En Camino Con La Comunidad
In partnership with La Sagrada Familia Lutheran Church in Langley Park, MD
En Camino Program
Who we are:
Every Wednesday during the semester, vans of University volunteers go to Langley Park, where University students tutor and mentor elementary school children (pre-k to 6th grade) for several hours. Volunteers help the children with homework, reading, workbooks, crafts and games.
Why do we do this?
Langley Park, MD is one of the most densely populated and crime ridden locations in the DC area. Children here are at high risk for gang violence, substance abuse, and teen pregnancy. By forming relationships with university students, we hope that these children will gain positive role models and look to education as a solution. Furthermore, many of the children in Langley Park are first or second generation immigrants from Central America. Their parents may work extra hours and therefore are not able to help with homework, or they may not read or speak English, making it difficult for them to work with their children on developing reading and writing. It is critical for these kids to get practice working on their academic skills with an adult.
What’s in a name?
En Camino Con La Communidad means “walking with the community”, or “on a journey with the community”. The University of Maryland community has been invited into the life of the children and community of Langley Park. This journey is one of accompaniment, and in doing so this provides an opportunity for everyone to be transformed.
Is En Camino a religious program?
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As Lutherans, we do En Camino because of a deep sense of God’s Call to love and serve our neighbor. We believe that every person, regardless of religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., is a beloved child of God. By our actions and by the way we love others, we hope that everyone will know and experience that deep unconditional love that comes from God. While the En Camino is put on by Lutheran Campus Ministry, there is no religious instruction involved in En Camino, and volunteers do not need to have a certain religious orientation to participate or contribute to the program. In this way, we can engage a large spectrum of people in this experience of caring.
The Latino Ministry in Langley Park
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La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) Lutheran Church in Langley Park, MD is a mission project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with over ten years of experience in accompanying the Latino community of Langley Park in defending housing rights of apartment dwellers, improving educational opportunities for children, creating jobs and providing legal counsel on immigration issues.
For more information about En Camino, contact us at lutheran@umd.edu