection that has come to shape my life as I learn to live peace, little by little, day by day.

In addition to serving as a mediator, I will get to take advantage of all that Menno Convention has to offer—worship, speakers, seminars, concerts, times of open dialogue, and all the inner workings of Mennonite Church USA. I am especially eager to get a glimpse into the “political” life of a denomination besides the UMC. I have great respect for MCUSA, so I come to Pittsburgh with much curiosity and many questions—does a peace commitment have any bearing on church politics? Does a commitment to nonviolence create space for dialogue? Or are these values forgotten or abandoned in the midst of controversy? Is this body of believers called MCUSA walking (even crawling, limping) the talk, earnestly striving to embody the radical theology they teach? I think all of my questions can be summed up like this: is the grass any greener on the other side?

Maybe. Or maybe not. Ask me in a week or so.

Till then, I’ll be in Pittsburgh—partying like a Mennonite!

criminal injustice

on prayer

“In prayer a reversal occurs:
we do not talk about God and the world
but begin to see ourselves and the world in God.
We begin to see human life and the world
from the divine perspective,
from a broader and more inclusive point of view
than we are otherwise capable of holding.
We begin to recognize who we are in the scheme of things
from the perspective of the Creator and Redeemer of everything that is.
We are no longer the center (a definition of sin);
we know God is the Center (a definition of salvation).”

-Sallie McFague
(pp. 88-89 in Earth Gospel by Sam Hamilton-Poore)

Reading Reflections: Justpeace Ethics by Jarem Sawatsky

One of my goals this summer is to read. More specifically, I am reading the books that I wanted to read during the school year but did not have the time. The best thing about this project is that the stack of books on my desk all fall into three familiar categories—peace studies, biblical studies, and theology. That the books I choose to read in the summer reflect the disciplines in which I spend the academic year means that I am studying what I love. I am thankful for the opportunity to do just that.

One of the first books I read this summer, which was a quick but worthwhile read, was Justpeace Ethics by Jarem Sawatsky. The title caught my eye, and the book presented a solid ethical framework for peacebuilding. I would like to reflect on two concepts that I found particularly helpful in the book:

1. Ethics as common ground.

Sawatsky argues that “if it is true that common virtues are a potential meeting place for different traditions, then ethics (the dialogue of which guides action) could provide a powerful meeting place for different disciplines or even different religious traditions that are interested in peace and justice work” (12). He points out that while the actions and narratives of groups may be very different, the virtues of the groups often overlap. A good example of this would be two different faith traditions that share a commitment to nonviolence; this shared virtue may be informed by different narratives, and it may lead each tradition to act differently, but the central virtue of nonviolence is at the core of both groups. Building peace on ethical common ground both embraces the particularity of each group and points toward the possibility of a shared future—both of which are necessary for sustainable peace and reconciliation. For this reason, I agree with Sawatsky that ethics has the potential to be a powerful space of common ground in the work of peacebuilding.

2. Responsibility > Guilt.

While this was not one of the central points of the book, I found it to be a significant one. Sawatsky briefly contrasts guilt and responsibility, explaining that “guilt is an inward self-orientation that paralyzes the soul” while “responsibility orients the heart toward the other” (80). Too often, I have experienced efforts for peace and justice that are rooted in guilt rather than responsibility. For example, making the choice to shop more ethically out of a sense of guilt rather than a sense of responsibility. Guilt-motivated decisions are made not out of love for others but out of fear for one’s own feelings. While I have felt this tension in my own life, the life of the church, and beyond, Sawatsky’s reflections on guilt and responsibility helped me articulate the problem with and the alternative to guilt-motivated thinking. Further, his ethical framework pairs responsibility with empowerment, serving as a reminder that true responsibility can only take root when people are empowered to actively participate in the struggle for justice (76). After all, “responsibility without empowerment is like living with a dictator” (84).

