Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

by | Sep 16, 2015

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at the Episcopal Diocese of Washington 

Today marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) and it seems like a buen tiempo to talk about the wonderful work of the Latino Ministry in the Diocese!

At present, there are six Latino congregations in the Diocese serving approximately 750 Latino parishioners –- 

  • Iglesia San Juan (St. John’s in NW Washington, DC)
  • Iglesia San Esteban Misa Alegría (St. Stephen and the Incarnation in NW Washington, DC)
  • Iglesia San Albano (St. Alban’s in NW Washington, DC)
  • Iglesia San Mateo (St. Matthew’s in Hyattsville, MD)
  • Iglesia Nuestro Salvador (Our Savior in Silver Spring, MD)
  • Iglesia Ascención (Ascension in Gaithersburg, MD) 

Latino Ministry Snapshot

More than 800,000 Latinos (about 10% of the population) live in the diverse DC metropolitan area, where 1 out of 7 people was born outside of the United States. Nearly one third hail from El Salvador, with other large numbers born in Mexico and Guatemala.

The population of Latino Episcopalians is also growing, with fast-growing congregations in Nevada, Oregon, and the Washington, DC area.

Diocese Latino Transitional Minister Sarabeth Goodwin comments, “Our six Spanish-language congregations are vibrant and diverse, providing a spiritual community for people of many countries. We worship from the Book of Common Prayer. Our liturgy is familiar; our music is lively and our worship is joy-filled. Our congregations are maturing in our understanding of the Episcopal Church and we proudly embrace our Latino Episcopal identity. More and more of us are becoming bilingual and most of our children are English dominant. We are beginning to take our places on vestry and as delegates to Diocesan and General Conventions. We invite you to join us in worship and mission.” 

Hispanic Heritage Month Events in the Diocese

Several congregations are holding special events for Hispanic Heritage Month —

  • Iglesia Ascencion (Ascension in Gaithersburg, MD) is celebrating Mexican and Central American Independence days with the Eucharist and a celebration afterwards, featuring food from Latino countries on Sunday, September 20 at 11 am.
  • Iglesia San Mateo (St. Matthew’s in Hyattsville, MD) is celebrating St. Matthew’s Day with a bilingual mass on Sunday, September 20 at 11 am. Stay for a fiesta with live music, D.J., children’s games and activities, and food from Latino countries,
  • Iglesia Nuestro Salvador (Our Savior in Silver Spring) is holding a mass and fiesta in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month on Sunday, October 11 at 1 pm.
  • Iglesia San Juan (St. John’s DC) will have a booth at “Fiesta DC” to promote San Juan and other Latino Episcopal congregations in the Diocese. Fiesta DC takes place Sunday, September 20th, 11 am – 7 pm on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW between 9th and 14th Streets in DC. Visithttps://www.fiesta.dc.org

Learn More

To stay up-to-date with the latest news from the Latino Ministry, visit the websitehttps://www.edow.org/spanish or contact Sarabeth Goodwin, Transitional Latino Minister, at the Diocese (202) 537-6441 sgoodwin@edow.org