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A service to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month will be held Sunday, Oct. 12, at 5 p.m. at Hughes UMC in Wheaton.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, is taking on additional significance within the Baltimore-Washington Conference, as the Latino population grows.

The Frederick region has, per capita, the fourth largest Hispanic community in the United States, said the Rev. Edgardo Rivera, a Guide in the Baltimore region.

Increasingly non-Hispanic congregations are beginning to do meaningful ministries with the Latino community, Rivera said, a trend he hopes will continue.

During the weekend of Sept. 20, United Methodists involved in several Hispanic/Latino ministries gathered at West River camp for a retreat. The theme was "Derramados para Servir" or "Poured out to Serve."

"It was a great time of spiritual reflection and fellowship where we joined together to look into the near future with hope to make inroads in service to the Hispanic/Latino communities within our conference borders and beyond," Rivera said.

The speakers for the event were the Revs. Gary Garay and his wife, Amparo Garay, from Florida.

For more information about how your cong-regation can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, visit http://www.gbod.org/worship/hispres.html.