At its April 24 meeting at St. Paul, Salem, the Diocesan Council approved a request by the Rev. Jaime Sanders, priest in charge of St. Mary, Woodburn, to select the Latino/Hispanic youth ministry at Holy Cross/Santa Cruz, Boring, as the Pentecost Offering designee. Sanders explained that the tiny church in outer East Multnomah County has seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of Latino/Hispanic children and youth attending church, which has a dedicated core of older Anglo congregants, but no Anglo youth.

The church’s weekly youth group, begun in October 2008, is literally bursting at the seams, reported Sanders. Holy Cross/Santa Cruz Vicar Patricia Steagall-Sánchez Millard has organized carpools (including one that she does herself) from as far away as Troutdale and Sandy to the east and inner Southeast Portland to the west to get the kids to the church, which is not located near any public transportation. Because many of the youth come from poor families, their parents do not have cars to drive the kids to the meetings. Church members help out and the Wednesday night meetings are always full, thanks to the combined efforts of the bicultural congregation.

“The creation and nurturing of a youth group at Holy Cross has become, for me, a powerful, beautiful, and moving ministry,” says Steagall-Sanchez Millard. “How do you create a youth group for youth whose parents are poor, struggling, and who have little or limited access to private transportation options? In spite of many challenges, in a scant few months this ministry has grown to 20-30 children and adolescents who come from the entire East-Portland area, including Sandy, Boring, Gresham, Troutdale, much of East Portland and even as far as Beaverton,” she reports.

“Our Wednesday night youth group is deceptively simple – a bilingual Bible Study, simple arts and crafts, snacks, and above everything, the message that they are welcome, loved, and cherished in the Name of Jesus.”

At Holy Cross/Santa Cruz, the budding youth ministry currently consists of a Sunday School experience for younger children offered during Sunday worship and the more intentional formation and fellowship experience offered on Wednesday night for older children and youth. Several youth from the Wednesday night youth group hope to attend the first-ever Latino/Hispanic summer camping session scheduled for June 28-July 3 at Camp Suttle at part of the diocese’s Outdoors Camping Ministry.

The Pentecost Offering takes place in churches of the diocese on Sunday, May 31.