The Ministry of Familia Latina Unida

The ministry we call Familia Latina Unida grew as we organized a new church: Adalberto United Methodist Church. The new church was formed primarily by undocumented Mexican Catholics whose efforts to organize their own community and provide a better education for their children were opposed by the neighborhood Catholic Church. They were active in their church and depended on their faith - but they wanted a church that would support their efforts.

The Methodist tradition mirrored many of the Catholic traditions that allowed for child baptisms, first communions, confirmations and quince eras which were important to them. It also allowed them to seek guidance from the scriptures, unfiltered by church doctrine. It encouraged a direct relationship to God, unfiltered by the priest in the confessional. Finally it allowed for a more lively church service with stronger preaching, powerful music and free flowing prayer and testimony without prohibiting them from saying the Rosary together.

We began together a reading of scripture to find support for the struggle in which they found themselves. Most religious leaders had applied the Old Testament command to “welcome the stranger” as the appropriate way to address the situation of the undocumented. We found more identification in the story of the children of Abraham, the Israelites themselves. The families identified with the people of God who were forced to go to Egypt to survive. They found themselves in the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. They were not strangers – they were the people God had chosen to make himself known in the world, in the United States. When God told Jacob to take his family to Egypt where he would make them a great people, as many as the stars in the sky,” they felt God had his hand on them, heard their cries and gave them a destiny.

In the Gospels – and in the letter from James – they found a new Jesus who took the side of the oppressed against the hypocrisy of the temple and the cold oppression of the Roman Empire. As the struggle for legalization surfaced and grew, they more and more saw themselves as the subjects, not the objects, the people God chose, not the foreigners who the people of a new western Zion were called to accept with tolerance.

Gradually, the stories of the undocumented were told out loud. They were no longer hid in whispers, hidden from their children as well as the rest of the world. The church took on the cases of family after family, fighting deportations and separations. Instead of “welcome the stranger”, the scripture that said “what God has put together no man should separate” became their protection and strength in their faith. In the midst of crisis the families found themselves in scripture – and that helped them find faith and hope, a way where there was no way.

The serpent that tempted Adam and Eve in Genesis in the beginning of the Bible, became the dragon of Revelations which chased the woman and her child across the desert at the end of the Bible. The serpent had tempted Adam and Eve to take upon themselves the authority to decide what was right or wrong – in their own selfish interest. That selfish arrogance grew to become the powerful nation of the North, the United States, which had grown to dominate the continent of Latin America and the people who were forced out of poverty to seek their survival amidst the discrimination of the north.

The Virgin of Guadalupe, seen in the words of the 12th chapter of Revelations, was themselves, their mothers, the woman chased by the Migra across the desert crossing. And that Virgin of their traditions was still with them, guiding them through dangerous times.

Our church became a connecting point, drawing evangelicals and protestants as well as Catholics. We honored the Virgin of Guadalupe in the Mexican Catholic traditions, prayed like evangelicals and read the Bible in social context like Methodists. The church was being grown as a bridge between the divisions that doctrine and institutional competition had cut across the Latino community as we sought to support the faith of a people in struggle.

 

THE SEASONS OF FAITH AND RESISTANCE

The Methodists instructed us to follow generally, but not dogmatically, a year-long lectionary. At its core, the lectionary reflected both the Biblical instructions to “remember” events of God’s intervention such as the Birth of Christ, the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, instructions that themselves harkened back to the Holy Seasons of the Israelites that built on the seasons of an agricultural economy. The popular religion that had grown up within the Catholic culture was built around these celebrations of seasonal events.

At the same time, we found ourselves in an annual calendar of struggle in our efforts to force the congress and the President to pass legalization, to fix the broken law. The Biblical seasons, the traditions of seasonal celebration in Mexico, which also reverted back to an agricultural economy, the persistent themes of planting and harvesting, and the annual calendar of mobilizations, elections and legislative struggle began to merge together for families that now saw themselves as the subjects through which God was working.

In this way, the seasons of “remembering” became also seasons of “renewal.” The first five seasons flowed naturally from the tradition. Advent was the time of preparing the soil of faith for the planting of the seeds from the previous year. We relived the appropriation of the Gospel by an indigenous people, by the ancestors, through the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Galilee, beginning in January with the Baptism of Jesus, followed Jesus in planting the seeds of the Kingdom. We are guided by healing and then by the exorcism of the demons of the Empire which have invaded our people. We are sent out with the 12 and the 72 and then taught the lesson of abundance in what we have by the feeding of the 5,000. The season concludes with the transfiguration, as Jesus communes with his ancestors to prepare himself for the march on Jerusalem that is to come.