On the whole, Justpeace Ethics helped me clarify the virtues that inform the ways in which I think about and act for peace. By naming the virtues that shape the broad and diverse field of peacebuilding, Sawatsky helped me identify many virtues that I did not realize shape my understanding of peace. And perhaps most importantly, I began to understand that by identifying the virtues that inform my identity and work as a peacebuilder, I am unearthing the fertile soil of common ground—the foundation not only of a justpeace ethic, but of justpeace itself.

vocational discernment: the journey continues

Last semester, I had the opportunity to take a course called Peacemaking Seminar as a directed study. One of the objectives of the course was vocational discernment, particularly around my call and identity as a peacebuilder. Not only did I get to spend the semester deeply engaged in questions of discernment and identity, I got to do so alongside one of my professors whose life has been an example for me of what it means to live peace. I was required to keep a journal for the semester, part of which included weekly vocational reflections (my journal from Peacemaking Seminar can be found here). This little journaling project taught me two important lessons about vocational discernment (and about life, but I will stick with the topic at hand):

1. Intentionality is everything.
To look back on my vocational reflections from spring semester is to look back on a collection of experiences of which I could have easily missed the significance. For me, the requirement to reflect weekly on identity and vocation was an invitation to live life ever open to God’s leading. Last semester was an incredible time of discernment precisely because it was an intentional time of discernment.

2. Significance lies in the small things.
Reflecting every week on vocational discernment forced me to find the significance in everyday experiences. Some weeks, there were obvious times of discernment, such as my spring break spent visiting seminaries. However, some weeks were filled with classes and not much else. Such is the life of a college student, but I learned to find significance in the small things. I reflected on lectures, on readings from various classes, and from conversations with friends and professors. Looking back, those experiences are the ones that add texture to the broad strokes of discernment that paint the picture of my life.

Moving forward, I am no longer required to reflect on identity, vocation, or anything else for that matter! However, Peacemaking Seminar was never about a grade or an assignment; it was about who I am and who I am becoming. That work is not over, nor will it ever be. I hope to use this blog to continue the journey of discernment, a journey I believe cannot be walked alone. I hope you will join me!

sophomore year: lessons learned

Nine months. Eleven classes. Hundreds of pages written. Thousands of pages read. Countless hours in the library. Much laughter. More than a few crazy escapades. Many conversations that have challenged how I see the world. A year lived in a community that has changed my life. It’s been another fantastic year at Bluffton.

So what have I learned this year?

1. Treasure the people with whom you share your life.

Relationships are the most important part of life. Period. If this year taught me anything at all, it is that life is about living in the present, loving the people God has placed in your life today, and being open and honest in your relationships. The greatest gift is now—the community, the opportunities, the emotions, the conversations of today. Spend time with the people you care about. Tell people what they mean to you. Cry hard, laugh harder. Be real and be honest. Tomorrow will come, but today is what matters.

2. Do your absolute best.

This year, I worked harder than I knew was possible and learned more than I even realize at this point. Just when I thought I was doing my best, I pushed myself to do more, and it paid off in ways I never could have imagined. I achieved things I did not know I was capable of, and I stand here halfway through college having already exceeded my highest expectations for my undergraduate career. Hard work pays off—I cannot wait to see what the next two years will bring!

3. Peace is a journey.

Last year, I came to believe in the power of nonviolence. This year, I learned that making a commitment to nonviolence is not a one-time event, but the first step of a lifelong journey. Furthermore, I learned that this journey is one that must be lived in and sustained by community. For me, this year has been an important part of my journey toward peace; I am a million miles from perfect, but I am better at embodying peace now than I was in August, and that is the measure of success.

4. Education can change the world.

In the fall, I studied education as a means of social change in my Social Justice & Social Change class. In the spring, I identified education as my primary gift and calling as a peacebuilder in my Theories of Peace & Conflict class. This entire year, I have learned to see education as a form of peacemaking; I believe that my transforming minds, we can transform the world for peace. This is a lesson that has transformed how I experience education and how I understand my identity as a peacebuilder. As I move forward in my education, I do so knowing that by transforming my mind, I am working toward the transformation of the world.

5. Make time for waffles.

To describe this year as academically demanding would be an understatement. I was known on my floor for long days and nights of reading and writing, but this year I also learned how to make time in the midst of academic chaos for things like Waffle House runs, pizza parties, and movies with friends. In the end, the crazy memories with my friends are worth more than that chapter of Karl Barth I read for Theology. After all, I have all summer and the rest of my life so spend time with Barth…my friends don’t fit so well on my bookshelf. So, make time for waffles. Make time for people. Make time for fun.