Preaching to Latinos
Welcoming the Hispanic Moment in the U.S. Church
Foreword by Hosffman Ospino
Imprint: Catholic University of America Press
There is a wide and growing gap in the Catholic Church in the United States between the clergy, who are mostly of European descent, and the large percentages of Catholics who identify as Latinos. While the US Church has made a concerted effort to build Hispanic ministries, many clergy and lay ministers are still ill-equipped to understand the cultural background of their parishioners, especially the large numbers who are foreign born. Because of this disconnect, the Church risks missing "the Hispanic Moment" in the US Church, in which the faith and traditions of these newest waves of US immigration could not just exist in parallel to English-language congregations, but enrich and enliven the faith of the whole community while passing on the faith to subsequent generations.
Learning Spanish--while helpful--is not enough. There are intercultural competencies that can only be developed through practice, but it also helps already-busy clergy to have a concise guide. In addition to knowing the scholarly literature on cross-cultural preaching and Hispanic culture, Father Michael Kueber has twenty years of experience serving first generation Hispanic immigrants and their second generation children. In Preaching to Latinos, Kueber provides the readers with best practices for preaching to and leading their churches. As a member of an ecumenical community, he is able to speak to members of all Christian denominations.
Michael Kueber is Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon. Hoffsman Ospino is Associate Professor of Hispanic Ministry and Religious Education and Chair, Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, Boston College.
"Provides an expansive, nuanced view of the context for Hispanic preaching today in Catholic parishes. A pastoral and broadly accessible treatment of a crucial subject for liturgical and catechetical ministries throughout the nation. Useful for the entire gamut of today's ecclesial ministers and leaders."
~Allen Figueroa Deck, SJ, Loyola Marymount University
"I am grateful to Fr. Michael I. Kueber for his book, Preaching to Latinos: Welcoming the Hispanic Moment in the U.S. Church. As a seminary professor and formation advisor for candidates for the ministerial priesthood, Fr. Kueber’s text is a blessing to me in my ministry. By offering his considerable experience as a parish priest, Fr. Kueber gives the non-Latino community, many of whom will be future priests, a real insight into exactly who parish families are (and will be). I will certainly be recommending this text to the seminarians, lay ministerial students and diaconal candidates whom I teach."
~John P. Cush, STD, Editor-in-Chief, Homiletic and Pastoral Review
"The transition from largely immigrant to mostly U.S.-born or U.S.-reared generations of Latinas and Latinos requires renewed pastoral vision and strategies. Effective preaching across generations is at the heart of this renewal. Michael Kueber provides valuable practical guidance for preachers and other pastoral leaders as we accompany our changing faith communities."
~Timothy Matovina, author of Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America’s Largest Church