Our Gente Stories of Belonging and Resilience in the United Methodist Church

As people of God called The United Methodist Church, we’re faithful followers of Jesus seeking to make the world a better place. God has endowed us with dignity and freedom and has summoned us to responsibility for our lives and the life of the world (¶ 102 B.O.D.).

Therefore, local church pastor Keren S. Rodriguez has developed a three-part series of stories highlighting Hispanic/Latino Ministries that are reforming the sinful social structures of our time through justice (¶55 B.O.D.). Her hope in sharing these stories is to raise visibility and awareness of the valuable contributions our gente (people) bring to The United Methodist connection. 

We encourage you to reflect on these stories and contact us if you have any questions at [email protected].


Custer Road UMC: Reclaiming the gospel of hope in times of exile

In the past two years, an estimated 18,000 Venezuelans now call the Dallas-Fort Worth area home. In their exile, Custer Road UMC has become the sanctuary of connection for new relationships and old friendships.

Read more about this #resilient church Here


Echo Park UMC: A Small Yet Faithful Congregation with an Epic Mission

Echo Park United Methodist Church, a multicultural and multilingual congregation of about 30 people, is relaunching its social work by faithfully serving as a refuge for communities in Los Angeles, CA.

Read more about this #faithful church Here

 

 


 

Keren S. Rodriguez  has been a life long member of the Methodist church. Currently, she is the assigned pastor at Aloha United Methodist church in Oregon. In addition to her pastoral role, Keren is a community organizer that seeks to amplify voices of minorities in the institution of The Methodist Church. Her organizing has led her to lead boards such as the congregational development team of the Oregon Idaho conference. Her passion to understand communities has taken her to study at Global studies centered in development in Latin America at Portland State University.  Recently, she has started her Master in divinity degree program at Claremont School of Theology in CA. Although she keeps busy, her favorite time of the day is when she spends time with her five-year old daughter Ximena reading folktales from all over the world. You can reach her at [email protected] 

 

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