Co-Authors, The Rev. Edwin N. Aymat and The Rev. Ignacio Cartagena
 |
The Rev. Edwin N. Aymat has been the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Irvington, New Jersey, for 30 years. This is the longest tenure in the history of this church. He plans to retire at the end of 2008. Rev. Aymat has served on the General Board of ABCUSA, and currently is a member of the Essex Association Ordination Committee. He has been married to his childhood sweetheart for 38 years. They have three grown children, two grandchildren, and a very active Coton-Eskimo puppy. |
| The Rev. Ignacio Cartagena is the pastor of North Baptist Church in Jersey City, New Jersey. An ordained minister of ABCUSA since 1980, Rev. Cartagena holds a Masters Degree in Theology from Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico. In addition to serving as the Director of the Latino Center for Theological Studies and of Voz Profetica, an Hispanic Baptist magazine, he is the Chairman of the Ordination Committee of the Essex Association of ABC New Jersey. Rev. Cartagena serves as the President of the Latino Ministers Council of New Jersey. |  |
The idea for a ministerial professional organization was born during the ministry of Dr. Bernardino Martinez, then the Hispanic Coordinator in New Jersey. Subsequent area ministers followed up on Dr. Martinez’s idea, and there were conversations about an Association of Hispanic ABCNJ ministers working in cooperation with the wider ABCNJ family.
After Dr. Martínez died in 1996, Lenny Ballesteros was chosen as an interim minister to fill the position of Hispanic Coordinator. During his tenure, progress was made toward creating an Hispanic Association. In true Baptist fashion, a committee was formed to draft an organizational outline which soon took the form of a proposed constitution and general by-laws. The fine work of Dr. Joaquin Cruz, the first contributor to these documents, was recognized, and the proposed constitution and general by-laws were brought before the Hispanic pastors for discussion and input.
The next administration was that of Luciano Márquez, who served a term and a half. He resigned in order to accept a position with ABCNJ as Associate Regional Pastor/Area Minister. Edwin N. Aymat finished Luciano Marquez’s half term as president of the fledgling organization; Rev. Aymat then served another full term himself. During this time, the constitution was amended to permit an ample membership participation. The name of the organization was discussed in the light of the word “Latino,” which refers to a wider range of language and cultural diversity than the word “Hispanic” defines. The appropriate change was made and the document was finalized and enthusiastically received by the Hispanic/Latino pastors. It was noted that as part of the process, the Code of Ethics of the Ministers Council would be adopted.
Ignacio Cartagena is the fourth and current president of the association. During his tenure, the process of seeking a closer link with the Ministers Council was explored and pursued with vigor. We met with the members of the Ministers Council in New Jersey, and with the cooperation and assistance from The Rev. Joe Gratzel and The Rev. Dee Dee Turlington and others, our association was in contact with Dr. Kate Harvey, Executive Director of the Ministers Council.
In light of our nexus to the Ministers Council and the wider participation we envisioned, it was proposed the title of the organization be modified from “Association” to “Council.” We heeded the guidelines proposed by the Council to “join the Ministers Council through your local constituent council,” which in our case referred to the ABCNJ council. It was decided the Latino council should receive dues from their membership. The dues would then be divided proportionately between the regional and national organizational dues.
The successful collaboration with the talents and enthusiasm of such a diverse group of leadership in ABCNJ finally birthed an organization from this long gestation period. The presidency of Rev. Ignacio Cartagena finally brought to fruition the dream long shared. On the 17th of May, 2008, a worship service of great joy and celebration marking the founding of La Organizacion Del Concilio De Ministros Latinos De New Jersey was held at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, with Dr. Lee Spitzer and Dr. Kate Harvey offering their congratulations and blessings to the gathered Latino pastors and their church members. The transition from dream to reality has been realized.
 |
 |
 |
The Rev. Dr. Darla Dee Turlington, Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Westfield, New Jersey, is Immediate Past President and Senator of ABCNJ Ministers Council and Senate Representative to the Executive Committee of the National Ministers Council. She values the diversity of the gathered American Baptist family and salutes the Ministers Council for finding ways to bind us together. |
The Rev. Dr. Darla Dee Turlington, Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Westfield, New Jersey, is Immediate Past President and Senator of ABCNJ Ministers Council and Senate Representative to the Executive Committee of the National Ministers Council. She values the diversity of the gathered American Baptist family and salutes the Ministers Council for finding ways to bind us together.
For as long as I have been an ordained ABC minister, I have noted and appreciated the presence of Hispanic brothers and sisters at ministerial gatherings of ABCNJ. They were, to varying degrees, bi-lingual, and they always accommodated the fact that I am not. Their camaraderie with one another was lively and full of laughter, and they readily shared it with all who cared to converse with them.
I knew they had an alternate place for professional association, the Latino Ministerial Association (LMA), which held meetings in Spanish. I was pleasantly surprised when in the spring of 2006, Rev. Ignacio Cartagena, President of the LMA, invited me, as the current President of the ABCNJ Ministers Council, to address the LMA about the Ministers Council and its benefits. I was pleased when the executive committee of LMA asked about becoming a constituent council.
My own executive committee discussed the idea and endorsed it, noting the concern that having a separate ethnic Council might further isolate our Hispanic colleagues. So we proposed an ABCNJ Latino Ministers Council would recruit members to three organizations simultaneously: Ministers Council ABC (national dues); Ministers Council ABCNJ (nominal dues); and the Ministers Council equivalent of LMA (with its own determination of dues).
The LMA needed only formal by-laws consistent with the purpose of the Ministers Council to meet the qualifications for a constituent council. They produced these in short order, and I took their request to be recognized to the MC Senate in August of 2007, where it was approved.
The officers of LMA received this news with joy and pledged continued recruitment of American Baptist Latino ministers in New Jersey, support of ABCNJ Ministers Council, and full participation in national Ministers Council.
They are true to their word. This year, the LMA has collected dues for national and regional Ministers Council, in addition to their own. Their executive committee met with ours to coordinate calendars. Some of their members continue to participate in ABCNJ MC events, with the same energy as always. Their president will be at Green Lake in August as their Senate representative. And we are planning a jointly sponsored workshop in the Fall, with the speakers’ outlines provided in Spanish.
Welcome on board, my friends! Bienvenidos, Latino Ministerial Association!