“Jerusalem”, called for us to bear witness, confronting hypocrisy and injustice, as the seeds began to break ground. We internalize the lessons of rejecting the hypocrisy of wealth, of status and of the law as we organize our confrontation with the broken law. Then we relive the passion and feel the crucifixion and betrayal in our own struggle.

“Resurrection” represented the renewal and unity and hope as “the seed became the corn”, explaining that the seed of Jesus was now the body of Christ among the believers, healing us of the betrayals and crucifixions we had suffered. The gospels were in many respects a preparation for a people that would soon be in diaspora – again – this time with the prophesied destruction of the temple. Jesus had given them the means of grace to renew annually their faith in small groups. Then in seven resurrection appearances, he reminded them of these basic means of grace: Baptism, Reconciliation (confession and atonement), Communion, Prayer, Abundance, Assurance and Commission. Thus in the season of Resurrection, we not only are guided in rebuilding our movement but we are guided in the practices of our church which serve to renew our faith and unite us as a people of God.

Then came Pentecost and the first 11 chapters of the Book of Acts, as new leaders came forward in the Holy Spirit to carry on the movement, charged with bearing witness to God’s law in open confrontation with hypocritical laws enforced by government. The confrontation between God’s Law and man’s law confirmed us in the commitment to sanctuary and “popular power”, independent of any political party. We learned from the disciples as they prepared a people who were soon to be dispersed to hostile foreign lands where they would be called to form new communities of faith and make disciples/

As the years went on we added Kingdom Time, following the scripture in the letter from James, a time in which we sought the Kingdom of God among us”, were strengthened by adversity and disciplined ourselves to the Way of the Kingdom. In addition to James, we revisited the Gospels scriptures of the farmer who watched and guarded the growing of the seeds to a crop, preparing for the Harvest.

The struggle then made it clear to us that Kingdom time was followed by a time of Harvest, when we recognized the changes in ourselves and in our situation which the year of faith and struggle had produced. Often Harvest time coincided with a march on Washington and we drew on the scripture from the Book of Revelations, as John told his seven churches that they would survive the oppression of the Empire.

Finally, we added seven weeks in “Assembly Time”, seven weeks to assemble the seeds of the harvest, the people we had gathered, the people we had become, the lessons we had learned, to prepare for next year’s planting.

As the ministry grew, the scriptures in each seven week season seemed to speak directly at the problems we faced – and directed us in the struggle within our families, within the church and in the struggle for justice for the undocumented. The teachings and parables of Jesus spoke directly to us.

The seasons of faith that guided our struggle gradually also helped us to find harmony with the seasons of the year, with the moving of God’s creation. The memories of the early indigenous ties to harmony with creation were restored in Christianity.

SIGNS AND SPIRITUALITY

Each year we joined the struggle of particular families or individuals caught in the cruel “lottery” of immigration enforcement. As we gathered around these families and individuals in prayer and in the very practical struggle to fight their deportations, these individual struggles inspired new strategies in the struggle. From the beginning, the Bolivar family first caused us to raise the issue of family unity within the immigration struggle. Elvira’s fight brought us to the strategy of the demand for the moratorium and sanctuary. The Leno family was the inspiration for the first Familias Unidas tour. The case of Alberto Segura brought us to the demand for discretion, for the demand that cases of those with U.S. citizen children or spouses be closed by executive action. The healing of a blind man as part of a posada of struggle for health care brought us to the 5 plus 1 program to end the 20 year death gap that affected the uninsured and undocumented: “He was blind, but now he sees.”

When we won these cases – after prayer and struggle – they became signs of hope, signs that God was leading us, protecting us and calling us to continue the struggle.

UNITY AND DESTINY

There came a time in the struggle when Pastor Freddy Santiago stood in front of a Familias Unidas rally and said, “Today we are not Catholics or Protestants or Evangelicals. Today we are throwing religion out of the window. Today we are all part of the body of Christ.” It confirmed one of the most important callings of our ministry: the unity of the Latino community across divisions of doctrines and churches. It was not something we had set our minds on. It was a calling we had been given by the people who became part of our ministry, the wisdom of scripture, the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit. As our understanding of the immigration issue deepened we found new insight in Elvira’s statement that “I did not come here because of the American Dream but because of what the American nightmare did to my country – and to all of Latin America.” We began to feel the call to a destiny: Those who came from the south would join with those who came from Africa and from the east; they would be fruitful and multiply and become the majority in this nation, called to turn it from a nation that sucks the blood of the world to a nation that shares its wealth with the world; from a nation that wages war on the world to a nation that can be a fountain of peace; from a nation of the arrogant claim of exceptionalism to a nation called by the witness of “the least of these my people,” of God’s people.

