So here’s the premise: A small rural Kentucky Episcopal church filled mostly with older (or at least well-matured), middle class (or higher), mostly white professional egghead types is going to offer Spanish language services to migrant workers who are struggling to make a living, barely educated (some illiterate) and who do not even have Spanish as a first language. The target audience is young men, many single. Ignoring these differences, with no Hispanic members in the congregation, a 34-year-old Appalachian woman (of all things) for a priest, and not even any members who knew much Spanish, we charged ahead. It is going pretty well.

We average about 10 to 12 visitors per Sunday, with highs in the teens and a one-time low of two. We had a baptism, in Spanish, and have a number of repeat visitors, some of whom came back on “English” Sundays.

Why has it worked? Because it really is not a ministry to “Hispanics” whoever they are; it is a friendly invitation to diverse people who happen to speak a different language from us. If anything, the cultural, age and economic differences may be more pronounced than the language ones.

Some things we are doing right; we offer the Spanish service once a month during our regular 11 a.m. service time as a way of including, and not patronizing, the guests. The English crowd, some probably reluctantly, sit through the services and participate (for which I am very grateful). The vast majority of parishioners support the services. We feed the visitors lunch, and let them watch DVDs in the afternoons on a big screen TV. We advertise on a local Spanish radio station, have a lawn banner that lights up at night, and put up fliers at local “tiendas.” I bought a large used van to “round up” visitors from Wal-Mart and the laundry mat. I personally offer advice for our visitors, read contracts, answer questions, and have various Hispanic speakers attend our church as after-lunch programs. I go with a number of the “estorbos,” or nuisances, as they jokingly call themselves, to buy things, transfer cars, explain insurance or postal forms, send flowers to girlfriends, navigate DVD menus, and generally do things that require advanced English skills. We make van trips to various events (the majority not necessarily of a religious or Hispanic nature). In short, we have been friends to these guys. Last, and certainly not least, we have built an addition to the parish hall that will serve as a migrant worker day care. These aforementioned things are expensive, inconvenient and sometimes controversial. It is trouble to be a friend. I think we are being inclusive, without being patronizing. We have been long on helping, and short on Bible thumping — something all we Episcopalians do, or should do, well.

Some things we could do better on: I think we could be more successful if we could find stable, or non-migratory, people who could act as bridges between our two cultures, and who, being here permanently, could be more visible and involved. Our Hispanic population is mostly migratory, and Mexican, and it may take a long time, if ever, to actually have confirmands arise from this outreach. But “numbers” are not the point, as we churches often say and don’t mean, and we try to keep the focus as such.

Some things we’ve discovered: Most of our migrant and/or Hispanic population is from the Mexican state of Michoacan. The language they speak is Tarazco, so Spanish is their second language. Those with English skills are working on No. 3. They are quite entrepreneurial, are not afraid to take chances, and for the most part are not shy once they are invited in. Some are family men and very responsible. They do not expect us to change or “become Hispanic.” They like American culture. Many are quite pious, and have a respect for Church that many of us often lack. When I pull up at Wal-Mart in the van, some come running, some walk, and some act cool and stay behind. They are, in short, just like us with regard to church. They do not all get along, and are not all of the same mindset. Hitler and Einstein had German in common, for instance, but little else. This is an outreach that is like any other, but with a language issue thrown in. Overall I think they are an easier target audience than many of our native unchurched. The Hispanics appreciate the effort, and they are not unchurched. In fact, they are very “churched” and very familiar with the liturgy and customs for the most part. Lastly, several Americans have taken notice of what we’re doing and offered to help — primarily students of Spanish who want to get involved. Not to be condescending, but I like to think of them as groupies. This has been a great morale booster for me. I think the native congregation (or at least me) is “receiving” as much as the visitors.

Some observations: Early on I read articles, all written by clergy, I think, as to why Hispanic ministry may not work. However, none of our visitors have been offended, as far as I know, that we don’t have Our Lady of Guadalupe, or that we have a woman priest. There were other concerns, all of which have not surfaced for us. In fact, “Hispanic” outreach is not even that, it is just simply outreach. It is outreach that happens to have a foreign-language element. After living in Miami for 10 years, I can assure you there is no one “Hispanic” mindset. “Spanish-language” probably is a better description, though is a bit cumbersome.

Reality check: If you do a Spanish language service you will not be swamped overnight by Hispanics, or by Germans if you were to do the service in German. Speaking Spanish is a handy gimmick for bringing in people who happen to speak Spanish. But it is just the start. It is not the end.

Some tips for doing it (speaking of our visitors, who are young Mexican men): Be prepared to work. Someone in the congregation needs to be the point person, or persons, and will need to have some language skills, and be committed to spending some time. I have found, to appeal to young men that a lay-lead system works well. I am much more effective as a layman than as a clergyman, as our visitors are more honest with me — they do not have to watch what they say, or put on airs. It is sort of like being a youth leader for teens. Make your church appealing and open to them, take a sincere interest in their lives, and give them a level of trust — they are happy to pitch in and plan, offer ideas, etc. Ask if they want to be lector. Advertise and spread the word. Find a point person or two among your visitors and seek their recruiting help. Help them find doctors, lawyers and dentists. Put your best foot forward. Have parties or plan trips. Have a movie night. Does this sound familiar? It is what we should be doing all the time in English, and often may not be. Except for verbs and nouns, Hispanics are “us.”

In the event that this ministry fails, we will have done our best and learned a lot. If we are very successful with these projects, and we are inundated with people from the Hispanic community, we will have a nice problem on our hands. Our parishioners know that we are, still, the Anglican Church and we will not be becoming a “Hispanic” church. We will become, or rather remain, a church for all people.

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