United Church of Christ United Church News The Rev. J. Bennett Guess, news director 216-736-2177, 216-773-9222 newsroom@ucc.org
For immediate release April 6, 2006
AD REJECTION BY TELEMUNDO AND UNIVISION LEAVES UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST WITH FEW TV OPTIONS TO REACH U.S. SPANISH-LANGUAGE MARKET
Hispanic leaders in the United Church of Christ are expressing "deep sadness and disappointment" that the UCC's newest TV ad has been reject ed by Telemundo and Univision, two widely-popular, Spanish-language networ ks that reach nearly 100 percent of U.S. Hispanic households.
A Spanish version of the UCC's 30-second commercial, known as "ejector" (viewed at www.stillspeaking.com/default-s.htm), was turned down on Mar ch 30 by NBC Universal, a family of broadcast and cable networks that incl udes Telemundo. A separate company, Univision ? which also owns the Telefutu ra and Galavision networks ? similarly rejected the UCC's ad on the same d ay.
NBC calls the ad "political," apparently because it emphasizes the chur ch's welcome of groups of persons that, church leaders say, have experienced rejection from organized religion, such as persons of color, persons wi th disabilities, and gay and lesbian persons. Univision provided no specif ic reason for rejecting the ad, but did say the decision came after "comprehensive review."
The rejections effectively leave the 1.3-million-member church with no Spanish-language TV alternatives, even though the church is now putting together a run on much-smaller Hispanic channels. In an April 2 article on Univision's impact on the Hispanic market, the Los Angeles Times descri bed it as "the no-brainer choice for ad buyers."
The Rev. Persida Mendez, pastor of Iglesia Nueva Esperanza UCC in East Hartford, Conn., and national president of the UCC's Council for Hispan ic Ministries, characterizes the networks' decisions as a "significant ste p backward" for the UCC's attempt to spread its message of "extravagant welcome" within the Hispanic community.
"We've been asking for advertising in Spanish from the [UCC's] national setting and, now, it's been rejected," Mendez says.
The Rev. Linda Jaramillo, executive minister of the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries and the first Hispanic member of UCC's five-person national Collegium of Officers, says the Spanish-language version of th e ad was developed specifically to address concerns raised by the UCC's Hisp anic Ministries Implementation Team, a national-local partnership committed to strengthening Hispanic ministry throughout the UCC. Last year, HMIT sen t "clear word" to the UCC's Stillspeaking Initiative that it should bolst er the evangelism campaign's outreach to Spanish-speaking persons.
"The Spanish-language community in the UCC has been really challenging the church to address the language issue, not only through resources but al so through the messages we use to invite people," Jaramillo said. "As a bilingual person myself, I am always moved when an organization respect s the language differences."
Jaramillo said the TV networks' decisions only serve to reinforce the " myth that all Hispanics are Catholics." While many are, she said, many are n ot. And a great number have no regular religious affiliation whatsoever.
"The real point is that there are many people who are unchurched," Jaramillo said, "and Spanish-language people should be able to expect t hat a range of information is available that enables them to make decisions about their lives ? be it spiritually, politically, commercially, whate ver. We depend on Spanish-language media for our messages."
Mendez says her church's membership was once primarily Puerto Rican, bu t now she's welcoming an increasing number of persons from Central and So uth America. That's why she views the ad-rejection issue through the lens o f the national immigration debate.
"At a time when the government is calling people 'illegal,' this advertisement is calling for churches to welcome everyone, to be a plac e where people feel safe, where people can connect spiritually with God a nd each other," she said.
"I had a Peruvian woman come to my worship service and we had testimony time," Mendez remembers. "She said, 'This is the first church where I e ver felt welcomed.'
"So it's the feeling people get when they walk into a place that can te ll them whether or not they're welcome here. If a person walks into that sanctuary and feels the rejection in the air, they'll leave and never c ome back."
Peter Barbosa, a member of First Congregational UCC in Oakland, Calif., who is chairing a new UCC scholarship fund to assist Hispanic seminarians, characterized his reaction as one of "deep sadness and disappointment."
"At a time when so many people are afraid and nervous, with so many fac ing drastic changes in their life, they could use what Christianity has to offer, but the TV stations are choosing to block that opportunity," Bar bosa said.
Latinos have experienced much discrimination in the United States, he believes, and the Christian church, at times, has been part of the prob lem.
"[The UCC's ad] could not have come at a more relevant time for the Lat ino community. The [immigration] laws that are being proposed are nothing m ore than added rejection, added negativity, added discrimination," Barbosa says. "And then we have a religious organization with a message of such inclusiveness, of such welcomeness, and these stations ? with the contr ol and the power they have ? are choosing to block that message."
The Cleveland-based United Church of Christ has 1.3-million members in 5,725 churches in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It was formed in 1957 with the union of the Congregational Christian Churches in America and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
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