Mariachi San Pablo hold socially distanced rehearsals at Zion Lutheran Church

With so may people going virtual during this time of social distancing and working-from-home, Adelante Ministries worked tirelessly to continue offering its music classes and practices to those who participate.  For several months, Miguel Muñoz, guitarron and guitar teacher for Adelante Ministries, virtually met with a young high school student who plays guitarron with Mariachi San Pablo.

“We tried having the mariachi meet virtually for practice when the shut-downs first began in March,” Miguel shared several weeks after restrictions were put into place, “It wasn’t easy due to internet speed and such, so we went to meeting one on one virtually, which made a big difference.”

As restrictions changed, Mariachi San Pablo began meeting for social distance rehearsals at Zion Lutheran Church as autumn began.

“We took every precaution necessary,” Pastor Stephen Heimer (Zion Lutheran Church) explained the safety precautions taken, “From keeping the musicians six feet apart to wearing face masks and having hand sanitizer on hand.”

Miguel helps Gabby with counts for guitarron section

After months of virtual one-on-one practices, Mariachi San Pablo was able to gather four of their members to present for the installation service of Pastor Benito on October 4^th.  From playing favorites, such as “Alabaré” and “Castillo Fuerte”, they contributed to the festive atmosphere of this meaningful experience.

“It was a joy being able to play for Pastor Benito’s installation,” Pastor Stephen shared afterwards, having not only presented along with the mariachi, but also gave the message, “And it’s going to be a joy working alongside him to bring the Gospel to our congregations and communities of El Paso and Juarez.”

Throughout the service, Mariachi San Pablo maintained safety measures, from wearing facemasks specially made by one of the members, to keeping distance from each other and the congregation by staying at the back of the church.

As the music ministry at Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) continues to evolve in preparation for a new year, changes are being made as the LWML grant given to Adelante Ministries in February 2020 is being put to work.

Third office of the music building will be a recording studio with sound room

“We have done a lot of restructuring of our building spaces,” Rev. Dr. Karl Heimer, CEO of YLM and Senior Pastor at San Pablo Lutheran Church, explained regarding the physical changes taking place at YLM, “The best building to house the music ministry was our office building, so we moved our offices across the campus to what had once been an educational building.  We now have construction and renovations taking place at our old office building.”

The three large offices in what had been the Main Office are going through construction, with a sound room being framed in what will be a recording studio, and classroom space being made in the other two buildings.

“This is going to give us the space to grow the music ministry,” Miguel excitedly shared, “We’ll be able to record future resources, from CDs to education videos.  We’ll also be able to grow our educational opportunities and add instruments, such as piano, to what we currently offer.”

Exciting changes are taking place as Adelante Ministries prepares to continue sharing God’s Word through music!