|
Friends United Meeting |
 |
Quaker
Life
November 2001
Good Friends and Neighbors
By Dr. David Byrne
The well-respected gentleman with his long beard seemed suddenly concerned and a bead of sweat stood out on his brow. Of course he assumed that Jesus, like all Jews, would say the neighbor God wanted him to love was his own kinsman—a Jew like himself. But Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan and now the man had to admit the Samaritan—from that irritating and religiously confused group of people just up the road—was the neighbor in the story. Jesus then said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Many objections must have run through the mind of that teacher of the law. How could I love them when I hate what they do and teach, when I hate their lifestyle and syncretism? At the same time he struggled because he understood in his heart the power of Jesus' words.
It is so easy for any of us to turn away from the people around us who are not like us. In 1994, Friends from across the country came together with a vision to reach out to our nearby neighbors and formed the Coalition for Hispanic* Ministries (CHM) to help develop and promote ministry to Hispanics in the United States. At the time our family was moving from a Friends church-planting ministry in Mexico City, the vision came together for CHM to act as a catalyst for Hispanic ministry in North America and I was invited to serve as director. God was clearly leading toward a deliberate missionary effort to Hispanics north of Mexico.
The need is great. Hispanics are, numerically, the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. Demographers were recently surprised to find after the 2000 census that the Hispanic population is statistically already on a par with the African-American population. Although expected, it was not expected to happen quite so soon.
Having over 35 million Hispanics as our neighbors in the United States does not immediately call Friends to action, but God's leading is compelling. We are to take seriously Jesus' challenge to love our neighbor as ourselves and respond to Jesus calling us to go, make disciples and be his witnesses to all peoples.
CHM has been active in several key areas. Initially we began networking between Hispanic groups and the American groups who helped support and pray for them. Many of these scattered Hispanic groups had a sense of isolation because of language and cultural barriers within their yearly meetings and also the distance between the Hispanic groups.
A keen sense of God's activity through Hispanic Friends has developed. CHM serves as a bridge of communication between yearly meetings and their Hispanic churches and missions. These Hispanic Friends groups are doing front-line ministry and needed to hear the support of other Friends.
"Anglo" Friends also are challenged and encouraged to reach out to Hispanics in new and creative ways. Accepting the challenge of nearby cross-cultural ministry is a difficult task requiring as much commitment and creativity as being on a mission field overseas.
In 1997, CHM sponsored the first North American Hispanic Friends Conference in Friendswood, Texas, bringing together about 40 representatives from the United States, Canada and the Mexican border area. Friends were so excited it has become an annual event. Last year over 200 Hispanic Friends came together in Baltimore, Maryland, to worship God and experience the presence and power of Christ. This year the rapidly growing Hispanic ministry in Las Vegas, Nevada, hosted the conference from October 18-21.
Another key challenge in the Hispanic church is a shortage of leaders and opportunities for leadership development. Seminaries in the United States and Canada do not have programs in Spanish. Even if they did, the majority of Hispanic men and women who already serve God in the churches would still not have access to those programs because of family, work and ministry commitments.
To address this challenge, "Instituto ALMA**" leadership training institute was founded by CHM in 1995. The institute focuses on leadership needs of Hispanic churches in North America. It assumes that students are already involved in ministry and have some theological and biblical background. Currently the institute uses videotapes and study guides to lead local groups of leaders through classes originally presented in South Houston by internationally recognized leaders from different denominations.
To provide resources for Friends and Instituto ALMA groups, CHM has developed a website www.InstitutoALMA.org containing a significant collection of Friends literature in Spanish, plus a growing directory of Hispanic Friends churches, forms for students and facilitators of the Instituto ALMA program, a bulletin board for sharing ideas and information and general information about ministry with the Hispanic church.
A pastor of a church hidden in "the jungles of Guatemala," with no connection to Friends, wrote an e-mail thanking us for the classes and literature he was using with his congregation. Once a week he travels to a city where he downloads material from our Internet literature pages.
