The Episcopal Church in Latin America is not widely known.  It has a muted presence because of its small size, making many people here in the United States think that Hispanics only belong to the Roman Catholic or Pentecostal faiths. 

Christian Stewardship in the Hispanic Community (full text version -- English)
The reality is that there exists a vibrant, though small, Hispanic community of Episcopalians in Latin America.  It’s comprised mainly of individuals and families that, for a variety of reasons, have made their lives within the bosom of the Episcopal Church.  This is my own particular case; I come from an Episcopalian family.  Since my childhood I have heard the priest talk about Christian stewardship, especially during the traditional two months of the year that focus on teaching this commitment and our Christian responsibilities. 

Stewardship is perhaps most famous for its three “T’s” – time, talent, and treasure.  We often focus on “treasure” and how to bring in more to benefit our church.  In my youth no one talked about tithing.  This was a term used by our evangelical brothers, not by good Episcopalians.  We only talked about filling out our pledge card.  Many in my church dutifully contributed the amount written on their pledge card for a month or two, and then, well, it was just forgotten. 

This behavior increases when the Episcopal Church has members who have come from the Roman Catholic Church.  In Latin America the majority of the Roman Catholic churches obtain their funds from diverse sources, with little expectation that the parishioners will provide anything more than a charitable token.  This has created the false attitude that has been sustained and generalized until today, that the Church is wealthy and doesn’t need the financial support of the people. 

This phenomenon acquires another dimension when Hispanics come to the United States and arrive at the doors of the Episcopal Church.  Immediately there is a collision between the vision of the Church that originates in Latin America, and the vision held by the Anglo community in the United States.  The Anglo community has lived the system of supporting the Church through pledges, taking care of the building, and all the other tasks required to manage a church. Sometimes this has become so internalized in the Episcopal Church in the US that some churches even become isolated and rather exclusive in the neighborhood where they have existed since their founding. 

For Hispanics, everything is the opposite.  The Hispanic community in Latin America has never had to sustain their churches economically. There is always the feeling that the church itself is rich, no matter the denomination, and that the building where the church is located belongs to everyone, so there is no need to give it support.  Would we therefore call Hispanics indolent or irresponsible? 

Neither would be a true characterization. Hispanics are very responsible and they are not indolent.  Many Hispanics that come to the Episcopal Church were previously Roman Catholics.  In addition to never learning that their “treasure” was really needed, participation in the church consisted of hearing the service, not participating actively.  That is, Hispanics coming from the Roman Catholic church in Latin America were  accustomed to listening to the service and leaving when it is finished, not staying for fellowship.  Because of this perhaps they was not aware of what was happening at the center of the church; they didn’t know about issues such as building maintenance and its costs. They hadn’t been educated about the church budget, and assumed that this information was not meant for them.  The feeling has always been that these issues are the exclusive domain of the priest. 

So what happens when Episcopalians and Roman Catholics come from Latin America and they incorporate into the local Episcopal Church here in the United States?  They have heard talk of stewardship, and may have knowledge about this topic.  However, when it comes to sharing the 3^rd “T” of stewardship - their treasure - the reality as that as immigrants and as Hispanics they don’t have the resources to contribute.  They probably have work that is poorly paid, and in the worst case suffer abuses at work because they don’t have legal documents.  This is the reality Hispanic immigrants confront, in addition to never really feeling it was their responsibility to contribute financially to the church. 

On a personal level Hispanic immigrants earn little, and with this small sum they sustain their family here and send funds to help those who remain – be it children, parents or other family members –back home in Latin America.  For this reason they cannot help sustain their local church, even if they wanted to.  

Hispanic Episcopalians in the United States accept with approval the other 2 “T’s” of stewardship. They are willing and able to participate in providing time and talent to the church where they now belong. 

The talents of the Hispanic community are rich and diverse, encompassing broad areas such as music – where the Hispanic influence can inject new energy into the service; the culinary arts –contributing a great variety of typical dishes from different regions of Latin American; and celebrations – bringing folkloric dances, traditional games such as the “kermes”, fundraising parties, and get-togethers to honor patron saints, among others. 

Normally the Hispanic community is very generous with their time.  There is a desire to serve God and only the confines of work impede Hispanics from coming to the church to help. Often Hispanics will come with all the family, children included, to attend to a church responsibility, or will leave work for a short time to come and help.  There is a general understanding that the time dedicated to the church is not given to the priest or to the other members.  It is done especially in service to God.  

When the Bishop’s Committee or the Vestry can assimilate the contributions that the Hispanic community is able to make in stewardship toward the church they gain a fortune of incalculable value.  The Hispanic community is ready and able to participate in the growth and sustenance of many different aspects of the church.

 
In terms of contributing to the growth of the treasure of the church, it’s possible that the church will have to wait for a greater contribution from the Hispanic community with the second generation of Hispanic immigrants.  As this younger generation grows up, has fewer economic responsibilities back home, and retains the dedication and willingness to help shown by the first generation, the Episcopal Church can expect a greater financial contribution from the Hispanic community.

