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A UMNS Commentary
By Oscar Ramos Gallardo
1:00 P.M. ET Oct. 12, 2011
Twice-weekly English classes at First Grace United Methodist Church in
New Orleans are part of the educational ministry nurtured through the
National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries. UMNS photos courtesy of
the Rev. Oscar Ramos-Gallardo.
A crying woman, whose husband beat and humiliated her constantly,
asked me, “Pastor, how can the power of God change my present reality? I
don’t understand when you tell me that with God, the best is yet to
come and that we have begun to taste it in the present.”
I asked her if she could see herself happy and without fear. “No,”
she said, but I began seeing in her face the determination of someone
who understands that God created her to be happy, free and without
fear. It has been a year since that conversation, and it is now
difficult to remember the terror and bitterness in her face.
Christ gave her strength and energy to leave her abuser — who did
not want to know anything about Christ — and to study and reinvent
herself.
It is not easy to minister to the Hispanic community in New Orleans.
Six years after Katrina, the original population in the city continues
to be absent. There still are devastated areas.
There is also a growing Hispanic population, depressed, uneducated and with acute social, economic and spiritual needs.
Hispanics face personal struggles that you will find across ethnic and class lines, such as domestic abuse.
However, we also face unique challenges. The crime against our
community is rampant and made worse because of the corruption of a
number of local police, who have found the perfect victims among our
Latino community.
The theft of salaries has been astronomical, and our efforts to pass
local laws to punish these crimes seem to be unproductive.
The Revs. Oscar and Juanita Ramos and their children, Damara, 13, and
Joel Emilio, 10, are in ministry with the Latino community in New
Orleans.
Every year we face a number of bills in the Louisiana legislature
similar to the anti-immigrant laws, such as the ones in Alabama,
Indiana, Georgia and Arizona. Thank God that up to now we have not
allowed any of these proposals to become law in Louisiana.
A better future
However, not all the news about New Orleans is bad. The city is
showing signs of vitality, renovation and a profound conviction that
the future will be better.
The United Methodist Church has sent more than 90,000 volunteers in
the last six years. The denomination has contributed more than $60
million for the purpose of helping the needy.
The U.S. Justice Department investigated local police for the
enormous number of abuses against Latinos. The new mayor has created
ways and forums to listen and respond to the needs of New Orleans’
diverse citizens, including its vibrant Latino population.
The purchase of homes, the establishment of organizations and the
openings of businesses and churches among the Latino population have
increased, a positive sign that our community is beginning to establish
itself in the city.
The United Methodist Church has responded to the growing Latino
community in the New Orleans area by creating a social and spiritual
ministry nurtured through the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino
Ministries.
El Mesías, the oldest Latino congregation in the Louisiana Annual
(regional) Conference, has been joined by two other ministries in the
metropolitan area of New Orleans: The community of faith “La Gracia” and
the community of faith “El Pacto.”
Educational development
We have also developed the “La Semilla” center — a Hispanic-Latino
Center for Educational Development — with the goal of creating an
educational culture that will inspire the Latino youth to attend
college and more Latino people to master the English language and
finish their high school education. We believe this will help end many
social problems and the negative stereotype of Latinos as people who
work only in physical, dangerous and low-paying jobs.
La Semilla is trying to attack the obstacles that hinder people from
getting an education, like a lack of proper documentation, confusion
about how to navigate the educational system and a dearth of role models
to follow. The center is also trying to address low incomes, image
problems and low self-esteem, especially among the youth.
We want to mobilize the Latino community around an educational
project to develop economic assistance and connect professional Latinos
with our needy youth so they have role models to follow. La Semilla
envisions in the near future establishing itself in other cities and
communities in Louisiana. The Latino communities have obvious
differences that we as United Methodists must understand, but we also
encounter common problems and social issues that require the
denomination’s assistance and creativity if we want to succeed.
“I understand the message of the Methodist Church, pastor,” said a
member of the La Gracia community of faith to me. “The gospel of Jesus
Christ is the integral salvation which pushes us to reach a better
version of ourselves.”
“And something better is yet to come,” I replied.
*Gallardo is an ordained elder in the Indiana Annual (regional)
Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has a been missionary of
the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries since 2001 and has
served in the Louisiana Conference since 2007. Write to him at orgallardo@msn.com.
News media contact: Amanda Bachus, Nashville, Tenn., 615-742-5470, or newsdesk@umcom.org
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