How MCC has strengthened the ministry of my multicultural church plant

[Editor's note: This guest blog illustrates how local congregations are equipped in so many ways by the programs of Minnesota Council of Churches. Rev. Gonzalez' church plant, Tapestry, has directly or indirectly been supported by MCC Respectful Conversations, the grants promoted in the MCC newsletter, MCC Refugee Services staff connection, and the audiences who read News for the Common Good. The experience of Tapestry's ecumenical congregation presents a perfect microcosm of how Minnesota Council of Churches helps to manifest unity in the body of Christ and build the common good in the world.]

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2

My mom lived the last years of her life with dementia, but there were elements of her faith that stayed with her for many years: she always gave an offering during worship; she recited the Apostles’ Creed and Lord’s Prayer; and, when we were out and about, she would excitedly say, “It’s so good to see people who are so different from each other. God loves all of us,” or something to that effect. My mom’s faith continues to influence my ministry.

I am a Pastor with the Minneapolis Area Synod (MAS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA), a member organization of the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC). In 2014, I began a ministry in Richfield called “Tapestry.” Tapestry shares the love of Jesus through food, music and education, where everything from worship to language classes and Community Meals happen in Spanish and English with immigrants who have been in the United States for decades, newly arriving immigrants, and people from many cultural backgrounds born in the United States.

I met Rev. Daniel Romero, now Legal Services Consortium Coordinator with the MCC, through my work with immigrant communities, . He recently asked if I would have a conversation with a journalist with the Sahan Journal about the current landscape of the Venezuelan community in Minnesota. I also spoke with Rev. Jerad Morey, Director of Strategic Relations, and agreed to be put in touch with the journalist. As a result of these conversations, Rev. Morey [learned about and] offered to invite the MCC community to Tapestry’s primarily Latino/a-led 10th anniversary conference “Thriving in Ministry: Building Bridges & Crossing Them,” as it was an ecumenical conference open to the wider community that we were able to host because we received a 2024 Calvin Institute Worshiping Communities grant.

I was peripherally involved with the MCC when I attended training for Respectful Conversations a number of years ago. I facilitated a few conversations about the Marriage Amendment and at Luther Seminary around leadership issues. I was moved by the conversations during the process, and though I am no longer involved directly in this initiative, I continue to incorporate many of the principles into ministry.

More recently, I have been on the MCC mailing list to keep current with how the MCC advocates and serves the neighbor, especially immigrants. Last year I noticed the Calvin Institute Worshiping Communities grant and applied. We have a talented worship band from around the United States and Latin America that leads music in English and Spanish. The accepted proposal was “To create bilingual (Spanish/English) liturgies and music from and for Latino people, especially in the Lutheran tradition, that respect and honor the Latino cultures present in the congregation.”

As a result of the grant, our musicians have composed music that we’ll record and share soon! We also attended a gathering in Nashville with RedCrearte, a Latin American based group that focuses on creating ecumenical worship resources, and then we welcomed two of their leaders, Methodist and Presbyterian, as workshop presenters at our anniversary conference! Our keynote speaker was Dr. Sandra Montes of the Episcopal Church.

When Tapestry began, I had no real vision of becoming an ecumenical congregation. Yet, we are ecumenical by the very nature of the ministry. The healing of the nations happens through the efforts of organizations such as the MCC that work, as we say at Tapestry, to build bridges and cross them. These connections over the last couple of months have reminded me of the importance of our collective work in the name of a God who loves people of all nations and faiths. Praise be to God for this wonderful gift.

You can support the Tapestry congregation at GiveMN. You can also support Minnesota Council of Churches.