By Sandii Peiffer
This is the third installment in a series of stories highlighting some of the ways God is at work in and through Calvary UMC and it’s many partner churches to transform the community of York, Pa.
Four years ago, pastors Josué Marrero and Vivian Rodriguez came to the United States from Puerto Rico with their three children to help establish a Hispanic ministry at Pine Grove UMC in York. In the course of their ministry there they were introduced to Rev. Mike Brossman who invited them to help build a Hispanic ministry at Calvary UMC in West York, in a community that is one-third Hispanic/Latino.
They called their ministry Genesis, the place of a new beginning, and built it from scratch starting in January, 2017. The congregation began with around 13 people, including their family of five.
They prayed for musicians.“Hispanic people love music. So, I started to pray to God,” said Vivian. “The Holy Spirit said to me, ‘Why are you looking for a musician? You are a musician. There are musicians in your house,’” referring to their children. So, she learned to play guitar on YouTube, while their oldest daughter plays keyboard, their son plays bass and drums, and their youngest daughter sings.
Genesis exists to reach the Hispanic population in the City of York. They have reached out to youth in particular inviting them to be part of shadow theater, black theater, and a dance team. “We want be attractive, to reach the people in the community, and its working!” said Vivian.
In black theatre, performers dress in black with white gloves and hold fluorescent cardboard with words and pictures for the songs and stories under black lights to make them glow. Shadow theater involves putting a projector or light behind the actors so their silhouette can be seen on a screen in front. These unique forms of theater allow shy youth to take part because their faces aren’t shown and people can’t see them directly, but the cards and shadows tell the story. Some of the youth have grown in confidence and now sing and read the scriptures aloud. There are about 12 kids involved so far, many of them doing all three worship arts. When other youth come and see it, they want to be part of it and they tell their friends.
“We’re doing something fresh and using wisdom – not typical religious techniques – to try to reach the people in a way they feel comfortable and not intimidated. We are in 2019 and this generation is different. We have to use new ideas,” said Josué.
While Vivian focuses on youth and worship, Josué concentrates on evangelism and reaching out in the community. “We build relationships first and then talk about Jesus, and then talk about the congregation and church.” He plays softball with the Perros in the Liga Hispana De York, participates in local missions, and uses social media – YouTube (
Josue ‘jossie’ Marrero Sánchez) and Facebook (
Genesis Iglesia (page)) – to extend his ministry to a cyber-congregation. The hope is for the cyber-viewers to come to the church when a relationship has developed and they feel more comfortable.
The goal of Genesis is to develop leaders to prepare a new and growing generation and bring more families to Jesus. The congregation is growing. There were 48 people on Easter Sunday. One of the challenges is the transient Hispanic population. “We have reached many families who came to York to establish themselves and their families but it didn’t work out and they had to move again, so we have to start over continually,” said Josué. Right now their congregation is established, committed, and the environment is full of excitement.
A typical service at Genesis starts at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, but there is no ‘end time.’ It may end around 2:30 p.m., sometimes 3 p.m. “If people come to the front and the Holy Spirit moves, or if I’m preaching and the Holy Spirit moves, we follow the Spirit,” Josué said with a grin. “Sometimes in the worship it’s so beautiful and the presence of God is there and we take more time.” They pray, read the bible, then worship through music and dance. The lively environment is such that people don’t feel they have to be quiet in church but they feel free to express themselves. They include black theatre or shadow theatre on special occasions. And there’s a sermon. They plan the worship service but follow the Spirit’s lead. “We prepare but we give the Holy Spirit space to do what He wants to do. God wants us to be organized and prepared and have a foundation. We have a program but don’t have a time limitation,” said Josué.
The services are primarily in Spanish. For those who don’t speak Spanish they have translators and earpieces. They sing bilingual. “We sing traditional songs from Puerto Rico, and some of the songs from the radio translated into Spanish. We alternate from English to Spanish as we sing through song verses,” said Vivian. Josué noted a pattern with immigrant Hispanics. The first generation mostly or entirely speak Spanish, the second generation is bilingual, and the third generation mostly speak English, and a little bit of Spanish. “When we came from Puerto Rico our kids could not speak English or understand at school. They wanted to go back to Puerto Rico. But they learned English and now I have to tell them to speak in Spanish!”
“We open our doors to everyone; those that struggle in life, that may have problems, that might need a helping hand to get back on their feet. We spend time with the people and listen to them. We’re not just behind the microphone on Sunday preaching.” They recalled a former prison inmate who came to the church looking for a place he felt welcomed. “We’ll send texts, call people and ask how they are doing.” “Hispanics love food!” said Vivian, so they invite people to eat and spend time together, going bowling or doing other fun things.
They recently started a satellite ministry at sister church Asbury UMC in East York, also with a significant Hispanic population surrounding it. “We visited people in their homes, talked with them, shared, and prayed. We developed relationships. When they felt comfortable we asked if they wanted a service in their home, with singing, a spiritual reflection and prayer.” It worked. They now hold a Tuesday night worship service at Asbury UMC, as a ministry of Calvary UMC, and hope to add a Friday night Bible Study.
Behind the scenes there’s a lot of hard work, struggles, frustrations, and even tears. There is also joy, laughter, and victory. They pray, fast, and talk with God about how they are going to do it. They bounce ideas off others. At the end of the day there’s satisfaction and blessing as they reach their goals and feel the presence of God. “We thank God for the success we have,” said Josué.
You can reach Josué and Vivian at
genesisyorkpa.umc@gmail.com or call 717-475-7332. Experience Genesis at Calvary UMC, 11 N. Richland Avenue, York, Pa.
In 2004 I was consecrated Bishop in The United Methodist Church. During 41 years of ministry in The United Methodist Church I have served as Residential Bishop for two Episcopal Areas in the Northeastern Jurisdiction; New York and Harrisburg. I have been exceptionally blessed and honored to serve as your Bishop of the Susquehanna Conference. With the deepest sense of joy and privilege and with gratitude I thank God for allowing me to serve the church with such faithful, committed, generous, and gracious people as those of the Susquehanna Conference for these two quadrennia.
