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Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency Course

8/14/17 | News | by Sara Bitner

    Registration open for an innovative course:
    Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency

    An intensive course for church leaders exploring Latino ministry

    Registration is now open for Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency, an innovative nine-day intensive course designed for diocesan staff, clergy, lay leaders, and seminarians to learn cultural competency for Latino ministry.  

    Offered by the Episcopal Church Office of Latino/Hispanic the course will be held at St. James Commons, Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, Chicago, IL, October 15-24, 2017.  The course will be taught by seminary faculty, lay church leaders and clergy with extensive experience in Latino and intercultural ministry.

    Description and purpose: 

    “Combining academic learning with hands-on experience, the purpose of this multi-faceted intensive course is to provide cultural competency of the history, culture, socio-demographic, and religious aspects of the Latinos/Hispanics in the United States,” noted the Rev. Canon Anthony Guillén, Episcopal Church Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries, “and to provide the foundational tools necessary for church leaders to discern and explore the type of Latino/Hispanic ministry that best fits a congregational setting and its context.”

    Recommendation: 

    The Rev. Canon Michael Buerkel Hunn, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Ministry Within The Episcopal Church, and a participant in the first ELMC course, held in Austin, TX, June, 2017, on the value of the ELMC course:  

    “As a non-Spanish speaker, I’ve learned a lot about what I can do to engage and be a part of the Latino community where I live, and how I can help The Episcopal church grow with this important population. I’ve learned a lot about the various cultures of Spanish speaking people and how in particular, the millennial generation of Latino Americans, who are English speakers, could be ministered to, even more, by The Episcopal Church. So, if you have any interest at all, with anything Latino, whether you speak Spanish or not, this is the course for you!”

    Enabled by General Convention 2015 Resolution AO86:  Create a Network of Partners on Latino/Hispanic Congregational Ministry Development, http://www.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/acts/acts_resolution.pl?resolution=2015-A086 the course will provide foundational tools for church leaders to gain a deep understanding of ways of welcoming and serving Latino families, and sharing spiritual, sacramental and community life together. 

    The course will be conducted in English. Bilingual faculty will interpret as needed.  

    Registration is available here: https://dfms.formstack.com/forms/episcopal_latino_ministry_competency_course_chicago

    Registration includes: tuition, hotel accommodations, meals, transportation to and from O’Hare Airport, and transportation during the course. Registration does not include textbooks.  

    Registration Deadline:     September 31, 2017.  

    Among the goals of the course are: 

    • Show a familiarity with the general Latino culture and “religiosity” context of Latino worship and sacramental pastoral care.
    • Learn to manage and address the worshiping needs of a dual language congregation, or to prepare for a special liturgical event involving English and Spanish speaking attendees.
    • Acquire a fundamental competency in learning the general aspects of the pastoral and congregational ministries aimed at the immigrant and first generation, plus the ministry focused especially on the more acculturated and English-language speaking Latinos of the second and third generation.
    • Define and interpret the broad historical and demographic profile of the Latino/Hispanic population in the United States through designated readings, course lectures, written reflections, class participation and experiential trips.
    • Acquire first-hand knowledge of the church in mission in the borderlands* and identify the political, social, and pastoral issues revolving around immigration from Mexico as well as Central and South America and the Caribbean. (*Borderlands refers to either the US/Mexico border or immigrant entry points in urban centers.)

    For more information, contact Guillén at .

    NOTE: Continuing Education units will be provided by Bexley-Seabury, An Episcopal Center for Learning & Discipleship, upon completion of the course. CEU hours will include personal development, theological development and professional development hours.