History of the Hispanic Ministry
In mid-July of 1999, Fr. John Wagner saw the need for a Mass in Spanish at St. Matthew. One Sunday after the 11:00 am Mass, he asked one of the Hispanic parishioners and his wife if they would help in starting the ministry. They stated that they would be willing to help, and Fr. John then met with Mary Golden, Eileen Harrison and the couple. It was decided that Mary and Eileen would handle the liturgical music while Fr. John and the couple would handle the liturgical celebration.
Fr. John was able to read Spanish but was worried about his pronunciation, so he asked the parishioner if he would read and record the contents of the Mass for him in Spanish and he would then use the recording to perfect his pronunciation. Fr. John practiced his pronunciation and worked on getting a Spanish speaking deacon to come and give the homilies.
As the starting date was about to come, Mary Golden prepared some fliers that were to be distributed in the nearby areas. It was decided that the first Mass would take place on September 13, 1999, at 1:00 pm. Two weeks in advance, Mary Golden, Amada, Valeria, Luisruben, and Ruben Martinez went out into the nearby Hispanic areas and St. Edwards Church; they distributed the fliers announcing the Mass.
The first Mass in Spanish took place with Fr. John presiding and Deacon Joe Vela giving the homily. The altar servers were Valeria and Luisruben Martinez. The choir consisted of Mary Golden, Eileen Harrison, and Amada Martinez. The commentator/lector/Eucharistic minister was Ruben Martinez. A total of twenty persons attended the first Mass including the priest, deacon, altar servers and the choir. There was joy and disappointment, and Fr. John said the Mass would continue to go on as planned. The attendance continued at twenty people for a couple of weeks. Then Maria Conry, her sister Carolina State, and their mother joined the choir. Socorro Jimenez joined as a Eucharistic Minister, and her husband Angel Jimenez along with Baltazar Carmona joined as the first ushers.
A few months later, Fr. John was transferred to other parish, and Sandra K. Boyd, the Pastoral Coordinator at the time, took charge of the parish. Sandy decided to continue with the Mass; she was an avid supporter of the Hispanic Ministry. The attendance continued to grow, and what is now called the Hispanic Central Committee was formed along with the Hispanic Ministry Liaison. From then, the committee has handled the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the anniversary of the Mass, Cinco de Mayo, September 16, Hispanic Community Day, Day of The Americas, Christmas Posadas, and fund-raisers. We have lost Angel Jimenez and Baltazar Carmona as our Lord has called them to be by his side.
Today, an average of five hundred fifty persons attends the Spanish Mass on any given Sunday, and the attendance continues to grow. We have been able to establish all the necessary ministries in Spanish and tend to the parishioners as we continue to grow.