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Note #8867 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05445
August 25, 2005

Knocking on the door

Hispanic Presbyterian men to thaw the 'chosen frozen' at second national
assembly

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE ? Transforming the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) into an inclusive
multicultural denomination will be the focus of the second National Triennial
Assembly of Hispanos-Latinos Presbyterian Men, which kicks off Friday in
Miami, FL.

With 360 people already pre-registered, the three-day event is expected to be
the largest Hispanic gathering in the denomination since 2002. A broad
cross-section of national Hispanic Presbyterian leadership is expected to
turnout along with leaders from partner churches in Central and Latin
America.

The official assembly theme is "Transformed and Renewed to Serve," inspired
by the New Testament Book of Romans.

The theme reflects the goal of the Hispanos-Latinos Presbyterian Men to
respond to the challenges of an increasingly diverse society in becoming a
multicultural church, said the Rev. Jose Luis Casal, moderator of the
Hispanos-Latinos Presbyterian Men.

"The new day of the multicultural church we dream is not far away," Casal
said. "The Hispanos-Latinos Presbyterian Men, the youngest organization
within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is knocking on the doors to help in
the transformation of the 'frozen chosen.'"

Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the PC(USA)'s 216th General Assembly and the
Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the denomination's stated clerk, will serve as
keynote speakers. 

Spanish, English and Portuguese will be the official languages of the event. 

Casal said worship and workshops would be conducted in these languages as a
symbol of the organization's multicultural commitment. Plenary presentations
will be conducted in Spanish but with English translation, Casal said.

He said attendance at the conference could reach close to 400 participants,
making it the largest Hispanic event in the PC(USA) since September 2002,
when 430 people gathered at the first National Assembly of Hispano-Latinos
Presbyterian Men in Las Vegas, NV. 

Casal said the PC(USA) has an estimated 320 Hispanic or multicultural
congregations and fellowships representing some 40,000 members. The
denomination's Synod of Puerto Rico, which includes 79 Presbyterian churches,
is entirely Hispanic, he said.

Casal said that many presbyteries and synods across the PC(USA) are
interested in developing Hispanic and multicultural churches.
 
"I believe we have momentum right now," said the Cuban-born Casal, who is
also executive presbyter for Tres Rios Presbytery. "Not only for
Hispanos-Latinos Presbyterian Men but I would say for all the different
cultures we have in the Presbyterian Church. I think that the multicultural
tendency or trend of the denomination in the last five or six years has been
crucial in this." 

Among the national Hispanic Presbyterian leaders expected at the event are
the Rev. Amy Mendez, Hispanic coordinator for the Presbytery of Denver; the
Rev. Lemuel Garcia-Arroyo, associate executive for multicultural ministries
for the Synod of the Sun; and the Rev. Hector Rodriguez, the PC(USA)'s
associate for Hispanic congregational enhancement in the National Ministries
Division.

 Fifteen church leaders from Cuba, Columbia, Costa Rica and Mexico are
included on the guest list, along with representatives of other ecumenical
organizations such as the Association of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches
of Latin America.

The delegation from Cuba will have two representatives, including the Rev.
Hector Mendez, moderator of the Iglesia Presbiteriana Reformada en Cuba, and
member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.

There will be two representatives from Costa Rica: Santos Espinosa and Juan
Carlos Medrano, the president and the vice president respectively of the
Iglesia Evangelica Presbiteriana de Costa Rica. 

The church in Mexico is sending six representatives, among them the Rev.
Jorge Alvarado, moderator of the Synod of the Northwest of Iglesia Nacional
Presbiteriana de Mexico. 

The delegation form Colombia will have five representatives, among them the
Rev. David Illidge, moderator and stated clerk of the Presbiterio Central. 

Also expected at the conference is Carmen Rodriguez-Rubert, president of the
Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Latin America and the
Caribbean. 

Ricardo Moreno, the Hispanic national coordinator of Bread for the World, and
the Rev. Osvaldo Garcia, director of international marketing of the Lockman
Bible Foundation, are also expected. The foundation is donating 400 Bibles to
the event, one for each participant.

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