In all of these ways, the ministry of Familia Latina Unida was a gift we were given and called to. It helped us with our faith and revealed the Way we struggled. It gave us courage to deal with the onslaught of intimidation, injustice and shame that was being piled on millions of people. Within the gift of this ministry they could say with Elvira, “I fear God more than I fear Homeland Security! Those who humble themselves before the Lord need not be made ashamed by the arrogance of man. Those who stand in the freedom of God’s Law, need not fear to stand apart from the hypocrisy of man. Those who believe in the Resurrection need not fear the Crucifixion.”

HARVEST OF THE MINISTRY: A VISION

OF SEVEN CHURCHES, INSPIRING AN EMPOWERED MINISTRY MEMBERSHIP

           Each year we celebrated the Harvest of that year, drawing on the Book of Revelations. On the seventh year of our ministry we looked more closely at ourselves. Adalberto had moved to Humboldt Park. We had replanted a new church in Pilsen. We had gathered families into the membership of Familia Latina Unida from many neighborhoods. They had come to us to aid in their defense against deportation – and had stayed as part of the faith and the struggle. We had also formed a youth organization, La Fuerza Juventud, with 1500 members from five high schools – to struggle against mass deportations and mass incarceration. Together Familia Latina Unida and La Fuerza had formed partnerships to struggle against the twenty year death gap in our communities that comes from lack of early detection and treatment for chronic diseases – because health insurance is denied the undocumented.

           The vision of Revelations revealed to us a vision of committed groups of new disciples in different communities struggling together. Looking at the neighborhoods from which the families and youth came we determined to build seven churches which would be the faith centers of Familia Latina Unida and La FuerZa Juventud. The gathering in our church of those from different neighborhoods was a gift – and a sign – of our new vision of the ministry of Familia Latina Unida.

ORGANIZING THE MINISTRY

The ministry of Familia Latina Unida is based on faith. We are respectful of people’s particular religious traditions – but also respectful of those who have turned away from religion. Jesus taught – but he also acted. He demonstrated his faith among the people. Our ministry should follow his example.

The disciple begins the ministry in a new community by organizing the defense of the families and young people who are under attack by the evil policies of mass deportation and mass incarceration. There are defenses using the law and the disciple must become both an expert and a connection to legal resources. In our ministry we combine mobilization and gathered influence with legal defense. We gather supporters and make our case in public. We gather those with influence – pastors, elected officials – and ask them to go public with us. We have found that when we mobilize we can win cases.

A disciple at this stage of the ministry needs to be honest about what they know and don’t know – and disciplined about learning what they don’t know. The disciple also understands – and listens to better understand – the psychological, economic and social strains that these attacks put on the person and the family under attack. The first task of the disciple is to be a source of strength to those under attack, to demonstrate that they are acting out of love and solidarity, not out of selfishness or self-interest.

The disciple should have an understanding of scripture – and the way we find our place in scripture – to bring the Word to help people under attack remain strong. The disciple should be able to offer the Word and Prayer – but should not preach, drawing on the faith and understanding of the word that already exists. That means: First listen!

In the course of defending our community in this way we look to see what natural collectives can be put together. If the disciple has worked carefully to demonstrate and then use the scripture and prayer when it is appropriate the collective can be brought together to both study scripture, pray and learn better how to defend our community.

Those who form the collective make a commitment to service and to making the people of the community conscious of their true history and place in current day society.

Bible Study follows the teaching of our ministry – leading the group through the seasons of faith, the word, prayer and struggle. Bible Study helps people find their place in the Biblical Story of the journey of the people of God. The Bible Study, which may take place in the context of a legal defense and action program, follows the scripture and teaching of the weekly messages from the ministry. Those in the Bible Study group are invited to weekly services at existing ministry churches.

From the Bible Study and Action group consistent outreach is done in the community. When there is enough strength a community site or center is established. When the Bible Study and Action group is strong enough a weekly service is organized. A congregation is built, person by person, family by family, community network by community network. Faith leaders are trained to lead the congregation.

Disciples reach out to pastors and church leaders in the community. We are not in competition. We offer help in the defense of families and young people. We do not pressure people to become members of the new congregation, inviting them to our service or Bible and Prayer meetings without pressure to join – or leave their own churches.

The organization of the ministry lets God work among the people. Each year there will be a harvest of the faithful. The disciple is required to have the patience and persistence of the farmer, providing support for what God is doing with his people.

