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| Photo By F. Leon Sibielski |
In response to the growing Hispanic/Latino population in our state, Rhode Island parishes collectively voted at our Diocesan Convention last October to expand diocesan ministry to this particular population. In the following months, after a careful search, the Rev. Mercedes Julián was called as our new Hispanic Missioner and asked to begin the new Ministry in partnership with the Church of the Ascension.
The Rev. Mercedes Julián, native to the Dominican Republic, was called to ministry in the late 70’s. She finished seminary in 1981 in the D.R., and was ordained in Panama in 1990. Since 2004 she has resided in the United States as a Hispanic Missionary, first at Grace Church in New Orleans and then at San Juan in South Carolina.
The beginning of any new congregation is a challenging task, but on June 1st Mercedes began meeting and talking with the local Hispanic community through visits to places people frequent such as supermarkets, banks, laundromats, parks, post offices, and restaurants. She also has been helping at the Cranston Food Pantry every week.
Mercedes Julián says, “This is a new opportunity to serve and offer others the chance to begin or reinitiate a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. The spiritual need is latent in our society; the strengthening of human values and the importance of the family are aspects where the church is needed to guide the community of God in its search for a better world.”
The new ministry at Ascension holds its own services and educational programs in the Spanish language, but the hope is that in many areas of congregational life the Hispanic/Latino congregation will be fully integrated with the existing English speaking congregation of the parish. For example, the choir program for children age 6-12 takes place between the English and Spanish services so that children of both services can participate.
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| Photo By F. Leon Sibielski |
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| Photo By F. Leon Sibielski |
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