Who we are

ABOUT BETHEL AND OUR LATINO MINISTRIES The Latino Ministries of Bethel Lutheran Church, is another way to serve our community. Bethel has many ministries and many forms and styles of worship. We dedicate our time, talents and resources to minister to our Latino people in our community. The best way to introduce ourselves to Latinos who don't know much about Lutheranism is that we are part of a movement of catholic reformation. Clarifying that we are not part of the Roman-Catholic church body, and we are not under the jurisdiction of the Vatican. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we keep an ecumenical and cordial relationship with them. However, we have a catholic faith, due to our creeds. We are indeed part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. We are affiliated to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We believe in Father, Son and Holy Spirit; we honor the memory of the saints and of the Virgin Mary. We respect popular religiosity as part of identity and as a process of spiritual development towards a better life. We also have an evangelical message, however, our message is not like some Christian fundamentalist groups focusing only on the individual experience of conversion. We believe that God is the One who comes to us through God's Word and Sacraments. We maintain that our focus is on God's grace and love for us, and Christ is the One who makes possible our relationship with Him. Our faith moves us to action, as a response to God's love and salvation unworthily received. We understand that the church is an agent of Christ, as He manifests his saving work to the world, and that that is not a simple individual experience

ABOUT PASTOR PEDRO SUAREZ AND HIS FAMILY Pastor Pedro Suárez was born and raised in Venezuela, South America. He studied his undergraduate studies at SEA, an interdenominational seminary in Maracay, Venezuela. His first call was in 1980 to serve as a missionary with an international broadcasting ministry, Trans World Radio (TWR) International in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. The following year he married Aura Celis who joined him at Bonaire. Their first child, Rafael, was born there in 1985, and that same year he was transferred to lead the TWR branch in Venezuela. In 1987 a daughter, Melinda, was born in Maracay. They relocated to Chicago, IL in 1990 for both to study for masters degrees at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. After ordination as a Lutheran Pastor in 1992, Rev. Suárez received a call to St. Mary's Hope Lutheran Church in Chicago. In 1995 he was called to develop a Latino Ministry in Aurora, IL, (now St. Francis Lutheran Church) and to begin a Latino Ministry at St. Andrew's Lutheran in West Chicago. In July of 2002 Pastor Suárez was called to Bethel Lutheran Church to develop a Latino Ministry here. Bethel's first Latino worship service was held on Sunday, October 6, 2002. Pastor Suárez is fluent in English, Spanish , and Papiamentu, the language of the Netherlands Antilles. His wife Aura studied Education at a college in Venezuela, and as they moved to USA she also graduated from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies, concentrating in Pastoral Care for Latino Families. Aura is currently serving as the Assistant for Pastor Suarez, coordinating the Latino Ministries. Pastor Suarez says: "Our wish is to serve God, our community, and you. Christ called us to live abundant lives in the midst of any circumstances. We are committed to have our church be a place free of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse for us, and our children. We want to promote responsibility, dignity, and respect for all, empowering to live lives of positive, compassionate, and progressive power. Thanks for visiting our web page and we invite you to participate in a real, enriching and transforming experience through Jesus Christ in our church."