Q & A

In the fall, Vanguard University welcomed Jesse Miranda to its campus.

Miranda is in charge of the Center for Urban Studies and Ethnic

Leadership, a new program at the school that seeks to build relationships

between the school, churches and the community. He also is a leader of

the Christian Latino community in the country.

The following is the second part of Miranda’s conversation with Pilot

City Editor S.J. Cahn.

Do you agree with President Bush’s plan to support with federal

money faith-based charities and volunteerism?

The fear is . . . there’s two fears. The fear that the church has is

the control of the state, and the church fears that involvement. So

that’s important, for the church is recovering, I think, something that

it’s needed in a long time -- the public dimensions of its faith. Too

many churches are in communities where they remain in the four walls of

the church, and their community is deteriorating. So I think that what

you’re hearing now is a good sign that there’s a recovery of the public

dimension of faith. And for the state, I think the fear is, frankly, I

think the fear of the religious right of extremism. And it’s overreacting

because not everybody is in that position. Religious covers more, and a

lot of times people know very little about religion. The churches aren’t

the center of the town that they used to be. And because people don’t

know about the church, they don’t know how heterogeneous it is, that it’s

so diverse. In fact, there’s infighting among religious groups and

competition. So it’s not like they’re going to gang up on the state and

do it because within them, human beings have diverse ways of thinking and

expressing their faith. So I think those are some of the issues that are

right now making it controversial.

With or without federal money, what role do you see for such work

in Newport-Mesa?

Through our center, we would hope that we would inform and educate,

and that we’d be close to the office in Washington, D.C. I know the

people heading it, and I would want us to be informed and not jump -- and

keep our people from overcommitting or not taking advantage. I think we

love Costa Mesa, that if it’s for the good, we should go for it for the

sake of the people and the community and the church. But basically, what

it is is that the university and the church are stressing two biblical

truths, very important within: The Great Commission, to go and preach the

Gospel to others, and the second half of the Great Commandment, love thy

neighbor as thyself. I think that that’s the bottom line of what we want

--as a university and our churches -- that the community hear loud and

clear that everyone needs to be included: the poor and the rich,

regardless of color, regardless of class and economic status -- that’s a

commission by our Lord. And the commandment is to love our neighbor.

We have, sometimes, no choice who our neighbor is, but we do have a

choice to communicate with them. They don’t have to be community. We can

be in communion without being community. Because community work could

change people to all look alike. Communion respects differences. And

that’s the problem that sometimes these prejudice and problems take

place.

What impression of the Newport-Mesa community have you had so far?

It is interesting how you put them together in the name. And yet

coming from Hacienda Heights and looking at it -- what a stark contrast.

Just physically look at the contrast between one community and the other.

However, the second impression that I’ve gotten since September here, as

I’ve gotten in and I’ve spent a lot of time in the streets and with

people, is the large number of eager and charitable people. So I see the

buildings and I see the contrast, but then I found and I see the heart

and the generosity of people.

Just [last month], we had 50 leaders from churches from the area --

very prestigious, wealthy churches -- to say how can we help, and they

took their lunch hour to come and listen to what is this center all

about. [They say], “How can we help you?” And I say, “How can you help

yourselves to help others.” I’m going to have a meeting with Latino

pastors and these leaders, sit down with them and to dialogue with them.

So, I’m encouraged; I’m really encouraged to see the people. What I saw

is hope with meetings because I had a small meeting. And they said, “You

know what, this is good, let’s tell others.” And the 10, 15 brought 50.

It reminds me of the words of Saint Augustine, who said, “Hope has two

beautiful daughters. One is anger for how things are, and courage to

change the things from what they are to what they should be.” And that’s

what I see in people. But I see an uneasiness in some of them, an eager,

“Let’s get aboard; tell us what we can do together.”

I mean the phone is constantly ringing, “Jesse, how can we help?”

Overwhelming. That’s a good word. Philippians 1:6 says, “He that began

the good work in you will perfect it.” I think that’s what’s happened. A

good work has begun already, I’m just coming to perfect that and move it

on. The people are the experts -- not us. We’re coming to bring people

together. [At our meeting,] there were people [who said,] “You mean,

you’re doing that and we’re doing this?” You know, helping schools,

helping the homeless, HIV. Everybody here being within the family of the

religious churches, and yet one doesn’t know what the other one’s doing.

But you see the synergy when we bring them together.

And really I think, my impression, my feeling toward this area is that

I think it’s a laboratory to create a model that can be duplicated in the

rest of the country. The dynamics are here, the people, and it’s so

clearly what many communities look like. I’d like to see the Hispanic

community have a beautiful group of professionals; and yet you have West

Costa Mesa, new immigrants, Hispanic. How can I get the gifts and skills

of these to come over and to help these others. I think there’s just a

real potential. The university is very open to let me create and innovate

what we’re doing. So, that’s it.