English
WELCOME!
Welcome to the "Comunidad de las Naciones" (Community of Nations) home page. Comunidad is a latino church in Charlotte, North Carolina; it is a ministry of St. Giles Presbyterian Church. Together, we are discovering what it means to be multi-ethnic and to open our arms and hearts to those around us.
This website is bilingual and we want you to participate. Sign up for our electronic newsletter (Boletín Electrónico), "The Morning Watch;" participate in our Blogs and Message Boards; come back often and contribute. There will be sections in English for all y'all, as we say here down South. Check out the Photo Gallery and the Calendar. (We'll explain how to easily interpret everything a little farther down this page so keep reading.)
Please be a part of our community; our desire is for this site to reach far beyond our local church and bring many together to share and encourage one another in this walk with the King of kings. Your contributions are encouraged and we hope you will join us wherever you are.
We can harness the power of this technology to bring people together. True, cyberspace is no substitute for face-to-face; but we can develop understanding of our different cultures and learn about each other with this wonderful medium that is the Internet. We can connect that which is disconnected and unite that which God wants to bring together.
While we may come from different cultures and speak different languages, we share in common that greatest of all Gifts, the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is our identity and in Him all men are brothers. We come out of every kingdom, tongue, and tribe and nation into His kingdom where there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, bond nor free, black nor white, anglo or latino. We all speak that language of Love which transcends our native tongues and binds us together. Man and God at table have sat down, and we sit at table with those from different lands in the common fellowship which is ours in Christ. We are privileged above all people to be joint heirs with our latino brothers and sisters.
History
Comunidad was planted in April of 2004 when the Session of St. Giles felt very strongly the leading of the Lord to establish a latino church plant. Charlotte is a major center of latino immigration in the U.S, and St. Giles is situated in the heart of the latino population explosion here.
Alejandro (Ale) Ruz came from Chile with his family to pastor the church. Ale is a church planter from Santiago, Chile. He planted a Vineyard church in Asunción, Paraguay, in 1994, then returned to Chile as an assistant pastor. Upon arriving here in Charlotte he very quickly endeared himself and his family to everyone in St. Giles. Ale is on the staff of St. Giles and ministers there in the Word and in worship (although not often enough, everyone would agree) as well in Comunidad.
Comunidad meets on the St. Giles property in the Fellowship Hall at the same times as St. Giles meets in the Sanctuary. It has it's own congregation, worship team, children's ministry, discipleship groups, prayer meeting, and functions. All functions are conducted in Spanish but there is simultaneous translation for each part of the service including the songs, so English speakers can understand and participate in the entire meeting. The worship style is the same in both churches and we sing a lot of the same songs, only in different languages.
Life Together
Latino immigration is a hot political button these days. But we are not the government, we are the church of the Lord Jesus Christ with a mandate to care for those who are less fortunate than we are. Did it matter to Jesus that the woman at the well was a Samaritan? Our testimony is "And the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob." (Isaiah 14:1). Our calling is "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." (Ephesians 2:14). Our opportunity is "The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls." (Isaiah 60:10). We can receive much from those that have joined themselves with us; they can minister to us in the Spirit because they are entering in.
The Lord will not judge us for how we have voted. He will want to know how we treated the stranger in our midst.
Navigating This Site
Here are some helpful hints for getting around in our web site:
Calendar
The calendar begins with Sunday (as well it should!) The letters stand for the days of the week in Spanish, and "D" is for "Domingo" (Sunday).
Electronic Newsletter
Sign up to receive our English-language electronic newsletter ("Boletín Electrónico) titled "The Morning Watch" on this page. The newsletter will be devotional in content; our desire is to lift Jesus up to draw all men unto Him. Just type in your email address and click on "Entrar" just over there to the left. You will then fill out a short electronic form asking your language preference along with some optional information; if you select English as your language preference you will receive the all-English version of the newsletter.
Invite a friend to visit this church, anglo or latino, by clicking on "Invitación Electrónico" (e-Invite).
Blogs
Click on the "Blog" link and blog along with us. Open to all, not just members of Comunidad; we want to have you as a friend. Blogs will be in both English and Spanish; create an account, then login to post comments and add to our dialogue as we seek the Lord together. (Your comments won't appear right away; you will be able to see them after they have been approved.)
Message Boards
Message boards are under the tab that says "Tablas de Mensajes;" these are open to all and will be in both English and Spanish so you can join our discussions. Won't it be great to get a world-wide perspective on different issues? Come back often and let us hear from you.
Vocab
Here's a little vocab to help find your way around here:
INICIO = HOME PAGE
QUIENES SOMOS = WHO WE ARE
EVENTOS = EVENTS
RECURSOS = RESOURCES
ENLACES = LINKS
CONTACTANOS = CONTACT US
