Hispanic Heritage Month 2023
This Friday, September 15 marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. The Library of Congress explains it like this: “Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively.”
While there’s nothing limiting our learning about our Hispanic community to just thirty days, I feel these heritage months provide a unique opportunity for individuals and communities (including the church!) to focus on a particular group of neighbors.
My goal in this space is to share resources that will empower us to better connect with Latine/Hispanic families around us and, also, to look at resources for people of faith from faithful Hispanic/Latine leaders. With that in mind, here are ten offerings to una comida, a meal of sorts. I’d encourage you to try at least one “bite” this month!
Why do We Say “Latino” from PBS Origins of Everything: Is it Hispanic? Latino? Latinx? Latine? This is such a helpful summary of how the terms came into use and the changing relationships to them. This article outlines the differences between each term.
2. Brown Church by Robert Chao Romero is a whole missing church history in a narrative style book. Tracing 500 years of changing theology, activism, communities and identities, Romero grapples with what does it mean to be both a Christian and a Latino and what that means for the larger church. This article in Faith & Leadership is an interview with the author that introduces the book and its genesis. One of the lines that struck me most from the interview was this: “The Spirit has journeyed with us as the brown church, and we have this 500 years of community cultural wealth that God has given us. We are a part of the body of Christ too, and we want to offer this wealth as 1 Corinthians 12 talks about. The larger church needs us. We’re not just an afterthought.”
3. “The Brown Church Poem” by Robert Chao Romero is a powerful companion to the ideas that the book explores, rich as a poem in its own right.
5. Sacred Belonging by Kat Armas. I loved Armas’ Abuelita Faith and am excited to hear what this Cuban-American Latina theologian has to say in connecting (reconnecting) us with God’s heart for women, marginalized people, and creation.
6. Learn the name & contribution to the church from one of the 23 Latin American Women and USA Latinas in Theology and Religion You Should Know About. If we know Luther, Piper, Yoder, Keller, Bonhoeffer and Bender, we should also know Isasi-Diaz, Conde-Frazier, Rivera, and Delgado
7. Learn about Movement of Anabaptist Women doing Theology in Latin America, or MTAL, a part of Mennonite Mission Network and the pioneering work they did to provide contextual devotionals like this one to Latina Mennonites.
8. Change up your clean-up-the-house, craft, dance-around music for some Spanish kids worship songs with Rey de Reyes Kids!
9. Get to Know a Neighbor Through Hispanic Food: Practice what its like to be the one who doesn’t know the majority language. Try something delicious. Ask a neighbor what their favorite dish is and why. Here are some places to try in Harrisonburg:
El Milagro or Salgados - Pupuserias- Salvadoran
Delicias Del Caribe- Dominican
El Sol, Los Marquez, El Charro, Jaliscos, Mi Placita, Taqueria El Primo- Mexican
La Morena- deli and aguas frescas
Paleteria La Mexicana- Paletas (frozen treats)
Latin’s Flavor- Venezuela, Central and South America, Carribean
Cuban Burger- Cuban
Pollo a La Brasa- Peruvian
Chino Criollo- Puerto Rican
10. Credo del Migrante “Immigrant’s Creed”
I’ll leave you with this declaration of faith from José Luis Casal:
Creo en Dios Todopoderoso, quien guió a su pueblo en el exilio y en el éxodo, el Dios de José en Egipto y de Daniel en Babilonia, el Dios de los extranjeros e inmigrantes.
Creo en Jesús Cristo un desplazado de Galilea, quien nació lejos de su gente de su casa, quien tuvo que huir del país con sus padres cuando su vida estuvo en peligro, y quien al volver a su propio país tuvo que sufrir la opresión del tirano Poncio Pilato, el sirviente de un potencia extranjera.
Fue perseguido, golpeado, torturado y finalmente acusado y condenado a muerte injustamente.
Pero que en el tercer día, este Jesús rechazado resucitó de la muerte, no como un extranjero sino para ofrecernos la ciudadanía celestial.Creo en el Espíritu Santo, el inmigrante eterno del Reino de Dios entre nosotros/as, quien habla todos los idiomas, vive en todos los países y une a todas la razas.Creo que la Iglesia es el hogar seguro para todos los extranjeros y creyentes que la constituyen, que habla el mismo idioma y tiene el mismo propósito.
Creo que la comunión de los santos comienza cuando aceptamos la diversidad de los/as santos/as.
Creo en el perdón, el cual nos hace iguales y en la reconciliación, que nos identifica más que una raza, lenguaje o nacionalidad.
Creo que en la resurrección, Dios nos une como un pueblo en el cual todos somos distintos e iguales al mismo tiempo.
Creo en la vida eterna más allá de este mundo, donde ninguno será inmigrante sino que todos seremos ciudadanos/as del Reino de Dios que no tiene fin.
Amén.
Credo escrito por José Luis Casal, Misionero General Presbiterio Tres Ríos, Iglesia Presbiteriana (U.S.A.). Traducción de Lilia Ramírez. Tomado de Red de Liturgia del CLAI.
The Immigrant’s Creed
I believe in Almighty God, who guided the people in exile and in exodus, the God of Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon, the god of foreigners and immigrants.
I believe in Jesus Christ, a displaced Galilean, who was born away from his people and his home, who fled his country with his parents when his life was in danger, and returning to his own country suffered the oppression of the tyrant Pontius Pilate, the servant of a foreign power, who then was persecuted, beaten, and finally tortured, accused and condemned to death unjustly. But on the third day, this scorned Jesus rose from the dead, not as a foreigner but to offer us citizenship in heaven.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God's kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.
I believe that the church is the secure home for the foreigner and for all believers who constitute it, who speak the same language and have the same purpose.
I believe that the Communion of the Saints begins when we accept the diversity of the saints. I believe in the forgiveness, which makes us all equal, and in the reconciliation, which identifies us more than does race, language or nationality.
I believe that in the Resurrection God will unite us as one people in which all are distinct and all are alike at the same time.
Beyond this world, I believe in Life Eternal in which no one will be an immigrant but all will be citizens of God's kingdom, which will never end. Amen.
