Hispanic Growth = Episcopal Growth?

From The Living Church-

If you ask any American what comes to mind when you say Latino religion, the response will almost certainly be Catholic and not Episcopalian.

But the link between Latins and Romans is not as strong as it once was, and the shift is accelerating. In 2006, Pew Research found that 70 percent of American Latinos were Roman Catholic. Just six years later, that number had dropped to 57 percent. Nearly one in four Hispanic Americans are now former Catholics.

But while the pope’s share of the Hispanic pie is in decline, the pie is growing dramatically. In 2012, Nielsen found that the Hispanic population was expected to grow 167 percent between 2010 and 2050 — compared with 42 percent for the population as a whole, and 1 percent for white non-Hispanics.

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/2017/11/29/hispanic-growth-episcopal-growth/

Priest Elected First Latina Dean Of Episcopal Christ Church Cathedral In Hartford

From Hartford CT-

As an 8-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic, Miguelina Howell said she was known for "playing Eucharist" as an acolyte in her church.

Thirty years later, Howell was elected the 10th dean of Christ Church Cathedral — the first Hispanic woman to be elected a cathedral dean in the Episcopal Church in the U.S.

"It's a reflection of the diverse, evolving nature of the very fabric of our society," Howell said this week. "In secular and religious settings, there is a growing number of women elected or appointed in positions of leadership. It seems to me that this has been a growing trend in the past two decades and there is still relevant work to be done to assure that all God's children have a place at the table."

More here-

http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-first-latina-dean-episcopal-cathedral-20160218-story.html

Episcopal Church Woos Latinos To Congregations

From NPR-

Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, but only 5 percent of all Hispanics attend a mainline Protestant church. The vast majority are Roman Catholic.

For the Episcopal Church, those numbers are an opportunity.

The denomination is seeing fast-growing pockets of new Latino congregants. Episcopal churches in Nevada and Washington, D.C., are seeing considerably higher attendance from Latinos. In Oregon, there were only 150 Latino Episcopalians 20 years ago. Now, there are more than 800.

A denominationwide outreach plan notes that Hispanics represent a huge growth potential. The plan outlines strategies to reach Latinos, including focusing efforts on first- and second-generation women, whom the church calls "gatekeepers."

Roberto Arciniega, head of Latino ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, says the outreach is about staying vital and relevant in a multicultural society, and it signals a shift in how his church views Latinos. Arciniega says Latino outreach is about inviting people to stay and be a part of the congregation.

More here-

http://www.npr.org/2012/09/11/160011671/episcopal-church-woos-latinos-to-congregations

Province IX adopts financial self-sustainability as a focus

From ENS-

The Province IX Synod, meeting at the Hotel San Juan, Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic on March 8, passed resolutions aimed at moving the province and Cuba toward financial self-sufficiency, and an additional resolution in support of restructuring the Episcopal Church.

Bishops, clergy and lay leaders meeting for five days, March 5-9, also re-elected Colombia Bishop Francisco Duque as president and Ecuador Litoral Bishop Alfredo Morante Espana as vice president. Gina Angulo, of the Diocese of Ecuador Litoral, was elected secretary; Darling Martinez, of the Diocese of Puerto Rico, was elected treasurer; and Pragedes Coromoto Jimenez De Salazarr, was elected to serve as the Province IX representative for Executive Council.

Synod unanimously adopted a form of Episcopal Church Chief Operating Officer Bishop Stacy Sauls’ resolution, which calls for a Special Commission on Missional Structure and Strategy to develop a plan to restructure the church in a way that maximizes resources available for mission.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/03/09/province-ix-adopts-financial-self-sustainability-as-a-focus/

Good Stuff in TEC: Florida

Hispanic ministry growing

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, eighth Episcopal Bishop of Florida, will receive the Revs. Monica Bosque and Janssen Gutierrez as deacons in the Episcopal Church during a 5 p.m. Sunday service at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on University Boulevard, Jacksonville. Bosque will assist in serving the Hispanic congregation at St. Luke's, also known as Iglesia de San Lucas, where Sunday services are held at 10a.m. in English and at noon in Spanish.

The Rev. Janssen Gutierrez will be ordained priest at that same service and will serve the growing Hispanic congregation at St. Francis in the Field located off of highway 210 in Palm Valley. The Rev. Michael Ellis and the congregation of St. Francis in the Field have supported and encouraged this fledgling congregation. Sunday services at St. Francis in the Field are at 10 a.m. in English and at 5 p.m. in Spanish.

The Rev. Miguel Rosada, who is the rector of St. Luke's/Iglesia de San Lucas was the first Hispanic priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida to offer services in both English and Spanish, and he will be coordinating the ministries of the new clergy. "All of us in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida rejoice in the ministries of Deacon Bosque and of Father Gutierrez," said Bishop Howard "and we celebrate our rapidly growing ministry among those for whom Spanish is a first language. St. Luke's/San Lucas with its dual English-Spanish ministries has created a pattern for what true bilingual worship will look like in the future."

http://www.staugustine.com/stories/080709/religion_1822104.shtml