A network of these kind of churches form the backbone of the ministry – providing self-reliance and renewal.

HOW DO I INCREASE MY FAITH?

Some come to us with an ongoing commitment to a religious tradition. We have to work with them to “help us build unity”, emphasizing sharing faith over religious dogma. We believe that our ministry has shown us a way to unify our people through faith. That has to be sincerely our purpose! We have to let people see what we have been given.

Others come to us who are alienated from religions – for many reasons. Some participate with us because they want to defend their people but don’t really “feel” the faith. In truth, the Scriptures and especially the gospels are protest against the hypocrisy of religion. The gospels also prepared disciples to practice their faith without a temple, in collectives of resistance to a hostile society..We suggest to them to practice the faith with us and to seek the faith through meditation. It is true that through our participation in the seasons of faith and struggle, through study of the word, prayer and collective celebration and struggle we are brought to a spiritual understanding of the forces in the universe that lay beneath our religious practice. It is also true that when we let ourselves believe, when we let ourselves go through the seasons of the faith, we can seek an honest experience in meditation and prayer – and we will find it! That is the meaning of “seek and you shall find” and “knock and the door will open!” 

The Biblical Theology of the Seasons

THE PRINCIPLES OF CONTEXTUALIZATION

The Principles of our current social context

1.   The U.S. is an empire which has colonized countries with people of color: the exploitation and intervention creates the instability which pushes people into the diasporas in the U.S. The people of Latin America are forced to come to the north by economic pressures, corrupted governments and exported violence

2.   The U.S. Empire pulls people from Latin America into the diaspora in the U.S. as it imports cheap labor from those countries, offering “an unrealizable American Dream”

3.     When they grow in sufficient numbers to threaten the nation internally, the U.S.

a.   moves to disenfranchise them (apartheid)

b.   Moves to criminalize them

c.   Moves to deport them

4.   They are also “double-minded”, seduced by the opulence of the “American Dream” yet relying on the faith and culture from which they come.

5.   They form a diaspora population along with other diaspora populations from Africa and the Middle East.

The social context of the scriptures

1.   The Israelites are a people with a history of being conquered and of living in diaspora, in which the main defense against oppression was the blessed multiplication of the people living according to the law of God.

2.   The gospel of Jesus Christ is a preparation for living in Diaspora (Thus the prophecy of the destruction of the temple, the encirclement by the Romans of Jerusalem, which actually occurred.)

3.   The teachings provided for “mobile sacraments” – “Wherever two or three are gather together in my name,” communion, collective confession, baptism, a common prayer which were unleashed symbolically by the tearing of the curtain.

4.   The teachings provided the Word to show the Way to live in diaspora

5.   The teachings were an inspiration to resistance and human and social transformation through the construction of communities of faith and resistance

The cultural organization of the gospels:

The gospel of Jesus Christ created an annual journey of celebration and spiritual renewal based on celebrations of the agricultural seasons. This in turn was based on the “re-livings” of the exodus miracles and the instruction to celebrate these miracles on an annual timetable of agricultural events (Planting, first harvest, harvest etc.). The gospels prophetically prepared disciples to prepare a people soon to be driven into diaspora.

The cultural context of the Latino faith community:

In the absorption of Christianity into their indigenous spirituality the people of Meso America developed a popular religion of collective celebration that reflected annual “remembering” and renewal. The spirituality of meso-america has endured and prevailed through three different “religious invasions” – Catholic (from Europe), Protestant (from the U.S.) and Evangelical (from the U.S.) – as well as the forced migration to the north and the pressure of assimilation. This has given birth to both creative expressions and to much divisiveness. In the annual seasons of renewal we seek to discover a new strength and a new unity in spirituality and spiritual discipline and a new unity in the struggle for social justice here in the north.

THE SEASONS OF RENEWAL

Based on these principles of contextualization, we organize the celebration of scripture and the “Way” of spiritual renewal each year into eight seasons:

1) Preparation Time (Advent); Scriptures leading to the birth and exile of Jesus lead us to prepare ourselves for the intervention of God in our affairs

(2) Galilee: Gathering the disciples and manifestation of the ministry, teachings and miracles of the Kingdom; we practice the ministry of the word and healing to gather the people and prepare for the confrontations of the march on Jerusalem.

 3) Jerusalem: Confrontation with the hypocrisies of the leadership by the innocence of Jesus, an innocence we ourselves recover in redemption and realize in confrontation.

 4) Resurrection: Through the appearances of Jesus the disciples recover the teachings of Jesus which prepare them to recruit and prepare disciples for life in Diaspora);

5) Pentecost: Through the presence of the Advocate of Truth the Disciples are given the courage to begin the commission of Jesus to make disciples, preparing them to form communities of faith in the diaspora to which they are dispersed.

