Christian Church(Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
LONG ISLAND, N.Y. (DNS) -- Hispanic members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), meeting here July 10-14, joined a nationwide call to end the string of racially motivated southern church fires and condemned U.S. treatment of immigrant populations. The eighth assembly of the National Hispanic and Bilingual Fellowship expressed "great pain and anguish" over the arson incidents and indicated its support of efforts to identify those involved. The biennial event attracted 190 persons from across the United States. The fellowship also asked Hispanic Disciples to support a Church World Service appeal to rebuild the structures. As a body, the assembly contributed $1,000 through the Disciples' Reconciliation mission to the CWS "Burned Churches Fund." In a move to support African American Disciples congregations, the assembly declared Aug. 4 as a "Day of Prayer." The National Convocation, a fellowship of African American Disciples, convenes Aug. 2-6 in Birmingham, Ala. The decision-making body condemned the continued persecution and mistreatment of immigrants to the U.S. And further, the mistreatment of immigrants has been "fortified with laws which are discriminatory," said the statement. The group called for the Central Pastoral Office to coordinate Hispanic Disciples' participation in an Oct. 12 March of Immigrants in Washington, D.C. Two Disciples leaders were recognized by the assembly for their commitment to Hispanic ministry. The Revs. James C. Suggs, St. Louis, Mo., and Charles M. Babcock, San Antonio, Texas, received the assembly "Somos Uno" (We Are One) awards. Suggs has been president of Christian Board of Publication since 1989. The group acknowledged Suggs' longstanding support for Disciples Hispanic ministries through the Hispanic Caucus. He also was recognized for helping to make possible a new Hispanic hymnal, Caliz de Bendiciones or Chalice of Blessings, presented during the assembly. Babcock is currently executive minister of the Bluebonnet Area in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Southwest. He was cited for his work over the past six years with Hispanic Disciples in the Bluebonnet area. Christian Mission of Elizabeth, N.J., and SinaĄ Christian Church, Killeen, Texas, received "Somos Uno" awards for excellence in congregational growth and development during the past two years. In just over three years, Elizabeth Christian Mission has enrolled 80 members and has an average worship attendance of 125. The congregation is served by Dr. Edwin RodrĄguez, an area dentist who combines a successful practice with his work establishing the new church. Organized in 1989, SinaĄ Christian Church now has 245 members and provides significant programming to children and youth. The church's diverse membership includes persons from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico. In other action, delegates gave approximately $1,800 to the Domingo RodrĄguez Scholarship Fund and ratified the appointments of new assembly officers for 1996-1998. The new officers are Dinah Negr˘n-Serrano, Orlando, Fla., president; the Rev. Juan RodrĄguez, Hammond, Ind., vice president; the Rev. Wilfredo Feliciano, Killeen, Texas, second vice president; the Rev. Rafael Rivera Rosa, New York, N.Y., secretary; and Arlene Pimentel, Orlando, Fla., recording secretary. The next meeting of the Hispanic and Bilingual Fellowship is July 17-21, 1998, in San Antonio, Texas. The 1998 event will celebrate the centennial observance of Hispanic ministries in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S.
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