On Holy Thursday, in preparation for Easter Sunday, Pastor Augustine Delgado of New Beginnings Ministries Outreach washes the feet of a congregant.
“If your feet are not clean, then the whole body is dirty,” he explains to the assembly, quoting the Biblical explanation that Jesus provided to St. Peter, among disciples who denied Him on the eve of the crucifixion.
Next, he sheds his own two-tones and receives the symbolic ceremony. All are in need of redemption and salvation, he proclaims, even the pastor himself.
Delgado’s co-ministry spouse, Claudia, earlier outlined their mission during more than 22 years together.
The goal “is to be servants of service to one another,” she said. “No one is higher than anyone else.”
Churches across Saginaw and the nation are returning to full flow as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes and Easter arrives. New Beginnings, 701 Hess, will open its doors at 10 a.m. on the holy day, which Pastor Delgado prefers to note as “Resurrection Sunday” or “Passion Sunday” to avoid over-connecting with the commercial aspects.
Dad and Mom would take daughter Micaela and her older brother, Jacob, on Easter Egg hunts when they were little. Now Micaela looks forward to graduating from Bridgeport High School, her father’s alma mater, and joining her brother at SVSU, where she already has attained advanced credits.
At the same time, she still remains engaged as a partner in the New Beginnings mission. Faith-in-action includes a food and clothing pantry, starting with unloading trucks with her brother and then helping her mother organize the distribution, during some of the hours while her father is working as a DSS caseworker.
Then there are outdoor tent revivals, concerts, even boxing matches, all examples of the “Outreach” within the church name. Some patrons become congregants, although New Beginnings in no way pushes hardsell.
This Easter, the Delgados are thinking of a middle-aged man who passed away during the past year, who had been alone in life before they encountered him. They performed his memorial service and assisted with arrangements, as they have done so often that they have lost an exact count.
“Easter brings a sense of family, of unity,” Micaela says. “As a young adult, I think a lot about what family means.”
Her own family took shape when her father was closing his 15 years of Army service with a stint at Fort Hood, Texas. Augustine self-confesses to drinking too much, while Claudia was struggling with single motherhood after giving birth at age 16.
But there still was hope, which is foremost among their Easter themes. Claudia began to find faith after her decision not to abort, and a few years later was there to encourage Augustine in his quest to do better.
“I was lost and I was found,” Claudia quoted, moments before “Amazing Grace” was played on the New Beginnings sound system. “Easter is a time to reflect on God’s saving grace. There is someone greater than us who loves us.”
Her husband captivated congregants with his Holy Week lessons, but he also spoke his story of salvation in everyday terms.
“I never thought in my life,” he said, “that I would be in here, where I am, in a church on a Thursday night.”
Delgado has described his outlook this way: “We work with all sorts of different people here on the South Side, and if you are not for real, they can see right through you. I can’t take a sermon or an action out of thin air. I don’t want to lead any of them astray.”
Hailing from Texas, Claudia Delgado also conducts Spanish language services, 6 p.m. on Easter and on all Sundays.