6) Kingdom Time: Drawing on the letter to the people in diaspora from James, scripture leads us in “seeking the Kingdom of God among us” in the reorganization, evangelization and organization of the communities of resistance in Diaspora.

7) Harvest time: Drawing on seven readings in Revelations, we realize the presence of the Harvest of the people of God this year, the harvest of our social struggle, what has been changed in each of us - and the vision of the Harvest that is to come in the future.

8) Assembly time: We assemble the remnant of this year’s harvest, the seeds that will be planted again in Preparation time next year. These weeks of assembly also outline the main components of our ministry and assesses how they have changed and developed.

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While we are led by scripture through our spiritual renewal each year we are also given signs each season in the real events and struggles of the congregation. We are led by the scripture and the signs we are given in both our individual choices and in the choices we make to pursue the struggle of the people of the Diaspora in both resistance and community building.

The seasons give us a basis for Spiritual Formation – individually, in our families, in our groups of friends and as a people of God. Each of the “Moments” (weekly themes) in each season call for a discipline of prayer, reflection, discussion, changes of behavior and action. This vision of spiritual formation reflects our perspective that spiritual formation is both an individual and collective process that best takes place in the awareness of God’s intervention in our lives, our church and in history.

PREPARATION FOR THE YEAR OF RENEWAL AND RESISTANCE

During the season of Assembly we reflect on what has been produced in the previous year. Then during the season of preparation we attempt to anticipate the year to come.

Each season has a theme of renewal and discovery. The schedule of the seasons depends on the dates on which certain key celebrations fall: Christmas, Celebration of the Wisemen, Transfiguration Sunday, The beginning of Lent, Easter, the first day of Pantecost. The season’s length: six or seven weeks are determined by these dates because we want to be in unity with the general Christian community.

While we have developed themes and suggested scriptures for each season that should only be a starting point. The challenge is to say out the social context of each season, the specific campaigns that are required, the dynamics of the local church and its ministries – and then seek inspiration to make the theme come alive in each season in celebration, sermon, bible study and action.

While you can lay out a general approach to each season at the beginning of the year and at the beginning of each season it is critical to let the spirit guide you each week. You learn from past experience, from current experience, from the Word and from the Spirit. This should be a collective process! Often you seek signs, individual struggles that will lead the interpretation of the season each week, something that happens that week, the words that someone says…

The leading scriptures for each week are taken from any of the four gospels and later the Book of Acts, the Letter from James, the Book of Revelations and the Psalms. While it is good to generally follow the lectionary - so as to be in common with other lectionary church communities - the choice should be the one that meets the need of the week and the season. Other scriptures are looked to for inspiration on the specific challenge of the week.

GUIDE TO THE WEEKS IN EACH SEASON

1.   The weeks of Preparation Time

a.   Experiencing the silence of Zechariah so that we approach preparation time without assumptions – open to revelation.

b.   The Birth of Jesus Foretold: We celebrate Mary’s Faithfulness

c.   Mary visits Elizabeth, Mary’s Song and the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe. the theme is accepting your place in the destiny God gives your people.

d.   The Birth of John the Baptist: Why must there be both a John and a Jesus for God to intervene? How are we preparing the way for the intervention of God in our affairs?

e.   The Birth of Jesus; The Shepherds and the Angels: there is prophecy and expectation – yet the intervention, the seed which has been planted, remains a mystery to which we must give ourselves.

f.    Three Kings Days: The Magi Visit the Messiah and the Escape to Egypt; The prophecy of exile for the people of God, the reaction of the established power, agent of empire, to the seed of transformation and resistance. Recognition that we are in a diaspora in a hostile country. Recognition of the hope and purpose God’s intervention gives us here.

2.   The Weeks of Galilee

a.   Jesus is Baptized By John, Is Tested in the Wilderness and returns to Galilee: How do we bring ourselves to recognize the hope and the admonition to “repent for the Kingdom is near.” How will the presence of the Kingdom change us, our relationships, our church, our people – and the world we live in? Are we ready for change? Are we ready for the “Baptism of Jesus?”

b.   Jesus Calls His First Disciples; Heals a Man With Leprosy; Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man: Healing and forgiveness, Jesus goes from the outside to deeper inside.

c.   Jesus Calms the Storm; and restores a Demon-Possessed Man: The theme is driving out demons..

d.   Jesus Sends Out the Twelve; and Feeds the Five Thousand: teaching the disciples that what they have is sufficient for them and for the people . The disciples need faith and the people need organization.

e.   The Transfiguration: Jesus on the mountain with his disciples; Moses on the Mountain and Elijah on the mountain.: Jesus consults his ancestors before beginning the march on Jerusalem.

