Case Study
St. Mary Magdalene in the diocese of Southeast Florida is a vibrant, healthy, and diverse congregation. Historically, it had been deeply segregated, but our mission was to create a space where anyone who came would find a church where they could be fully involved in all aspects of church life, where differences were celebrated and everyone was part of the family.
It began when we saw the need for a Spanish-language service to serve the Spanish-speaking people in our neighborhood. We weren’t thinking, “Oh, is this going to make money!” or, “This will put more people in the pews.” We just believed that it was the right thing to do, even though we didn’t have the resources to do it at the time. And once we started, people began coming from all over.
As the community around us grew, so did our worship. By the time I left, we offered two services in English, one in Spanish, and one for the South Indian community. Despite our differences, we all helped each other. For example, Spanish worship ended just before the South Indian service began, so our Spanish speakers would prepare the Table before departing.
We became a congregation where people went to one another’s services. Even if we did not fully understand the language, we knew the liturgy and the people, so we felt at home. The Spirit was authentic and we built community across cultural and linguistic lines.
When we started the Spanish service, we created a worship team that would meet with the priest to share perspective and offer advice on what was needed to make sense culturally. We considered what cultures were present and how best to honor them, so we were always cognizant of who was being represented. Was there a culturally relevant celebration or important date or saint? Let’s celebrate or honor it. We were constantly in communication.
And, if someone new came to our service, someone who might not have been represented before, we did everything we could to learn about that person. We asked: Do they feel honored by our worship? And if the answer was no, we worked hard to bring them into the fold. We were always expecting visitors. That’s the Latin spirit: We make friends immediately, and then we become family.
We treated every event and celebration as a learning opportunity. We made sure that every person or culture was represented—in the decorations, in the music, in the food, the readings, the preaching, even in the colors or vestments. And we explained every aspect instead of assuming that people all already knew. We invited everyone to be involved, and we tried to bring everyone’s flavors into all our services and our life as a congregation. We wanted everyone to feel like we were evolving together—that everyone was valued and no one was excluded.
This wasn’t so we could pat ourselves on the back. We did it genuinely and intentionally. Before we even started, we asked: Why do we want to do this? What is our motivation? The answer was: We are doing it because we are family. We are doing it because we love our neighbors, and because we know that the languages of our hearts and our cultures speak to us deeply. If we want others to listen to the teachings of Jesus, what better way than to provide that in people’s own languages if we can?
Collaboration. The clergy from the beginning were adamant that this would not be something done in isolation. In deciding what would work, we wanted to involve those whom each service would serve. We also wanted to draw in the whole church. So the vestry was fully involved, and all of the major committees—the altar guild, the vergers—every major committee was represented in the conversation, and when we made changes, every group in the church was involved. No one was shut out, and no one could say they didn’t know.
Cross-pollination. When we had the Spanish-speaking service, we would intentionally bring elements of that service to other services—a reading in Spanish, a song, a saint. Initially, some people were surprised. They would ask, “Why did we read that in Spanish or sing that in Spanish?” And we would say, “We have people in our congregation who speak Spanish.” We offered a gentle introduction to the Spanish language and to the culture—to something different—and so instead of people’s being upset, they became curious. Some even started attending the Spanish service and getting to know one another. That’s when we began to have more intercultural events and when a multicultural, multilingual identity became an integral part of who we are.
Communication. Every time we had a guest preacher or teacher, we would ask the community afterward: How did you enjoy that? Were you able to understand the speaker? Did you appreciate the way they taught? What issues did you have, and what can we do about them? We encouraged open communication in the congregation. Every time we held a party, we talked about what kind of music we were playing, what kind of food we were eating, what kind of decorations we had. We were always teaching and learning about one another. Our parties were always a lot of fun because they were genuine expressions of our cultures, and people could be themselves. Open communication set the tone and encouraged people to talk to each other. We never saw a table of Cubans or a table of Mexicans. Everyone mixed with one another, and everyone taught each other about their music, about their food, about their clothes. We looked for ways to share our cultures.
I wish we had written down the steps we took—how each one worked, how it built on the previous step and helped us get to the next step. Not all the congregations will follow exactly the same steps, and their goals will not all be the same. But a step-by-step guide of what we did—and why—of what worked or didn’t work, and why—would be a great resource for a church just starting out on this path. And it would also be a good historical point of comparison for our own church, showing where we started and where we find ourselves now—a reminder that what began in difference and division has been transformed into a multicultural, multilinguistic family where all are valued for exactly who they are.
Angel G. Roque, BSG
Bio: Br. Angel Gabriel Roque was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to study Culinary Arts and management. Angel worked and served in many capacities in South Florida, as a night shelter program for the homeless, HIV prevention educator, youth pastor and in episcopal Latine and young adult ministries. He answered a call to serve the church as the Diocesan Missioner for Youth and Young Adults and as Camp Stoney programs director for the Diocese of Rio Grande in 2021. Angel is a Life professed Brother of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory, an Episcopal community of friars. Angel also serves as a member of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) on the commission’s Calendar Subcommittee, and on the Council for Safe Church & Safe Communities of The Episcopal Church. Angel is currently a full-time seminarian at the Episcopal Theological seminary of the Southwest, MDiv class of 2026. Angel resides in Austin Texas with his dog, Koko.