Conference Hispanic Task Force gathers at First UMC, Alexandria

A conference-level task force met Nov. 14 at First United Methodist Church in Alexandria for the first of a series of conversations on Hispanic and multicultural ministry.

The audience was largely comprised of clergy and laity from local churches located in the northern part of Louisiana.

Glenda Regnart, executive director of the Central Louisiana Interfaith Immigration Center (CLIIC), spoke to the group giving an overview of the “maze” that immigrants are facing in trying to gain legal status in the United States.

Rev. Beth Tu’uta, pastor of 1Love UMC in Kenner, gave advice on how local churches can truly prepare to show radical hospitality in a multicultural setting. Members of her church representing different ethnicities also spoke on their personal experiences, sharing their expectations and fears held prior to coming together as a congregation. Both Tu’uta and 1Love member Martha Canizales are in the process of obtaining certification in multicultural ministry from Perkins School of Theology in Dallas.

“Biblically, we in the church are bound to reach across ethnic boundaries,” said Tu’uta.