April 6, 2006

Hispanic leaders in the United Church of Christ are expressing "deep sadness and disappointment" that the UCC's newest TV ad has been rejected by Telemundo and Univision, two widely-popular, Spanish-language networks that reach nearly 100 percent of U.S. Hispanic households.

A Spanish version of the UCC's 30-second commercial, known as "ejector" (viewed at http://www.stillspeaking.com/default-s.htm), was turned down on March 30 by NBC Universal, a family of broadcast and cable networks that includes Telemundo. A separate company, Univision – which also owns the Telefutura and Galavision networks – similarly rejected the UCC's ad on the same day.

NBC calls the ad "political," apparently because it emphasizes the church's welcome of groups of persons that, church leaders say, have experienced rejection from organized religion, such as persons of color, persons with disabilities, and gay and lesbian persons. Univision provided no specific reason for rejecting the ad, but did say the decision came after "comprehensive review."

The rejections effectively leave the 1.3-million-member church with no Spanish-language TV alternatives, even though the church is now putting together a run on much-smaller Hispanic channels. In an April 2 article on Univision's impact on the Hispanic market, the Los Angeles Times described it as "the no-brainer choice for ad buyers."

The Rev. Persida Mendez, pastor of Iglesia Nueva Esperanza UCC in East Hartford, Conn., and national president of the UCC's Council for Hispanic Ministries, characterizes the networks' decisions as a "significant step backward" for the UCC's attempt to spread its message of "extravagant welcome" within the Hispanic community.

"We've been asking for advertising in Spanish from the [UCC's] national setting and, now, it's been rejected," Mendez says.

The Rev. Linda Jaramillo, executive minister of the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries and the first Hispanic member of UCC's five-person national Collegium of Officers, says the Spanish-language version of the ad was developed specifically to address concerns raised by the UCC's Hispanic Ministries Implementation Team, a national-local partnership committed to strengthening Hispanic ministry throughout the UCC. Last year, HMIT sent "clear word" to the UCC's Stillspeaking Initiative that it should bolster the evangelism campaign's outreach to Spanish-speaking persons.

"The Spanish-language community in the UCC has been really challenging the church to address the language issue, not only through resources but also through the messages we use to invite people," Jaramillo said. "As a bilingual person myself, I am always moved when an organization respects the language differences."

Jaramillo said the TV networks' decisions only serve to reinforce the "myth that all Hispanics are Catholics." While many are, she said, many are not. And a great number have no regular religious affiliation whatsoever.

"The real point is that there are many people who are unchurched," Jaramillo said, "and Spanish-language people should be able to expect that a range of information is available that enables them to make decisions about their lives – be it spiritually, politically, commercially, whatever. We depend on Spanish-language media for our messages."

Mendez says her church's membership was once primarily Puerto Rican, but now she's welcoming an increasing number of persons from Central and South America. That's why she views the ad-rejection issue through the lens of the national immigration debate.

"At a time when the government is calling people ‘illegal,' this advertisement is calling for churches to welcome everyone, to be a place where people feel safe, where people can connect spiritually with God and each other," she said.

"I had a Peruvian woman come to my worship service and we had testimony time," Mendez remembers. "She said, ‘This is the first church where I ever felt welcomed.'

"So it's the feeling people get when they walk into a place that can tell them whether or not they're welcome here. If a person walks into that sanctuary and feels the rejection in the air, they'll leave and never come back."

Peter Barbosa, a member of First Congregational UCC in Oakland, Calif., who is chairing a new UCC scholarship fund to assist Hispanic seminarians, characterized his reaction as one of "deep sadness and disappointment."

"At a time when so many people are afraid and nervous, with so many facing drastic changes in their life, they could use what Christianity has to offer, but the TV stations are choosing to block that opportunity," Barbosa said.

Latinos have experienced much discrimination in the United States, he believes, and the Christian church, at times, has been part of the problem.

"[The UCC's ad] could not have come at a more relevant time for the Latino community. The [immigration] laws that are being proposed are nothing more than added rejection, added negativity, added discrimination," Barbosa says. "And then we have a religious organization with a message of such inclusiveness, of such welcomeness, and these stations – with the control and the power they have – are choosing to block that message."

The Cleveland-based United Church of Christ has 1.3-million members in 5,725 churches in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It was formed in 1957 with the union of the Congregational Christian Churches in America and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

United Church of Christ