HEREABOUTS virginia burroughs
The parking lot of College Hill Church, at the corner of Philadelphia and Cornell drives, will be a lively spot Saturday, Sept. 25, as Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated by church members and friends.
Francisco Pelaez-Diaz, Hispanic missionary pastor at the church for four years, is the festival organizer. “We’ll have live music by Grupo KZ Musical, a group that specializes in music from the northern area of Mexico, and a local dance group, Orjullo Mexicano; most of the dancers are members of the Catholic ministry here in Dayton.”
Pelaez-Diaz said the church has close to 20 Hispanic members.
“I’m from Mexico, and was raised Catholic until 15, when I converted,” he said. “I went to seminary in Mexico City, and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. Missionaries founded the Presbyterian church in Mexico.
“One of our new members who moved from Mexico to Vandalia went to a Presbyterian church there and no one spoke Spanish, but she stayed for months without understanding until she heard about our church, then transferred her membership.”
College Hill offers a bilingual service, and Pelaez-Diaz translates the sermons from the balcony through headsets.
In addition to Hispanic friendly services, College Hill also offers beginning and intermediate Spanish classes, Bible study in Spanish, an English as a second language program, and a family workshop for first-generation Hispanics.
“We try to help parents who are raising children in a bicultural situation,” Pelaez-Diaz says. “We try to meet the needs of Hispanics in our community.”
In addition to his duties at the church, Pelaez-Diaz is a member of the Human Relations Council of Dayton and Greater Dayton Christian Connections, which has formed an interfaith group for humane immigration reform. “We put together presentations on immigration issues for communities of faith and other interested groups,” said Pelaez-Diaz. He’s also a member of Latino Connections.
“Latino Connections is a group of people working for and with Hispanics — the police department, Dayton Public Schools, churches, members of the health field — a variety of people and organizations working with the Hispanic/Latino population. Each month we have a different topic or issue we address. It’s a wonderful organization,” said Pelaez-Diaz.
The College Hill Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration also will include authentic Mexican food, made by church members — tamales, tacos with soft tortillas, and pozole, a soup-like dish made with hominy and pork or chicken.
Although the celebration has been an annual event since 2007, last year’s festival had to be canceled because of rain.
The celebration runs in conjunction with a flea market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
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