3.   The Weeks of the March on Jerusalem

a.   Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy; Isaiah on True Fasting: Todaywe are called to call out all the demons that make our people silent.

b.   The Request of James and John: confronting the hypocrisy of status and status seeking with the innocence gained in redemption

c.   The Rich and the Kingdom of God; The Cost of Following Jesus”: Confronting the hypocrisy of wealth with the innocence given in redemption

d.   The Yeast Of The Pharisees, Which Is Hypocrisy; The Good Samaritan; Jeremi8ah on False Religion: Confronting the hypocrisy of false religion and the law with the innocence given by redemption.

e.   A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight; The Parable of the Ten Minas: As Jesus prepares for the final confrontation he urges to see: through our faith and to use what we have to serve God – or lose it!

f.       Palm Sunday Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King; Jesus in the Temple;The Authority of Jesus

(Holy Week offers special days of learning and celebration from the last supper, footwashing, Gethsemane, and Good Friday)

4.   The Weeks of the Resurrection

a.   Easter Sunday: The Baptism of Jesus; The Death of Jesus, Jesus Has Risen: What is the Baptism of Jesus? He is crucified and buried – and then he is raised up – In the empty tomb we see the seed has become the corn: the messenger of the Kingdom has become the Kingdom among the people! Love and Sacrifice.

b.   Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene; Jesus Reveals Himself to Mary; Joseph Reassures His Brothers: We are reminded of the gift of confession and reconciliation.

c.   On the Road to Emmaus; The Last Supper: This appearance of Jesus reminds us of the sacrament of communion which gives us the power to convene.

d.   Jesus Appears to Thomas; Jesus Prays for All Believers; Isaiah on True Fasting: On believing and acting over your own doubts.

e.   Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish; Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand: This appearance of Jesus teaches us the gift of abundance which is always there even when we are convinced that we are surrounded with scarcity.

f.    The Great Commission and the Holy Spirit; Jesus Sends Out the Twelve; Joshua Installed as Leader: This appearance of Jesus teaches us the call and the meaning of discipleship. It is a good transition to Pentecost when we see the disciples in action – who are in turn training new disciples in diaspora.

g.   Jesus Speaks From the Cross (John 19:25-27); Mary’s Song (Luke 1:46-57) 

The Words of the Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego: We celebrate the love of the mother and its meaning for us. (This appearance can be used whenever mother’s day appears in the calendar.)

5.   The Weeks of Pentecost (the Miracles of Pentecost)

a.   The Holy Spirit Descends On Pentecost; Acts Peter Addresses the Crowd; The Tower of Babel: First miracle: Tongues of fire appear to the disciples and give them the courage to go out to the people. 2nd miracle: Thousands understand the disciples although they do not speak their language 3rd miracle: 3,000 receive Baptism on the first day. The Spirit of Truth gave courage to the disciples to go to the people with the message of Baptism: “repent and receive forgiveness.”

b.   Peter Heals a Lame Beggar, Peter Speaks to the Onlookers “Repent, then, and turn to God”: This is the fourth miracle: the miracle of healing through the Spirit of Truth which both heals and empowers to take their place in society.

c.   Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin; The Courage of Peter and John; the 5th miracle is they are set free.

d.   The Believers Pray: The disciples confront power with the witness of truth and go free; the 6th miracle: the community is joined together by the Holy Spirit.

e.   The Believers Share Their Possessions; 7th miracle: Ananias and Sapphira: The disciples teach the principles of the communities of disciples that must be built in diaspora.

f.    The Choosing of Stephen: The disciples deal with developing the next generation of leadership.

g.   The Stoning of Stephen: This documents the dispersion of the people from their homeland and the living Christ they bring with them.

6.   Seeking the Kingdom of God

a.   James 1:1-10 Trials and Temptations: This begins the development of disciples in diaspora and focuses on facing adversity with perseverance to develop character.

b.   James 1:19-25 Listening and Doing: Focuses on forming communities of disciples in action so that they have the spiritual ground to stand on.

c.   James 2:1-9  Favoritism Forbidden: Finding the unity of repentance and resistance through forming communities of faith and trust..

d.   James 4:1-13 Submit Yourselves to God; Matthew The Parable of the Weeds: Focuses on how the community of disciples grows by recruiting those who are open to them – but does not judge those who are not ready.

e.   James 5:13-20 The Prayer of Faith; Luke 11:1-10 Jesus’ Teaching on Praye;r Isaiah 58:6-10 TRUE FASTING: reaching the spiritual ground of the Kingdom of God through prayer and true fasting.

f.    James 1:12-18 Birth Through The Word Of Truth; Exodus 19:3-6At Mount Sinai; Genesis 46:1-4 Jacob Goes to Egypt: The new disciples learn about living in covenant.

g.   James 4: 10-12 Humble Yourself Before The Lord; James 5:7-11 Patience in Suffering; Matthew 20: 8-16 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard: The new community of disciples deal with the next generations and looks forward to the Harvest.