CHM has been an agent in helping Friends as we seek to be neighbors to the Hispanic people, but those who are really carrying the load are those Hispanic workers who serve God daily in the ministry of Christ in their own communities. They are Hispanic Ministry heroes who Friends need to support and bless in any way possible.
Hermogenes (er-mo-hen-es) Mendez candidly says he came to the United States, like many Hispanics, in order to make money and later return home to Guatemala. Settling in the Baltimore area, he soon brought together a small group of Friends for worship.
Last year both Hermogenes, and his wife Bertha, in an ironic twist of internationalism, lost their jobs when their company moved from Baltimore to Mexico. Facing the challenge, Hermogenes decided to "live by faith" and work full-time in ministry. Since hosting the National Hispanic Friends conference in October 2000, their church has more than doubled in attendance (from 50 to 120) and Hermogenes continues in full-time ministry.
Tomas Martinez and his wife, Guadalupe, both well past retirement age, planted the Wichita, Kansas, Hispanic Friends Church and are now ministering in the small town of Macksville, Kansas. Their daughter and son-in-law are now carrying on the ministry in Wichita. Tomas also helped launch the Hispanic ministry in Hugoton, Kansas, and is helping coordinate a mission effort in Sinaloa, Mexico.
In California, long-time leaders like Hugo Cardona (La Mirada Friends Church) and Conrado Illanes (Pico Rivera Friends Church) have been joined by younger ministers like Amilcar and Lorena Sosa who pastor the large Bell Friends Church. Amilcar also serves part-time with Friends Church Southwest as a superintendent overseeing the growing Hispanic ministries.
Now there are at least 26 Hispanic Friends ministries across the United States and Canada as well as more than a dozen Mexican Friends churches just inside of Mexico. God is doing a great work among Hispanics in North America and I thank God I am a part of this ministry and know these dynamic, talented and committed leaders.
What can "Anglo" Friends do to help? Consider the fact that you are already on the mission field! You are already in a position to help with cross-cultural ministry. If there is an Hispanic*** ministry nearby, make contact with them to see what their needs are. Usually there is someone who can speak English to translate if you are limited in this area. Pray for the leadership of those groups.
Consider setting up a mission team that can help with a special project at an Hispanic church (whether it is Friends or not). Youth or adult groups can help with Bible school programs, puppet ministries, GED or ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, building projects, day care or any one of hundreds of other projects. Just as mission teams that go to other countries come back renewed and with a deeper understanding of God and His work in the world, mission teams to Hispanic communities will also return to serve God with deeper commitment. God's blessing and fire will fall on both groups.
Maybe you could host an Hispanic group in your worship facility. You may even consider adding an Hispanic minister on staff at your church (much as you would a youth minister) who could lead the entire congregation in demonstrating Christ's love to Hispanic neighbors.
I cannot say that any of these mission opportunities will be easy or comfortable for your group, but the Jesus who has called us Friends is also calling us to be neighbors.
*The term Hispanic is used to describe people with roots in the language and culture of Spain or Portugal (the Iberian peninsula). Latino is a similar term (preferred by some) that refers more specifically to those who come from Latin America. I prefer the term Hispanic since it is more inclusive (and since our organization uses it in its name!) Hispanics can be of many different races or nationalities.
**The full name of CHM's leadership training institute is "Instituto ALMA: ALcanzando al Mundo Alrededor" and means "Institute of the SOUL." The acronym ALMA (from the Spanish word for soul) extends to form the phrase "Reaching the World Around (us)." The name reflects the dual emphasis of the institute on inner spiritual development of the minister that leads naturally to reaching out to others.
***According to the Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (1989 Merriam-Webster Inc.) the use of the article "a" or "an" before Hispanic derives from the differences in pronouncing the letter "H" at the beginnings of words which has changed over the years. When pronounced as a consonant, as most Americans do, it is generally preceded with "a." Commonly the "H" is silent in British usage and naturally leads to the "an" as the preferred article.
David Byrne has been Director of the Coalition for Hispanic Ministries since its inception in 1994. Prior to that, he was a Friends church planter in Mexico City.
Copyright (c) 2001 Friends United Meeting
Return to November 2001 Contents page