The Hispanic-Latino bishops of The United Methodist Church celebrated opening worship at the MARCHA Assembly in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Aug. 4, 2016. Shown, from left: Bishop Elias Galvan, Bishop Minerva Carcaño, Bishop Rafael Moreno Rivas, Bishop Juan Vera Mendez, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey and Bishop Hector Ortiz.
THE REV. HECTOR BURGOS
United Methodist News Service (UMNS)
More than 200 members of MARCHA elected a new president, passed resolutions calling on members to vote in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and another calling for an end to discrimination against LGBTQ people in the church.
The 45th assembly for United Methodism’s Hispanic/Latino caucus met Aug. 4-7 in San Juan with a theme of “Embracing New Horizons.”
Presentations, messages, devotionals and workshops promoted reflection and the need to discern the future of the church and to seek new forms of ministry in the formation of Hispanic/Latino disciples. They also learned more about the ministry of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico (Iglesia Metodista de Puerto Rico) in Caño Martin Pena.
Resolutions adopted
The assembly approved a call to action for Hispanic/Latinos to conscientiously exercise the right to vote in the 2016 U.S. elections, urging people who are eligible but unregistered voters to register and participate actively in the election process. The resolution also asks United Methodist congregations in the U.S. to conduct awareness campaigns on the importance of participating the election process, and invited churches to repudiate political discourse of hatred and fear against the Hispanic/Latino people in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean.
This resolution was presented jointly by MARCHA’s Board and the MARCHA Youth.
The assembly also approved a resolution presented by MARCHA Youth that called on members to recognize, repent and denounce discrimination and violence against the LGBTQ community. The resolution was approved after extensive dialogue and majority agreement among the members of the youth present at the event.
It calls for seven points of action on the issue of discrimination in the church and in society against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning community, including Hispanic/Latino people. The resolution also called for training workshops in MARCHA 2017 to provide tools for productive and healthy dialogue on the issue to help the development of intersectional ministries on issues of justice and oppression.
The resolution also asked that MARCHA 2017 provide a space for open, secure and facilitated dialogue on the subject of human sexuality from a Hispanic/Latino perspective.
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Last Updated on December 28, 2022