7.   The Time of Harvest

a.   Revelations 1: 9-20 John writes To The Seven Churches: Introduces the book of Revelations and discusses the blessings and challenges of the “churches”. What is the harvest of the struggle? What is the harvest of our individual struggles? What is the harvest of the churches?

b.   Revelation 6:1-8 the Seals; Revelation 7:1-4 144,000 Sealed: “The opening of the first six seals through the power of the Resurrected Jesus. The first four show the violence and injustice of the empire, the fifth seal expresses the suffering of the people and the sixth seal expresses the sealing (protection) of the people of God. This we call the Blessed Connection.

c.   Revelation 11: 15-19  the seventh trumpet: “The seventh Seal” is opened to reveal that the Kingdom of God has come – with good news for the oppressed and judgment on the oppressor. We sought the kingdom in the last season – now we are called to realize that the Kingdom, the rule or reign of God, not just the Spirit, is here. (Relate to God parting the waters in Exodus)

d.   Revelation 12: 1-17 The Woman and the Dragon: “This scripture which places/prophecies the Virgin of Guadalupe in history begins to describe the Kingdom of God on earth – in the communities of faith – and what it faces in the Spiritual struggle that can give us the spiritual ground to stand on – the spiritual ground of the Kingdom now among us.

e.   Revelation 13:11-17  The Beast out of the Earth: We identify the trinity of the spiritual forces of wickedness with which we must contend: Satan – the beast (the empire) – and the false prophet (Trump).

f.    Revelation 17:1-6  Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast; Revelation 18:4-8 Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment: We look at the prophet’s definition of “liberty” or “democracy” a prostitute riding on the beast which opposes the Lady of chapter 12 – and we hear the call to come out of Babylon!”

g.   Revelation 21: 1-7   A New Heaven and a New Earth: This is the last week of the harvest. Open our eyes to what God has done this year – for our people, for our families, for our own spiritual journeys.

8.   The Time of Assembly

a.   “Assembly of the Prophets”; Exodus 32:15-20; 1 Kings 19:12-18; Mark 9:2-10  We relive the scriptures of the transfiguration, speaking with the prophets as Jesus did, gathering with the prophets to confirm ourselves as the sons and daughters of God: putting no gods or authority before God and bonding together in communities of faith, reflecting on the vision of the future revealed this year and experiencing our share of that future which we have realized this year…

b.    “Assembly of the Families”; Genesis 17: 1-7; Genesis 48:1-5; Mark 3:28-35. From the “center” of our gathering with the prophets, we re-assemble Familia Latina Unida, the ministry to the families, the renewed family of families in the new perspective of the year’s journey.

c. Assembly of the Next Generation  John 15:12, Acts 6:1-7; Luke 19:12-27  Assemble those of the next generation who have stepped up to to take their place in the leadership of the struggle this year. 

d.   Assembly of the Beloved Community. John 15:12-17: United in God’s love, the spiritual center of our ministry, Familia Latina Unida and the Fuerza Juventud must be united in “a new order”. This new order will require those at the end of this year who are now willing to take responsibility to put this order in place.

e. Assembly of Destiny: Assembly of the Diaspora – assemble those who recognize their place in god’s plan Isaiah 61:1-3 The Year of the Lord’s Favor; Daniel Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

1.     (the Assembly of the Living if celebrating the Day of the Dead) Hebrews 12:1-3 A Great Cloud Of Witnesses: we celebrate the day of the dead; we grow spiritually in our community when we see our spiritual unity with the community of those who have passed on)

f.    Assembly of Resurrection Power: John 3:1-8: With the weight of the national election on our mind, we prepare ourselves to be born again, born from above, drawing on the power of resurrection.

g.     “Assembly of the Disciples” : The Great Commission calls us to make disciples of all nations. We assemble those who have been brought to discipleship commitment this year – and we assemble the discipleship seeds in each of us.  

