Thread: Ala - Hispanics find hope in church

Hispanics find hope in church

By Melanie B. Smith
The Decatur Daily

November 26, 2006


DECATUR -- Seventeen years ago, Javier Ramirez had a choice: Take a job transfer to Decatur or change careers and stay in Chicago.

It would have been easy to stay in his Hispanic Chicago neighborhood among relatives.

But when he visited Decatur, the peace and friendliness of its people impressed him. He moved for the sake of his children.

"To me, this is paradise," he said.

At first, his children wanted to move back, Ramirez said.

People sometimes stared at the family.

"I told them it was because they hadn't seen anyone as good looking as we are," he joked.

They stayed and the children forgot about Chicago's subzero winters. They adjusted, and so has Decatur.

As more Hispanics arrived, Decatur's neighborhoods became more ethnically mixed, which Ramirez likes. Once scarce foods here like fresh cilantro and jalapenos became abundant. Life as a Hispanic in Decatur grew more comfortable.

But one of the biggest changes for Ramirez came in church. He and his family at first found Spanish-language Mass offered monthly in Decatur's Catholic church. Ten to 15 people came.

Today, 500 or more attend Spanish Mass on Sundays, and Ramirez has become one of the clergy.

He saw that the visiting Hispanic priest needed help.

God called and he answered, Ramirez said.

He didn't give up his job at General Electric, but trained for the ministry. He and another bilingual Hispanic man were ordained deacons in 2005 at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church.

He said he was a practicing Catholic while in Chicago, but probably would never have become a deacon there.

Methodists, Baptists, Assemblies of God, Churches of Christ, Nazarenes, Presbyterians and others also work with Hispanics. One minister who keeps a list knows of 14 such ministries in Decatur.

Housed in chapels, storefronts and formerly all-Anglo church halls, they reflect how church life in Decatur is changing.

Sister Teresa Walsh, pastoral associate at Annunciation, said Hispanics lead the parish's Hispanic work.

"They definitely have taken ownership," she said.

The diocese provides a Spanish-speaking priest who also serves in other parishes.

A diocesan ministry office coordinates work and provides resources, Walsh said.

But Walsh said she has been impressed with how the Hispanic community, especially young men, are serving.

They visit newcomers and collect and distribute food to them, for example.

Hispanics at Annunciation mostly worship in Spanish services separate from English-speakers.

Walsh said the church is working to bring the two groups together.

Both took part in a recent anniversary picnic and Mass. Choirs have joined for some presentations. Pupils in English and Spanish confirmation classes came together for a bilingual service.

Two different ministries reflect the strength of Annunciation's Hispanics.

The number of children in the Spanish-language First Communion group, 45, was the same as in the English class, Walsh said.

And at December's Feast of Guadeloupe honoring the Mexican saint, 1,000 Hispanics overflowed the church.

At a downtown church formerly known as Christ's Mission, the Rev. Jorge Pereira and his wife, Luz, describe their growing work.

He said about 80 attend Communidad Christiana Casa de Oracion, Christian Community House of Prayer.

The group is looking for a larger building.

"God has blessed us. God is good," said the pastor, who sometimes looks to his wife to supplement his English.

Displayed in the Decatur sanctuary are banners with such words as "adoracion" (worship) and "mision" (mission) from the Christian best-seller "The Purpose Driven Life." He taught the book to his congregation in April.

Some students reported it was the first book they'd ever read, the pastor said.

Pereira said he tells his congregation that following Christ doesn't just involve Sunday worship but everyday life.

He said some new believers stopped drinking, started using their true names at work and are treating their wives and children better.

"It's amazing what God does," Pereira said. "We admire our people. They teach us."

The Pereiras have a relationship with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, but said their congregation is charismatic and differs in other ways from the denomination.

Pereira said he teaches his congregations discipline and punctuality.

Members show up on time rather than an hour later as is sometimes true in their cultures, he said.

Natives of Colombia, the Pereiras also serve missions and churches in Cullman, Fairview, Hartselle, Athens and other nearby communities. The Decatur church is 80 percent Mexican, 15 percent Guatemalan and the rest are Honduran or other heritages.

One late Wednesday afternoon at La Casa del Pueblo in Funland Park, the Rev. Aida Lee Barrera-Segura put out papers for students she expected.

The exercise was on translating adjectives from Spanish to English: paciente, patient.

She was waiting for a pupil who needed extra help. The Hispanic man has twice failed his citizenship test.

Such teaching is an important part of Barrera-Seguras work. Hundreds have studied through the classes or participated in other ministries of the Hispanic church.

But it's not the main thing.

The United Methodist minister is passionate about giving Hispanics the gospel of Christ.

Barrera-Segura said Decatur's Christians ought to put aside politics relating to Hispanics and evangelize them.

