Philip Wingeier-Rayo: Celebrating 150 Years of Methodism in Mexico: Napoleon, Cinco de Mayo, and Reform

Today's post is by Rev. Dr. Philip Wingeier-Rayo. Rev. Dr. Wingeier-Rayo is Professor of Missiology, World Christianity and Methodist Studies at Wesley Theological Seminary.

What does Cinco de Mayo have to do with Methodism in Mexico? Restaurants, schools, and breweries in the U.S. have made the holiday popular—mostly for commercial gain. However, few can articulate the history or significance of the Cinco de Mayo holiday. Some people wrongly assume that it is Mexican Independence Day. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mexico launched its war on September 16, 1810, and won its independence from Spain in 1821, while the Battle of Puebla happened over 50 years later on May 5, 1862. Mexico’s victory was against the French army. 

Now what were the French doing in Mexico? This brings us to our topic of Methodists in Mexico. But first a little background.

Ever since Hernan Cortez and Spanish conquistadors conquered the Aztecs and Emperor Moctezuma in 1521, politics in Mexico have been intimately intertwined with religion. The Spanish arrived with the sword in one hand and the Bible in the other. The Roman Catholic Church and clergy enjoyed broad ranging power, influence, and wealth – owning approximately 1/3 of Mexican land.

This began to change when President Benito Juarez (1806-1872) and the liberals advocated for the separation of church and state and freedom of religion. They fought for a constitutional federal state, subjugation of the army to civil authorities, public education, freedom of religion, and the equal distribution of wealth through the sale of unused church property. In 1856, the liberal government headed by Juarez passed the Ley Lerdo, which ordered the sale of church lands (monasteries, cemeteries, etc.) not used for religious purposes. The Catholic Church and clergy fought back in the War of Reform (1858-1860). The liberals won this war and recaptured Mexico City in 1860, passing the freedom of religion law, which allowed other denominations besides Catholics to legally operate in Mexico. The government carried out reforms, nationalizing Catholic properties and secularizing charitable institutions (e.g., hospitals). The liberals turned around and sold these properties to the public, which allowed for the creation of a Mexican middle class.

The Roman Catholic clergy and conservative allies were on the losing end of these reforms and encouraged French Emperor Napoleon III to intervene, which he did under the pretext of an outstanding national debt to France. The French invaded Mexico in 1862, and Napoleon named Maximiliano I to be emperor of Mexico. A sense of national pride and sovereignty rallied Mexican troops, who initially defeated the French army on May 5 at the Battle of Puebla. The victory was short-lived as the better-equipped army advanced and entered Mexico City in 1864. Maximiliano I tried to create a unified government, but he was caught between the competing claims of liberals and the coalition of conservatives and clerics. In 1867, Maximiliano was defeated by Benito Juarez and executed, marking a victory for the liberals and for the Reform. 

What does this have to do with Methodism? 

The liberal government found an ally in North American and European Protestants who believed in literacy, public education, health care, democracy, and ministry in rural areas—especially to the indigenous populations. A former Franciscan convent on Gante Street in Mexico City was one once of the properties confiscated and sold by the liberal government. It was and is a majestic site. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the lands had been used by Emperor Moctezuma as a garden before it became the first and largest Franciscan convent in New Spain. Between 1862 and 1873 after being sold during the Reforma, this building had various owners and was used for different purposes. In 1865, it was home to the Chiarini Circus, which Emperor Maximiliano once attended with his wife, Carlota. While the National Palace was under repair during 1868-9, this site became a place of legislation as temporary home to the Chamber of Deputies. It was also used as a theatre, restaurant, and cantina, among other functions. 

In 1871, the Missions Committee of the Methodist Episcopal Church approved $10,000 for missions in Mexico. The following year, William Butler, missionary and founder of the Methodist Church in India, was named secretary of the American and Foreign Christian Union and was tasked with mission work in papal lands, specifically in Latin America. Ms. Matilda Rankin, a Congregationalist based in Brownsville, Texas, invited the Butlers to go to Mexico, and so on February 1, 1873, the family sailed for Veracruz and took a train to Mexico City. The Butlers purchased the former Franciscan monastery for $16,300 to start the first Methodist Church. They began an orphanage with 37 girls, and Mrs. Butler established a support group for mothers every Tuesday night. 

Alejo Hernández became the first Mexican to be ordained by the MEC, South in December of 1871. Born in Aguascalientes, Hernández came to Brownsville, Texas, in search of a Protestant Bible and was ordained a deacon by Bishop Enoch Martin in Corpus Christi, Texas, and then he traveled back to Mexico City to assist Butler to help the new Methodist mission on Gante Street in 1873. The same year, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South sent Bishop JC Keener, and he purchased the former chapel of St. Andrew on the corner of San Andres and Callejon 57 streets in Mexico City. 

