Bishop Todd welcomed two teenage girls into the Anglican Communion last month at La Mision de San Lucas—and their mothers decided to join them.
By the Rev. Gene Flanery
It is always a joy when Bishop Todd visits Kansas City. His latest visit included a stop at La Misión de San Lucas (The Mission of St. Luke) in Kansas City, Kansas. Our church is located in the “hood”: an active playground of gangs, pimps and prostitutes. It’s not your normal stopping place for a bishop. Kansas City is also the adopted home of a variety of immigrant groups which makes our city a mosaic of world cultures. We focus on the 25,000 Latinos that live within a five-mile radius of our ministry center.
Bishop Todd’s latest visit to the mission was his third, but with a special purpose. It was a confirmation service for two of our youth. Sua Luna (14 years old) and Kenia Alarcon (13 years old) embarked on the confirmation process at La Mision de San Lucas last August. Early into the journey we faced an obstacle that proved to be a blessing. The girls preferred to memorize the scriptures and recite the creeds in English, but their sponsors wanted them to learn them in Spanish, which was their mother tongue spoken at home. What was the solution? Recite scripture in both languages, of course!
As their pastor, I had the privilege of sharing the meaning of the scriptures to the girls. We talked about the plain meaning of the assigned scripture, but we always brought it home with how we were to practice what we were learning. It was exhilarating to watch these girls go through the process from examining a historical faith to personalizing those beliefs into a walk with Jesus. The girls embraced the doctrine of the Trinity, confessed Jesus as Lord, accepted Christ as their Savior, and in the end invited Jesus to be their best friend.
Through the process, the sponsors who were both aunts of the girls and sisters wanted to join their daughters in their journey into Anglicanism. They were all received into the Anglican Communion on April 10 with Bishop Todd and his wife Debbie in attendance. Please pray for the girls and their mothers, Diana and Lupita. There are many unique challenges to serving God in the inner city within an immigrant community. Also, remember to pray for our mission. Our regular outreach includes church services, prayer and counseling, English classes, a youth soccer camp, running a third world market, and a food co-op.
