A NEW network for those ministering to Hispanic populations has been launched by the Anglican Communion.

Its Hispanophone Network was launched last week, on global Spanish Language Day, and promises to “share the life, gifts and challenges of Spanish-speaking communities”. “The Spanish language is not merely a means of communication, but a space where faith is reflected upon, prayed and lived out,” it says.

Spanish, spoken by about 636 million people, is the fourth most widespread language, and the United States and other countries have experienced a rapid growth in Spanish-speakers in recent decades. New Spanish-language ministries have sprung up in response. There are also Spanish-speaking church-plants in Canada and the UK, and there are chaplaincies, missions, and churches in 22 Spanish-speaking countries, the Anglican Communion Office says.

These churches are important hubs, providing a spiritual home and fostering a sense of community and belonging, the ACO says.

At St James’s, Las Cruces, in New Mexico, attendance at a Sunday-afternoon service in Spanish has doubled in three months. The church, 45 miles north of the US-Mexico border, is reinstating bilingual Sunday-school classes to accommodate an influx of children and young people. St James’s is one of the oldest Episcopal churches in the area.

The new network is being coordinated by Jeroham Meléndez, a lay leader from Costa Rica; the Luz Montes, Canon for Latino Ministries at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, in the diocese of Texas; and the Revd Franklin Cuenca, from the diocese of Bolivia.

Mr Meléndez said: “From the Christian faith, every people, with its language and history, reflects the image of God in a unique way. Valuing cultural identity is not about closing oneself off, but about giving thanks for the richness of creation and strengthening communion.

“The Network is clear that accommodating linguistic diversity within the Anglican Communion is a vital part of mission and outreach. The diversity of languages and cultures is not a threat to unity, but a manifestation of the fullness of God’s plan. Communion does not erase differences — it harmonises them.”