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Services in Spanish fill a niche
By ANGELA MILLER-HOOD WESLEY CHAPEL -- Nestor Escribano enjoys hearing Spanish. So for the Puerto Rico native, church on Sunday was like being at home. "It was beautiful service, magnificent," Escribano said. "The pastors worked together like brothers in God." The Rev. Julio Travieso of First Hispanic Presbyterian Church of Tampa said he recognized the need for a Spanish-speaking Presbyterian church in the Wesley Chapel area. He contacted the Rev. Phil Kunder of Atonement Lutheran Church with the proposal to hold services at the church. The first service was Sunday. The new ministry will be an extension of the Presbyterian church but an effort of both churches. "Its a must," Raisy Oliveras said of the new service. Oliveras has lived in Wesley Chapel with her family for seven years but has traveled to the Hispanic church in Tampa to worship. "There are a lot of Spanish Presbyterians that don't know where to go," Oliveras said. "This is a wonderful idea, a real need in our area." Census data support that. During the past decade, Pasco has had a 111 percent increase in Hispanics, going from 9,309 in 1990 to 19,603 in 2000. The service Travieso prepared included bilingual music, a sermon and a bulletin. Atonement church council president Polli Byers and other members had a reception for the newcomers. The two churches agreed to hold occasional combined services and programs, Kunder said. The 3 p.m. Sunday services will be in Spanish. The Lutheran church denomination has a covenant to work with the Presbyterian, Episcopal, United Church of Christ and Moravian churches. Travieso said the churches practice and believe what it states in the book of Ephesians, that there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Travieso will conduct the Spanish services at both churches along with help from four lay people he will train. One is Reynaldo Cruz, who teaches adult Sunday school at the Tampa church. Cruz also spent several years volunteering at a Presbyterian church in Puerto Rico. "God gives us the message 'go to the world,' " Cruz said. Travieso said they plan to eventually add Spanish Sunday school classes and youth programs at Atonement. That's something Vicky Martinez hopes will happen. She and her husband attended Sunday after the family received a flier. She plans to bring her 16-year-old daughter next week. "I was so glad we did. The people were very friendly," Martinez said. -- Angela Miller-Hood covers religion news in Pasco County and can be reached by calling (352) 521-5757, ext. 29, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 29. Her e-mail address is angela@sptimes.com. If you goThe First Hispanic Presbyterian Church north campus will hold Spanish services at 3 p.m. Sundays at Atonement Lutheran Church, 29517 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel. For information, call the Rev. Julio Travieso at (813) 932-9684.
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