Equipo Evangelizacion Hispano

Diocese expands outreach to Hispanics
by founding new ministry

MADISON  The Paterson Diocese has begun to revitalize its outreach to the local Spanish-speaking community, in part, by developing a new ministry, Equipo Evangelizacion Hispano, which seeks to direct, manage and coordinate outreach efforts by the Office of Evangelization and to formulate and implement a cohesive pastoral plan for Hispanic ministry in the Diocese. But first, the ministry plans to spend the next year, traveling to local parishes and listening to the needs of the pastors in their outreach to Hispanics.

Equipo Evangelizacion Hispano also will coordinate the diocesan Hispanic Commission; train leaders for parish ministry in liturgical ministries, adult formation, marriage preparation, evangelization, catechesis, family and youth ministry; and serve as liaison to diocesan Migrant Ministry, Catholic Charities, Catholic Charismatic Ministry and to the Office of Cultural Diversity. Last year, the ministry began to crystallize, thanks to the enthusiastic support of Bishop Serratelli. The newly formed Hispanic Evangelization Team has been developing the new outreach.

“There is a renewed effort to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community that has been embraced by Bishop Serratelli. We are giving this our 100 percent attention,” said Ivannia Vega-McTighe, associate academic dean of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Catholic Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here, Hispanic Leadership Team member and a Spanish speaker. “We want to serve the Hispanic community by welcoming them, helping them and being in solidarity with them,” she said.

The team hopes to inspire Office of Evangelization staff to “think in an integrated way” between the English- and Spanish-speaking communities. This new approach will develop in the office “advocates for Spanish-speaking communities in the Diocese,” said Father Paul Manning, St. Paul’s executive director of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard, Madison, diocesan vicar for evangelization and a team member.

Team members took to first step in developing Equipo Evangelizacion Hispano by getting to know each other. Members also include: Marla Martinez, Evangelization Office administrative assistant; Deacon Guido Pedraza of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson, who has worked there for the past 10 years; and Eric Munoz, a former missionary with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). He joined the team July 1, Father Manning said.

Deacon Pedraza, who has served as evangelization coordinator and has worked with small Christian communities at St. John’s, will travel around the diocese to identify current programs, opportunities and needs, Father Manning said.

“We want to spend a year listening and find out the needs in the parishes. We want to find out how we can coordinate and support them better,” Father Manning said.

In September, Equipo Evangelizacion Hispano will reconstitute the Spanish Commission. The team also is hoping to coordinate efforts with Father Raimundo Rivera, Migrant Ministry director, and Father Enrique Corona, pastor of St. Agnes and St. Michael the Archangel parishes, both in Paterson, and director of Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Center, Paterson, Father Manning said.

Already, Equipo Evangelizacion Hispano has started to put together an events calendar that includes an open house on Oct. 24; a day to talk about Catholic apologetics on April 2, 2016; the training of religious educators and pre-Cana leaders; the hosting of a visit from the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Guadalupe; and a formation program in Spanish, Vega-McTighe said.

In the future, the team plans to review resources on Hispanic ministry by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, work to form a diocesan pastoral plan for multicultural ministries and possibly make arraignments to attend Encuentro, a national gathering of Hispanic Catholics that takes place every three years, Vega-McTighe said.

“We want our department [the Office of Evangelization] to have sensitivity to the needs of Hispanic people,” Vega-McTighe said.

[Equipo Evangelizacion Hispano can be found on FaceBook at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Espanol with plans for a website in Spanish. Information: Deacon Guido Pedraza at [email protected].]