The liberal reforms and defeat of the French army created a window of opportunity for the Methodists, along with the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and other Protestants, to begin mission work in Mexico—150 years ago this year. To honor this history, the Methodist Church of Mexico will hold a celebratory conference later this year with the theme “Renovation and Future,” to be held at the Santisima Trinidad Methodist Church at Gante Street 5, November 30 – December 2.

Recommended Reading: Methodists on the Route of Migrants

Back in April, representatives from The United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Mexico traveled to southern and central Mexico to learn about and from various ministries that served migrants as they travel through Mexico from south to north. That trip produced a photo essay by UMNS photojournalist Mike Dubose, "Strangers and Sojourners: Immigration ministry in southern Mexico," and an English-language article by UMNS reporter Joey Butler, "Church leaders explore ways to help migrants in Mexico," both published back in June.

The trip also led to a five-part series of long-form articles in Spanish by UMNS reporter Gustavo Vasquez entitled "Metodistas por la ruta de los/as migrantes (Methodists on the route of migrants)." These pieces cover elements of that trip and the ministries visited in much greater detail and thus are worth a read. They may be found at the following links:

Part 1: original in Spanish / Google translation to English

Part 2: original in Spanish / Google translation to English

Part 3: original in Spanish / Google translation to English

Part 4: original in Spanish / Google translation to English

Part 5: original in Spanish / Google translation to English

Recommended Reading: The Pastor of Little Mexico/El Pastor del pequeño Mexico

Mikeie Honda Reiland has written a lovely essay about United Methodist pastor Rev. Carlos Uroza, a Mexican immigrant serving two congregations in Nashville, one of them also primarily composed of immigrants. The piece is titled "The Pastor of Little Mexico" and is available on the online magazine The Bitter Southerner with accompanying photo essay by Tamara Reynolds. A translation into Spanish by Leonor Yanez is available from United Methodist News Service as "El Pastor del pequeño México." The piece is beautifully written and touches on several topics relevant to this blog: the story of one man's conversion experience, unexpected consequences of connections formed through short term mission trips, one man's immigration experience, and the challenges and opportunities facing immigrant communities in the United States. It is well worth a read, in English or Spanish.

Recommended Reading: Methodist bishops' statements on migration

In light of recent debate about caravans of migrants from Central America traveling through Mexico to the United States, episcopal leaders from several Methodist denominations have issued statements affirming the importance of treating migrants with empathy and dignity and recognizing their full legal rights.

The Methodist Church of Mexico issued a statement on October 20 signed by all six of their bishops. You can find that statement in English and Spanish versions.

The United Methodist Council of Bishops issued a statement on November 7, which was co-signed by the Mexican bishops, the President of the Methodist Church of El Salvador, and the supervising bishop for the United Methodist mission in Honduras.

Christmas traditions come from around the world

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Assistant Professor of Religion and Pieper Chair of Servant Leadership at Ripon College.

UMC.org recently ran a story about the increasing popularity of the Las Posadas tradition from Mexico in the United States.  While this may be a new tradition for many in the United States, I believe it fits with and deserves a place in the American heritage of Christmas as a blending of traditions from all around the world.

Many traditional American images of Christmas come from England (carols, figgy pudding, roast goose, etc.) or at least presume a northern climate (snow, fir trees).  But Christmas has long been a global celebration, both in that it is celebrated around the globe and that elements of Christmas tradition are transmitted around the globe.

Wherever it's celebrated, the Christmas story is about something that happened in Palestine 2,000 years ago.  In the last 2,000 years, various countries have added to common Christmas traditions around the world.  Germany gave us the practice of Christmas trees.  Turkey gave us St. Nicholas, and then the USA turned him into Santa Claus.  Bohemia brought us Good King Wenceslaus, and Russia gave us the Nutcracker ballet.  Stollen, fruitcake, and various Christmas cookies have spread out from their central and eastern European homes.  Lights and gifts are traditions that are indigenous to everywhere, and the tradition of making nativity scenes or other artwork that depicts the Christmas story is a global tradition as well.

Certainly, in Christmas as in other areas of culture, there's always the tension between preserving indigenous traditions and welcoming new traditions.  Will cookies displace puto bumbong in the Philippines, or is there room for both?  For Americans, while preserving traditions is important, we would do well to remember that our traditions are always already borrowed and blended.  And in that tradition of blending, there's always room for more.

William Payne: Learning about faith from Mexican immigrants

Today's post is by guest blogger William P. Payne, the Harlan and Wilma Hollewell Professor of Evangelism and World Missions at Ashland Theological Seminary.