La Mayordomía Cristiana en la Comunidad Hispana (full text version -- Spanish)
La Iglesia Episcopal en América Latina es tenue, es decir, tiene una presencia débil,  casi pasa por desapercibida, lo que ha hecho que muchas personas piensen que los hispanos solo tienen dos tipos de iglesias la católica romana y los pentecostales.

La verdad es que existe una comunidad hispana que por diferentes razones hace vida comunitaria en el seno de la Iglesia Episcopal y este es mi caso, vengo de una familia Episcopal y desde niño escuché al sacerdote hablar de la mayordomía cristiana y que tenemos dos meses clásicos para conversar y enseñar sobre ese compromiso y deber cristiano.

La mayordomía, con sus famosas tres T, talento, tesoro y tiempo. De las cuales se era enfático en el tesoro, no se hablaba de diezmar, porque era un termino empleado solo por los hermanos evangélicos, solo hablábamos de llenar la “promesa” la cual, muchas veces se cumplía en los primeros meses del año y después se olvidaba continuar con ella, por una gran parte de la feligresía.

Este comportamiento se acrecienta cuando a la iglesia Episcopal vienen hermanos precedentes de la confesión católica romana. En América Latina, la mayoría de las iglesias católicas romanas sus fuentes de recaudación se obtienen por diferentes vías,  y no necesariamente por las “limosnas” que dan los fieles. Esto ha creado una falsa opinión que es sostenida hasta hoy día, por personas que no son fieles comulgantes de ninguna iglesia, y es que a la iglesia no hay que darle dinero, porque la Iglesia es rica.

Este fenómeno adquiere otra dimensión cuando los hispanos que vienen a Estados Unidos y llegan a la Iglesia Episcopal, inmediatamente hay un choque entre su visión de la Iglesia que traen consigo desde América Latina y la visión de la comunidad americana. Pues mientras la comunidad Anglo entiende el sistema de sostener su iglesia, mediante su diezmos o promesas, cuidan el edificio, como una pieza única y delicada y muchas veces el edificio que aloja a la iglesia adquiere ribete de exclusividad para el vecindario donde esta ubicado.

Para el hispano es todo lo contrario, no hay que sostener a la Iglesia económicamente, pues esta tiene dinero, el edificio que aloja a la iglesia, es de todo el mundo y no es exclusivo de nadie. ¿Este comportamiento es porque los hispanos son indolentes? O simplemente no tienen sentido de responsabilidad?

Ni una cosa ni la otra, tienen mucha responsabilidad y no son indolentes. Recordemos que muchos de los hispanos que abrazan la fe Episcopal proceden de la Iglesia Católica Romana, y en ella mucho de los feligreses son oidores de la Misa, no participantes activos, por ende asisten, escuchan la misa y cuando esta termina muchos no se quedan a compartir, no saben lo que acontece en su seno, no saben sobre el sostenimiento del edificio, ni como se sostiene, ni les han enseñado sobre el particular, por lo tanto han asumido que no le corresponde saber lo que ocurre dentro de ella y se da por entendido, que esa es una potestad exclusiva del sacerdote.

Que acontece entonces con los Episcopales que llegan de América Latina y se incorporan a una iglesia Episcopal local? El fenómeno es más interesante aun, porque aunque han oído hablar de mayordomía y pueden tener un conocimiento sobre el tema, la realidad de ser hispanos, y eso significa no tener trabajos bien remunerados, en lo peor de los casos muchos sufren abusos por no tener documentos legales, esa realidad les da de lleno en el rostro.

La otra cara de esa moneda es que tienen, con lo poco que ganan, sostener su familia y mandar dinero para ayudar a sus hijos o sus padres que quedaron en América Latina, por ende no pueden ayudar a sostener a sus iglesias locales, como quisieran.

Entonces los Episcopales hispanos en Estados Unidos acogen con beneplácito las dos T de la Mayordomía, es decir el talento y el tiempo, lo ponen a la disposición de la iglesia local donde les ha tocado vivir.

Los talentos del mundo hispanos son muy ricos y diversos, abarcan desde la música, que cambia la vida de la iglesia local para inyectarle nuevas energías al servicio; el arte culinario, que se presenta con un variedad de platos típicos de diferentes regiones de América Latina; sus Kermés, que son muchas veces, fiestas pro-recaudación de fondos, sus bailes folclóricos y sus fiestas patronales entre otras.

En cuanto al tiempo los hispanos, no tienen limitaciones, para servir a Dios en sus iglesias, solo tienen limites cuando sus trabajos se los impide, pero después no es extraño que si tienen que limpiar el templo, les acompañen sus hijos, o si tiene que hacer algo por la iglesia, salgan del trabajo a atender esa responsabilidad, en una palabra son incondicionales, porque entienden que el tiempo que les dan a la iglesia no es al sacerdote, ni a nadie en especial lo hacen para Dios.

Cuando una junta Parroquial o Vestry puede asimilar esa parte de la Mayordomía que dan sin vacilar los hispanos, tienen un tesoro de incalculable valor, que permite un crecimiento en diferentes órdenes para cualquier iglesia.