This offering to our sisters in Christ whose first language is Spanish was first organized when our Episcopal Church Women Board realized that there were many women in our diocese who were not being reached. One of the largest congregations in the Houston area is a Spanish Language congregation. In order to embrace all the women of our diocese, it was necessary to reach out in their language. Creciendo en Cristo is a Spiritual Growth Day presented completely in Spanish. The first event took place in Houston in 2005. It was extremely successful, with the participants requesting more such programs.
The second annual event for the Houston area was in April of this year. There were over 90 ladies in attendance. Our diocesan bishop, The Rt. Rev. Don Wimberly, was present to welcome the group; the host parish was St. Paul’s in Houston. Our keynote speaker was Margarita Hernandez. Four workshops were presented by the Rev. Alex Montes, Mrs. Laura Montes, Cissy Whitehurst, and Alicia Shamblin. Lunch and childcare were provided for a nominal registration fee of $5.00.
As president of the Episcopal Church Women for the Diocese of Texas, I assured those attending of the importance of this ministry to all of us; we truly believe that we must reach “every woman in every pew”.
In Austin, our offering was September 9 at St. John’s Episcopal Church. This was the first such event in the Austin area. There were over 20 ladies in attendance. We met for brunch at 9:00am. The Rev. Jaime Case, who is the canon of Multi Cultural Ministries for the Diocese, addressed the group. A workshop was led by the Rev. Margarita Arroyo, followed by a presentation from Cary Duval Gomez. Mrs. Gomez spoke on discerning your spiritual gifts. The ladies evaluated these gifts and went out into the world armed with this special knowledge. The day closed with a Morning Prayer service led by the Rev. Al Rodriguez of St. John’s.
In April 2007, Creciendo en Cristo will be a diocesan event at Camp Allen, the Diocesan Camp and Conference Center in Navasota, Texas. This will be a weekend retreat and is a major step toward including women of all cultures in the Episcopal Church Women.
We have created a new board position on our ECW Diocesan Board. Our new office is Coordinator of Multi Cultural Ministries. I am also forming a committee to work with the new Multi Cultural Coordinator to create a job description and goals. We are hoping this is a small first step in reaching the many cultures represented in the Diocese of Texas.
Anne Hart
ECW President, Diocese of Texas
