Some of my friends both in ‘real life’ and via the blogosphere have told me in the past about their desire to ‘understand’ a Latina woman in ministry worldview…I ran across this essay by a friend and mentor, Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Conde Frazier.

One of the aspects of this essay that I love is that it connects me to my history, los testimonios/the testimonies (a time when people would get up in the service and tell a recent faith story). As a Latino team of church planters, its funny how much we realize we love our history and culture and want to "do church" with a bit of that flava without the aspects of it that made it hurtful, spiritually abusive and as much as I hate to say it…tacky. Just last Sunday, after our cafe con leche time, we spent the afternoon singing coritos. That was such fun and brought back so many memories. We reflected how those songs mean so much  more to us now!

As the mestizos we are, we are also a mix of the old and the new ways of doing ministry, of creating spaces for God to move and of the culture we seek to create in our midsts. How do we as a new generation of Latino ministers reinterpret the faith from a Latino perspective. A generation ago, many Latinos left their Spanish churches because of many reasons. Yet, now this generation and our children seek and ask for a connection to our roots. Why is it that we feel we have to walk away from one thing to begin life anew in something else? Why can’t we eat the chicken and spit out the bones?

We as a group want to reflect on that because we want to be fully Latino in our expression of worship while incorporating what we feel are enhancers to our experience from the other cultures in our country.  When we preach and teach we need to have the lenses of our people on and remember our own stories and share our own testimonios. Why is it that at one time we felt these times of sharing our faith journey were a "waste of time". I know for me, I just thought they were not properly introduced in the midst of the service or people would go on and on and I did want to shout STOP!! But sometimes, you would catch a glimmer of what God could do in those moments, as the congregation would stand up in praise because of what a brother or sister survived because of God’s grace.  To many in the pews, Jesus was Rican and as the "I AM" he was.

We as an emerging group of Latinos doing ministry in this "post-alot of things" age haven’t fully figured it out yet but we hope to continue to struggle with the reality that is us…as Liz Conde Frazier so eloquently said "the future of such a people (US) lies in the affirmation of their double identity rather than in isolation or assimilation." This is where I hope to further develop my sancocho leadership model. It is who we are. Let us not be ashamed. Let us share our stories and testimonios…let us not forget where we come from and how God has been there because it is and will always be a part of who we are becoming. 

Many bloods run through us but only one blood redeemed us. May we be true to our call, may we never forget our roots, may we stay connected to our people and stay focused on our God.  Adelante! Mi gente!