Excited parishioners gather with The Rev. Canon Luis de la Cruz for the first Spanish worship service. Photo Credit: The Rev. Eric Turner

After much prayer and research, St. John’s, Melbourne, launched a Hispanic worship and outreach service on Saturday, July 17, at 6 p.m. The Rev. Canon Luis de la Cruz directs the ministry and conducts services on the first and third Saturday of each month in the parish hall.

De la Cruz, originally from the Dominican Republic, also serves as rector at St. John’s, Kissimmee, and as the diocesan canon for Hispanic ministry.

“Right now, we have the service on the first and third Saturdays of the month,” The Rev. Eric Turner, rector at St. John’s, Melbourne, explained. “A music ministry will be one of the first things developed. The new ministry is much more than a Spanish church using the facilities at St. John’s. Currently, we are using recorded accompaniment. We expect additional programs down the road as it grows, but that is where we are starting.”

Those who are part of the Spanish worship ministry will be full members of St. John’s, Melbourne, and there will not be a separate budget or vestry. As the ministry grows, the church will offer worship services and educational opportunities in Spanish and hopes to have joint outreach ministries, fellowship events and parish leadership representing the whole congregation. Church leadership hopes to have occasional bilingual worship services as well.

“The Rev. Eric Turner is the first Anglo priest who has given the signal of the need to develop a Hispanic ministry in his church,” de la Cruz said.

The church’s vestry thought and prayed for some time about new opportunities to show the love of Christ. The group decided on Hispanic outreach because the growing Hispanic population in Brevard County has to travel a long way for Episcopal services.

“The closest Episcopal Hispanic ministries are in Kissimmee (55 miles away) and Port St. Lucie (65 miles),” Turner said. “Brevard County demographics indicated at least 15,000 Spanish-speaking folks.”

In October and December, de la Cruz and his team came to the Melbourne area, canvassing and surveying Hispanics. “We had two Mission Days, and now, on the first and third Saturday of each month, I am celebrating the Eucharist there!” de la Cruz said.

The ministry is still in its infancy stages, Turner said. Because of problems including illness, car trouble and a COVID exposure, the church has only held two services so far. Still, he hopes for more momentum before the holidays.

De la Cruz also remains hopeful for the future. “We’ve only had four to six people who have attended, but now have someone taking the lead by contacting any Hispanic families in the area they know of, and Father Eric Turner is doing publicity,” he said. “To have a Hispanic ministry or group in their parish is a clear vision for the future, which could become a genuine guarantee for the survival of the Episcopal Church here in the USA.”

For more information on this new ministry, please go to www.stjohnsmlb.org.