wfn.org | Seminarians receive Spanish-language edition of Wesley's works

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Jan. 25, 2000 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-32-71B{034} 

By Kathy Gilbert*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- Hispanic seminarians attending a recent retreat
received some of the first Spanish-language copies of the works of
Methodism's founder, as they sought to discover ways of connecting with the
United Methodist Church

More than 40 United Methodist theological students received the first set of
Obras De Wesley, a 14-volume Spanish edition of the Works of John Wesley
during the Second United Methodist Hispanic Seminarians' Retreat, Jan 6-9.

"To have the Wesley works in Spanish is a monumental accomplishment and an
important resource. It will help many Hispanic pastors in the U.S. and Latin
America feel connected with the United Methodist Church," said Joaquín
García, a director in the Section of Deacons and Diaconal Ministries at the
United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. The Nashville-based
board sponsored the retreat.

"Wesley was vitally connected to things Latinos experience every day -
poverty, imprisonment, and marginalization," he said. "Wesley worked to make
the gospel relevant for all the people. Wesley Works in Spanish will help
many clergy leaders feel connected to the Wesleyan heritage and mission."

Obras De Wesley has been developed not only in response to a need, but also
in conviction that this resource of the gospel can be an instrument of the
Holy Spirit for renewal and unity of the church, according to L. Elbert
Wethington. Wethington is president of the board of directors for the
Durham, N.C.,-based Wesley Heritage Foundation, publisher of the works. The
Rev. Justo L. González, an author and retired United Methodist clergy
member, was general editor.

The Wesley Heritage Foundation has worked on the publication of Wesley's
works for more than 10 years. The Board of Higher Education and Ministry,
with funds from the Ministerial Education Fund, contributed to the project.

"If the projections are correct, the Hispanic population of the United
States will reach 40 percent by the year 2050," said the Rev. Roger Ireson,
top executive at the Board of Higher Education and Ministry. "It is
imperative that the United Methodist Church concentrate upon preparing a new
generation of pastoral leaders who can reach out to that population with an
invitation to faith and commitment.

"The group of leaders recently gathered in Nashville represents the vanguard
of this effort, as many of them will see these events in Hispanic presence
in the church come to pass during their time of ministry," Ireson said. "It
is an exciting moment of great opportunity for us to increase the service of
the church to the Hispanic community and to invite them to join with us in
this critical ministry."
 
Hispanic United Methodist seminary students as well as professors and other
church leaders from the denomination's theological schools participated in
the event.

The event provided an opportunity for Latino seminarians to think
collectively about their concerns for theological education. They explored
how their needs are being addressed in some of the seminaries. 

"An event like this creates community, supportive structures, and reduces
isolation," said Harold Recinos, professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in
Washington.

Recinos pointed out that it is important to recognize that the Latino
community is diverse and reflects diverse ideology, broad ranges of
theological perspectives, and broad ethnic diversity.

"Ministry in the Hispanic community is fundamentally contextual -- that is,
ministry must pay attention to the uniqueness of the community," Garcia
said. 

Retreat participants were asked to reflect on "Who are we as Latinos in the
United States and the reality of the society in which we live?"

Recinos invited the participants to dig into their own identity, recognizing
the roots, connections, relationships and culture that make the Latino and
Hispanic person who he or she is. Differences among Latinos result from the
cultural differences among Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America, South
America and the Caribbean. 

"Yet we can all be part of a common table united in history, heritage, and
present reality that we share," he said.

Recinos told the group that the traditional understanding of theological
education has many forms and patterns of ministry learned by Latino
seminarians that are mostly the product of the dominant Eurocentric culture.

Seminaries expect Latino students to conform to the majority models of
leadership, while ignoring the need for critical reflection on the roles
that race, ethnicity, culture, language, class, gender and societal inequity
play in shaping the belief and behavior of the individual, he said.
"Therefore, theological education cannot be abstract and universal but
contextual," he said.

The Division of Ordained Ministry surveyed 64 United Methodist and
University Senate-approved seminaries. The survey found that only 42
Hispanic students are enrolled in United Methodist seminaries, and the
number rises to 60 when approved non-United Methodist seminaries are
included. More than half the seminarians that participated in the retreat
were born outside the United States, and most of the participants were under
33 years old. 

This retreat provided the opportunity to develop an ethos and a way to
define what it means to do ministry as a Hispanic United Methodist, Garcia
said. It also was held at a time when the Board of Higher Education and
Ministry is developing a strategic plan for theological education for the
Hispanic community.

"We need to be aware that the call and ministry are contextual, and for the
Hispanic person, the theological task does not occur in an isolated and
abstract way but in daily living," García said. "Every day, the Latino
people have to confront poverty, language (barriers), meager social, legal,
and medical services, family separation and fragmentation, isolation,
limited access to good jobs and wages, barriers to education, and racial
discrimination. 

"It is in the midst of these daily struggles that they find God."

# # #

*Gilbert is a staff member in the Office of Interpretation at the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tenn.

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United Methodist News Service
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