A recent UMCMission.org article entitled “Low-WageWorkers Seek Moral, Livable Wages,” explores the plight of immigrant workers who are abused by an economic system that exploits their labor and does not pay them a fair salary with benefits.The article is written from the perspective of an Anglo US-2 working with Interfaith Worker Justice. The article grows awareness as it argues for a significant increase in the federal minimum wage and immigration reform.

For my part, I have enjoyed close relationships with marginal peoples from various Spanish speaking nations, including working for a local Spanish newspaper while in high school, pastoring a Cuban refugee camp in Panama in 1994 through 1995 (see “Religious Community in a Cuban Refugee Camp: Bringing Order out of Chaos,” in Missiology 25, no 2 [1997]:141-154), and organizing a flourishing ministry with Mexican immigrants while serving a church in the Florida Conference from 1998 through 2001 (see American Methodism, Past and Future Growth. Emeth Press 2013, p. ix-xiv). That ministry included nightly services, Sunday school, evening meals, an evangelism team, and community based ministries. It did not include social advocacy.

I wanted to advocate for my Mexican parishioners. In fact, I shared this concern with a lawyer who worked with our Hispanic Ministry Team. However, when she spoke to the leaders of the Mexican ministry, they told her that they did not want or need our help. I was appalled. Of course they needed our help. I pushed the social justice issue with righteous indignation. After all, most worked in low paying jobs related to agriculture, construction, landscaping, or the service industry. Clearly, they were the victims of an unjust economic system. 

One day, the lay leader for the Mexican ministry met with me to explain how the Mexican immigrants in our church saw it. First, in Mexico, they were really poor. They lived on a few dollars a day and barely eked out a living. Second, a working couple in America could earn $50 a day. From their perspective, that was a lot of money. With that money, they provided for themselves and sent money home to family members. Third, the church family became an extended family. They shared vehicles, lived close to each other, parented each other’s children, networked for jobs, pooled food, took one another to medical appointments, and watched over one another’s soul. Finally, my friend observed that the English speaking families in the church lived in isolation and were so intent on getting and maintaining things that they neglected each other and had little time for church. In his opinion, they completely lacked meaningful community.

At first, my friend’s words shocked me. I wanted to protest and defend my culture. However, as I pondered his observations I realized that he and the people in the Mexican ministry lived closer to the biblical ideal than I.  In my desire to impose my values on the Mexican congregants, I had failed to see the situation through their eyes. In this state of heightened conviction, I realized that I and much of the American church were guilty as charged. The conviction produced a renewed desire to more closely follow the example of the New Testament church by living a simple life while striving for more intentional community.

Much has changed in the Spanish speaking immigrant communities since 2001. They have become more Americanized and they are keenly aware of issues related to economic justice. Many are no longer content with $50 a day. In fact, most would not resonate with the convictions of the above mentioned Mexican lay leader. Yet, I wonder, has the UMC considered the unintentional social and spiritual consequences of climbing the American economic latter? John Wesley and Francis Asbury both lauded simplicity and strongly condemned the acquisition of wealth. Wesley’s famous maxim states, “It is a mere miracle for a Methodist to increase in wealth and not decrease in grace.” Early Methodism maintained a constant battle against “prosperous” religion.

I have additional questions. How much money is enough money? Americans are notorious for wanting more. Greed is a public value and crass materialism is a prime export. Also, by what biblical standard should the UMC measure a fair, living wage? Does a fair wage mean becoming a middle class American with all the accompanying vices and temptations? Furthermore, to what extent does our concern for economic justice reflect an unconscious ethnocentrism that values things over community? Most importantly, what can the immigrant Christians in our midst teach American United Methodism about spirituality, community, and faith?

Many New Testament scriptures point to a “preferential option for the poor.” Truly, God calls the church to join with them in their sufferings and their struggles. Yet, many are so busy trying to fix their condition that we fail to learn from them, be changed by them, or enter into their world. Yes, the admonition of my former Mexican lay leader still rings in my ear.

Recommended Readings: More examples of international ministry partnerships

For today's post, I'd like to share two more examples of international ministry partnerships, one between branches of the UMC and one between the UMC and a sister Methodist church.

The first story describes a multi-year ministry partnership between United Methodists in Congo and United Methodists in several parts of the United States.  This partnership recently resulted in the purchase of a Cessna aircraft to enable an aviation ministry in Congo.

The second story describes partnerships between United Methodists in the United States and Methodists in the Methodist Church of Mexico.  This partnership involves caring for migrants from many countries in the Mexican border city of Tijuana.