Succession planning is underway for The Episcopal Church’s Latino/Hispanic ministries, as the Rev. Anthony Guillén retires May 1 after nearly two decades of service with the church center.
A seven-member search committee—comprising Episcopal Church leaders in the U.S. and Dominican Republic—is working with the Rev. Lester Mackenzie, chief of mission program, to select an interim missioner for Latino/Hispanic ministries before a search for a permanent successor commences.
“Canon Anthony Guillén’s ministry helped Latino and bicultural communities claim their voice and place in our Episcopal Church,” Mackenzie said. “As he retires, we are not winding down, we are building up. Latino/Hispanic and Ethnic Ministries will not only endure, we will expand, deepen, and rise into the Spirit-led future Canon Anthony helped us see. We walk forward together, grateful, determined, and inspired. Yebo!”
Guillén began his church center ministry in 2005 as missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries and was appointed director of Ethnic Ministries in 2015. Under his leadership, the church significantly expanded its outreach to Latino and bicultural Episcopalians, including through the biennial Nuevo Amanecer gathering for those involved in Latino ministries; the New Camino seminar for clergy, diocesan staff, and lay leaders; and the Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency Course, which has trained over 600 lay and ordained leaders to build and support Latino ministry in their own contexts.
“Canon Anthony Guillén has a special gift as a connector and catalyst for innovation and mission. His creativity and visionary approach brought Latino ministry in the church to a season of growth,” said the Very Rev. Miguelina Howell, dean of Christ Church Cathedral in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and an advisor to Guillén for more than a decade.
The missioner for Latino/Hispanic ministries reports to Mackenzie as part of the Ethnic Ministries office.
