Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

As he notes in his blog, Bishop Edwards traveled to Michoacan to realize a goal he'd set in 1975 when he first heard Pablo Neruda's poetry and Freddy Fender's song "Before the Next Teardrop Falls." Yet it's the growing Latino community in the Diocese of Nevada that pushed him toward this immersion experience. "The joy and vitality of the worship and community life of our Latino congregations is just too good to miss."

Like Bishop Edwards, I believe the need for lay and clergy leaders to learn Spanish is urgent and broad. The writing is on the wall: the U.S. is already the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world and Latinos presently constitute the fastest growing segment in the Episcopal Church. Yet how many Episcopal seminaries are preparing lay and clergy leaders for bilingual ministry? To what extent are vestries addressing the language barriers that inhibit effective evangelism and ministry?

I write these questions as a concerned Episcopalian and as someone who, like Bishop Edwards, has struggled through the preterite, imperfect and subjunctive tenses. Like many second generation Latinos, I grew up speaking only English to my bilingual parents and Spanish-dominant grandparents. For me, then, learning Spanish was first and foremost a way of reconnecting with my family and culture, yet it is increasingly an essential part of how I serve in the Episcopal Church.

Going forward, how can we prepare lay and clergy leaders for Spanish language ministry? My recommendation comes from my time at Union Theological Seminary. While there I joined a small group of students who urged the UTS administration to create a course called Spanish for Ministry. Taught entirely in Spanish, the course is aimed at students who have a beginner to intermediate level of Spanish proficiency and focuses on the cultural and linguistic basis for ministry in Spanish. In my opinion, this represents the minimum of what seminaries should be doing to prepare lay and clergy leaders for future ministry. What Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest has created, on the other hand, is inspirational.

What are your stories about learning Spanish? What do you need to become proficient? Do you agree that language barriers are inhibiting growth? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below or by email at [email protected].