"Who's going to help? All Christians should," she said.

A Bible verse Barrera-Segura posted in Spanish on a wall, Jeremiah 29:11, speaks of "esperanza," hope. For her, the hope is Christ.

"If you fill their souls, they will be better citizens, better residents of Decatur, better fathers," she said.

According to Barrera-Segura, the Decatur area has 10,000 or more Hispanics. Seventy-five percent are from Mexico and the rest from other Latin American countries, she said.

La Pueblo has grown from a mission housed at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church to a congregation of about 40. Supported half by United Methodists North Alabama Conference and half by the national church, she offers English classes, naturalization assistance and other aid.

She doesn't ask participants at La Casa whether they are in the U.S. legally.

Barrera-Segura is an immigrant. A native of the state of Morales, Mexico, and bilingual, she is a U.S. citizen

She has served in Decatur since 2000 and she has seen change. She sees local Hispanics bringing more family members and having children after settling here. Children born in the U.S. are citizens even if their parents are here illegally.

She also sees the new immigrants increasingly starting businesses -- selling real estate and used cars and opening groceries and beauty shops.

That boosts the local economy, she said.

These days, permanent residents who apply for citizenship are getting interviews at the Atlanta INS office in four months, she said.

It used to take two years.

But she frets about fears she encounters. Last May someone spray-painted windows and the front door of La Casa del Pueblo's building and blacked out the Spanish word for "welcome" on a sign.

Barrera-Segura worried that the acts were backlash against rallies and marches promoting Hispanics.

She thinks some politicians are using immigration as a scare tactic. She is appalled at candidates who campaign on promises to deport illegals.

"They are going to send 10 to 12 million people back?" she asked.

She would like to see a little compassion, like Jesus taught.

The Rev. Gene Lankford, who is married to Barrera-Segura and works with Hispanic Ministries for the United Methodist North Alabama Conference, said he has witnessed a downshift in acceptance of Hispanics because of immigration controversies.

"Unfortunately, the publicity over these issues in Alabama has been very negative toward Hispanic immigrants -- especially, but not only, the undocumented," he said.

Misinformation has spread hate, fear and hostility and led to a decline of support for Hispanic ministries, Lankford said.

Another Decatur Hispanic minister, Justo Dorantes, said he has sensed lately some dwindling in good will.

For a few weeks, he heard immigration debate everywhere.

He said he thinks politics is behind it and, like any issue, how hot it becomes depends on how much fuel is thrown on it.

Lankford likened Hispanics struggle for acceptance to blacks labors in the Civil Rights movement. Legal and overt discrimination will end, and attitudes toward Hispanics will improve, he believes, but it will take time.

Lankford said a few congregations are responding wholeheartedly to needs among Hispanics, but most are making only token efforts.

There are exceptions. Beltline Church of Christ hired Dorantes, a native of Yucatan, Mexico, nearly a decade ago. He is the full-time minister to Iglesia de Cristo, the Hispanic church that meets at Beltline.

Dorantes studied for the ministry in Texas and at Florence and believes his calling is to reach Hispanic newcomers with the gospel.

Dorantes said he has seen about 300 local Hispanics "converted."

They hold worship, fellowship and meetings in Beltlines buildings.

Churches in other areas often call on Dorantes for advice on Hispanic work. Beltline has printed many thousands of Spanish-language tracts and offers Bible correspondence courses in Spanish.

Volunteers from the Beltline Hispanic congregation have gone to start churches in Tanner, Huntsville, Albertville and other towns.

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oh goody, this is going to be fun..

Can I throw up now?

dumb questions here...

What are all these churches going to do when religion is abolished? (U.N. is calling for one world religion in which God is nature aka the planet "mother earth" and all other forms of religion are abolished.)

Has anyone noticed all the agents/agencies voluntarily assisting in the demise of this nation are scheduled for the trash heap by those they assist?

What is in the dismantling of the United States for the churches?
The Church forfeits control when it is replaced with one state approved religion.

What is in the dismantling of the United States for the coporations?
Corporations can't sell to poverty stricken people. Why would they assist in the extinquishing of their best market?

Does our military realize they serve a new master... the U.N.?

What is in it for the politicians who sold this nation out?

If the mission of the U.N. is peace why then has this world been plagued with wars since 1945?

Why do Americans continue to support through tax dollars the demise of their country and freedom?

Can't the rest of the world (which is supposedly so "informed" as compared with "mushroomded" Americans) see the U.N. directives are the cause of their grief? They are killing the messenger and in fact assisting their oppressor.

And the dumbest question of all...
how can a few thousand (estimate) people control 5,500,000,000 people?

The only question I have an answer to is why the borders are left open. We didn't fly over the Coo Coo's nest we are living in it.