Chicago – On Sundays at La Casa del Carpintero, or the Carpenter’s House, they’ve raised twin yellow banners for churchgoers that read “Welcome” and “Bienvenidos.”
As a complement to the regular 11:30 a.m. Spanish service at the independent Pentecostal church, where they’ve worshiped “Papi” for years, there’s now a 9:30 a.m. English one where the faithful praise God the Father.
While churches from every imaginable tradition have been adding Spanish services to meet the needs of new immigrants, an increasing number of Latino congregations are going the other way – starting English services.
It’s an effort to meet the demands of second- and third-generation Latinos, keep families together and reach non-Latinos.
In some cases, the greater English emphasis has contributed to a growing phenomenon: evangelical Protestant megachurches drawing crowds in the thousands that aren’t white and suburban but Latino and anchored in the inner city.
Latino churches are part of the long U.S. tradition of religious congregations bonded by common ethnicity or language.
While Italian and Irish Catholic parishes and other examples have largely faded from view, Latino churches are poised to endure thanks to high birth rates, proximity to Latin America and the sheer numbers of people seeking a better life here.
“The precedent churches are setting by preserving the Spanish language while breaking down ethnic differences and encouraging the use of English is really at the vanguard of where the United States is heading,” said Anthony Stevens-Arroyo, co-author of “Recognizing the Latino Resurgence in American Religion.”
The glue – the thing that allows churches like the Carpenter’s House to flourish as a multiethnic mosaic of Mexicans, Hondurans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Colombians – has been the Spanish language. Yet as the children of immigrants grow up, churches are recognizing that it’s either bolster Spanish with English or give up on the future.
Walter Rubio, 35, was born and raised in Guatemala and moved to the U.S. when he was 12, in awe of bologna and Doritos. Now raising his own family, he attends English services at the Carpenter’s House.
“It’s simple,” said the construction worker. “My son and my daughter, they lean more toward English. If they understand it better, they get a better blessing.”