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Wesleyan Spiritual Formation – Another way to look at the seasons of faith and struggle

Our theology of the seasons places the Wesleyan theology of grace in a framework of annual renewal. By Grace we mean the action of god, divine intervention, transforming lives and creating the Kingdom of God among us. By Prevenient grace we mean the seed of faith and harmony with creation that is planted in every human being. By Justifying grace we mean the presence of the Kingdom that comes through confession and repentance; By sanctifying grace we mean the transformation that comes on us spiritually moving us towards perfection of the realization of the kingdom.

We take steps in our thoughts, our actions and our spiritual focus to “be in the place in which the Grace of God can fill us”. If Grace is like the rain, then we need to “step into the areas where the rain falls on us.”

1) Preparation Time: Prevenient Grace

2) Galilee: Convincing Grace, Initial Repentance

3) Jerusalem: Justification By Grace Through Faith

4) Resurrection: Regeneration By Grace

   Through Faith

5) Pentecost: Christian Assurance

6) Kingdom Time: Sanctification By Grace

   Through Faith

7) Harvest time: Final Justification

8) Assembly time: Consolidation of the remnant

THIS YEAR IN OUR MINISTRY

           In our written history of this ministry (ELVIRA’S FAITH/BARACK’S CHALLENGE The Story of Familia Latina Unida) we reviewed three stages. First there was the formation of Familia Latina Unida from our church. Second, we turned to the demand for executive action in the face of a paralyzed Congress and won DACA for the Dreamers. Third, we mobilized for the demand for another executive action that would provide security for the undocumented families of U.S. citizen children and dreamers.

           While we won that executive order – at least for the families of U.S. citizen children – the order was held up by a divided Supreme Court. We noted that the executive orders were similar to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in the face of a divided Congress and nation. We noted that while the proclamation was issued it did not go into effect until the civil war was won. For us, the 2016 elections, focused on the polarized positions of the candidates on the fate of the undocumented, represented the civil war.

           At the same time this year, our youth organization joined with the African American community and joined together the movement against racial profiling and mass deportations and the movement against racial profiling and mass incarceration. These two movements underlined the “new American apartheid” and the destiny of bringing the Kingdom of God through the African and Latin American diaspora to transform the nation.

           Through the ministry of the seasons of faith and struggle the ministry sought to give much needed spiritual support to the individuals and families caught in this American Apartheid – and as well to provide the Spiritual Strength to continue collectively the transformation of the nation.

           Through the years of this ministry we have seen a new “Latino” popular identity rise up across the country and across the divisions of multiple Latin American homelands. It is reflected in a powerful political unity. The ministry of Familia Latina Unida has focused on overcoming religious divisions both in developing this new identity and on giving strength to this renewed people as a people planted in this land to transform the nation – and the continent of the Americas.

THE ROAD AHEAD…

The “civil war”, which was to consolidate a new emancipation proclamation, was not won! Instead, the national elections showed an evenly divided electorate, with the democrats actually winning the popular vote. The status of the undocumented was front and center in this election because the “Trump Movement” was based in the reaction of white America to the emerging majority of people of color. The political structure of the United States – its state’s rights battle lines and disenfranchisement of millions of people of color – lent itself to a race driven victory for a white power government. The bureaucratic organization of the democrats failed to overcome this structural deficit – just as it had resisted the popular movement for legalization of the undocumented for nearly eight years of the Obama administration.

The undocumented are the most vulnerable to the newly empowered movement to protect the white majority. We cannot expect much support from the democrats who will, again, choose other priorities. Our first challenge is to defend the families – and the now highly vulnerable dreamers who have registered with the government. The strongest defense will come from the witness of the undocumented themselves and the mass mobilization of Latino unity – the same combination that finally moved the nation over the last decade. To build this resistance will require a movement based in faith and principle – not one based in political expediency.

           We are committed to building communities of faith and resistance with strong spiritual centers expanding outward in organizations of families and of the next generation, establishing and bearing witness to a new order of love and justice.

           The most well known family in our ministry is the family of Elvira Arellano. When she was arrested and slated for deportation after 9/11, two thousand and one, the nation had reversed itself on immigration/deportation policy in the same way as Trump’s election now portends. She relied on her faith and defied deportation until 2007. She became an advocate in Mexico for Central Americans facing violence on their way north to the U.S. and       for those who had been deported and separated from their families in the U.S. – including thousands of U.S. citizen children.

           Elvira Arellano is back here in the United States. Moreover she is not only with her U.S. citizen son but with her Central American husband and their child – still defying U.S. immigration law, still relying on her faith – still a disciple!. The Faith of Elvira, a faith shared by millions, will overcome as well this next period of hate and fear!