El Buen Pastor UMC to close its doors

By Deb Youngblood
Pastor, Falfurrias and Premont
With a twinge of sadness I share with you the news that our beloved little church, El Buen Pastor UMC, a Rio Grande Conference congregation in Falfurrias, is closing its doors.
The faithful congregation has steadily grown smaller in the past few years. The older people moved in with children in other towns, to nursing homes or went to their final reward. Of those who remained, one couple will be going to First UMC, Falfurrias. One family plans to transfer to First UMC, Premont, and one family that prefers to worship in Spanish, will seek another Rio Grande UM church.
Each of these families is mourning the loss of the church. I know you will do all you are able to make them welcome by including them in activities, UM Women and fellowship.
The closure of El Buen Pastor hits us all hard because none of us wants to see a United Methodist church close but also because we cannot help but think that we, too, could be faced with a similar situation in the not too distant future. But I do not believe that the closure of El Buen Pastor is a harbinger of things to come for UMs in Falfurrias and Premont.
On the contrary, to grow a church requires a critical mass, a group of people large enough and dedicated enough to evangelize, welcome and work.
If anything, the closure of El Buen Pastor is a signal to the community: the United Methodist churches of Falfurrias and Premont, formerly known as the “Anglo Methodist churches” are not just Anglo anymore. We are a mix of people united in worship and loving the Lord our God.
I recognize, however, that our friends from El Buen Pastor and, perhaps, some other members of our community, might miss hearing their language in worship. We could refuse to include Spanish in worship, but I think we need honor our cultural context.
When I was stationed overseas in the U.S. Navy (a few moons ago), I adjusted to hearing other languages spoken all around me. I even learned a bit of Icelandic. When I visited Germany, I learned some German. In Italy, I learned to shop and order food in Italian. (Tex-Mex actually came in handy there!) During my short visit to Korea, I only had time to learn how to say, “Thank you” correctly, but it made all the difference in the world to the people I met.
Everywhere I went, I tried to learn a bit of the local language so I could show honor and respect to my hosts. It was not always easy. And I know I made some hugely funny mistakes, but sharing the language of others, even in the small way that I could, helped bridge cultural gaps, helped me to connect to other human beings. But I also remember coming home and knowing I was home because I could hear my language being spoken around me. Language connects us and identifies us.
We hear Spanish and English all around us here in South Texas. I am not clever enough to preach in Spanish, but there are other opportunities for us to honor our cultural context. I believe we can do that without making anyone feel left out or puzzled about what is happening. For example, we already print the Prayer of Illumination and the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish in the bulletin. From now on, you are likely to hear them read in Spanish while you pray.
Many of you are so familiar with the Holy Communion liturgy that even if parts of it are spoken in Spanish, you will know what is being said. Also, it will help us all to remember that the entire liturgy in English is available to everyone so that you may follow along even if you don’t understand every word of the portions spoken in Spanish.
Let us continue to set aside our fears and concerns about self to welcome others, to connect with them in a very special way, to make our churches a place that honors our cultural context in a way no other institution does.