[ed note: the following is a report from GLAD Moderator Maria Perez]
La Obra Hispana celebrated their 14th Asamblea Nacional Hispana y Bilingüe in Hackensack, New Jersey form July 10-13, 2008 and GLAD was there. I attended the event as moderator of GLAD. To be honest with you, I was a little scared. I did not know what to expect.
I was lovingly greeted by old friends with a genuine, ¿cómo estás? ¡No te pones vieja! (you don’t get old!) It was good to say hola to new and old friends and also to get the scoop of what is happening around United States in the Hispanic churches. I was able to give an honest answer to the question; what are you doing in Omaha? I live in Omaha with my partner Nancy. And, no one ran away from me as if I had the plague. I don’t want to paint you a rosy picture; there were some that did not say hola to me, but I said hola to them.
I went to La Asamblea with one objective in mind, open lines of dialog with Hispanic leaders. I asked our Hispanic brothers and sisters, what can GLAD and La Obra Hispana do for the wholeness of the Church? Can we in spite of our differences find enough common ground to work together for a common goal? The answer to these questions was a pleasant surprise, it is time to talk. Wow!
The door is open. The conversation was started. How will it continue? I don’t know yet.
La Obra Hispana faces its own divisions and differences which make any dialog difficult and threatening to some. I hope that the loving spirit that I felt in La Asamblea will continue to shape future formal and informal conversations between all of God’s children.
I’m glad to report to you that it was a great event for me and GLAD and for the Church.
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