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Never say never. Life is such a mystery that sometimes what we least expect, what we least want, happens. Pastor Sonia Alvarado from Bethel Wesley United Methodist Church of Moline never imagined neither wanted to be a pastor or to be married to a pastor.
Maybe it was a joke that life played on her or maybe it was her destiny or it might have been God himself, but Sonia Alvarado is the head pastor of Bethel Wesley United Methodist Church in Moline and she is married to Julio Alvarado who is assistant pastor in the same church.
Both, Sonia and Julio Alvarado are from Guatemala. They met in Chicago, IL. Pastor Julio Alvarado knew nothing about the United Methodist church when he came to United States. One day one of his family members invited him to go to the United Methodist church. Who could have imagined that decision to go mass that day would’ve totally changed his life? It was in that church where he met Sonia. At that time she was not a pastor. She was the pastor’s daughter. She assured that she never wanted to be a pastor herself and not even marry one. Obviously, God had different plans for her.
En 1995 Julio Alvarado studied to be pastor. Sonia Alvarado started her studies a little bit later. In 1998 Julio Alvarado finished his studies and Sonia Alvarado finished her studies in 2001. Before coming to Quad Cities they were pastors in a church in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin Julio Alvarado was a head pastor and Sonia was assistant pastor. From July 1, 2009 Pastor Sonia Alvarado is the head pastor in Bethel Wesley United Methodist Church in Moline. They were invited to be pastors in this church because members of the church wish to have more Hispanics attending their church. “Since we are Latinos, Hispanics will not have fear to come to this church,” Pastor Julio Alvarado said. “Our church is open for everyone. We have a big heart for missions and we like to serve the community,” pastors Sonia and Julio said. They explained that they welcome anyone who is searching to discover their faith. In addition, both, Sonia and Julio, understand very well what is like to be an immigrant and they are more than willing to help all those who feel lonely in this country full of people.
This couple is very extraordinary. They share a lot more than simple spiritual help. Since they came here they started to make their plans for making the Hispanic community of Quad Cities better come true. In the Resource and Learning Center in Bethel Wesley United Methodist church one has the opportunity to learn English and even get a GED. The center provides babysitters for parents who study. Also, there are finance classes. During finance classes one will learn about how to manage their finances. The finance classes are in Spanish. In addition, pastors Sonia and Julio have a lot of plans for future. In the near future they plan to offer services in Spanish or bilingual. Also, they plan to organize a special program to help families who has low resources to help them with baby necessities (such as cribs, baby cloths, pampers, baby creams, etc). “We believe that if we help one family, later on they will help some other family that would be in need,” pastors Sonia and Julio explained. In summer of this year they are planning to have a welcome dinner for returning soldiers. These are just few of many ideas for making the Hispanic community better that pastors Sonia and Julio Alvarado have.
Life is full of surprises and usually what we least expect happens. Sonia Alvarado never imagined that she would be a head pastor in a church or that she would be married to a pastor herself.
Bethel Wesley United Methodist Church is at 1201 13th Street in Moline. For more information about English classes and finance classes please call (309) 764-0619 and ask for Pastor Sonia. The schedule of the services is at 9 am an informal and relaxed service with coffee and important message and at 10:30 am is traditional service (services are in English, but translator will be provided for those who do not speak English).
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