SAN ANTONIO – The Oakland Estates community is home to a rich mix of cultures, making its diversity extend beyond just the people. This cut-out of the city is made up of a variety of faiths.
“No matter who a person is, they are created in the image of God and deserves to be treated with that respect,” House of Prayer Lutheran Church Pastor Sandra Leifeste said. “Regardless of what faith they follow or the color of their skin or where they came from, everyone is created in the image of God.”
Leifeste has been the pastor of her church in the Medical Center for 14 years.
Her church has served residents of the Oakland Estates since it was built 50 years ago.
“There wasn’t a Lutheran church in this area and this was the edge of the city at the time,” she said. “They were originally on the outskirts but wanted to be where the new growth that was happening.”
That story is similar to the history of the Oxford United Methodist Church, located near other faith-based churches.
When Pastor Patrick Jackson was appointed to serve in this location, he immediately saw the diverse culture of the community.
“Since the movement of people in the area and San Antonio, and in the Medical Center, our church responded with, ‘We have to look like the neighborhood around us and if we don’t, we are not representing the Gospel as it should be,” Jackson said. “We have a high population of Indian families, Hispanic families, African American families. We see other churches like San Antonio Family Fellowship, an Indian non-denomination church, and an African Episcopal Church that meets on our campus.”
In the spring, Jackson saw another opportunity to expand his service by partnering with Pastor Johnny Ortiz of Catalyst Church, a bilingual congregation.
Ortiz was searching for a place to build his church community and was blessed with the Oxford United Methodist campus.
“We are from different traditions and different cultures with different faith traditions, but we share the same goal of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the entire world,” Jackson said.
“In our bilingual congregation, there is a multicultural element as well,” Ortiz said. “We have Hispanics from Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Anglo, but more than anything, our biggest area is the foster care community.”
Surrounding the House of Prayer Lutheran and Oxford churches are different religious organizations.
There are a number of Christian, Catholic and non-denominational churches. There are also Jewish synagogues, Sikh temples, Muslim mosques, Buddhist congregations and more.
Leifeste believes these faith-based groups gather in the Oakland Estates for multiple reasons.
“Part of it would be the Medical Center,” Leifeste said. “A lot of people who work in the medical industry would want to live near where they work. That brings in many different people from doctors to wonderful people who clean the rooms. But also because a lot of time people move into an area when they have health issues and they want to be close to the Medical Center where they would be getting their treatments. Also, there is affordable housing.”
She said this area also receives refugees, which is where the church steps in to help when needed.
“We have become a place where Catholic Charities uses our facility to teach English classes or work training to our newest neighbors to get them settled and adapted to community and get them set up to be self-sufficient,” Leifeste said.
This is also why they started a community garden 13 years ago.
They named it Cielo which translates to heaven in Spanish. Cielo also serves as an acronym for Community, Interfaith, Education, Learning and Opportunity.
“This allows the gardeners to create their gardens,” Leifeste said. “Many of them raised and grew their own food in their countries, so this gave them a way to continue their garden here and put healthy food on the table.”
Leifeste said it is also another source of education.
Even though not all houses of worship have a community garden like Cielo, the major takeaway is for churches, no matter what the faith may be, to serve as a home away from home.
“A lot of people come from other countries that don’t have family here and I can say the church is one of those places you can have community and family,” Ortiz said.
“The church has responded to offer diverse things for people to worship inside cultural experiences,” Jackson said. “The church has responded with, ‘Hey, you want to worship? There is something here that will help you feel comfortable.’”
You can watch the Oakland Estates “Know My Neighborhood” episode on KSAT.com, free on KSAT Plus, KSAT’s YouTube page, and all other KSAT digital platforms.
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