One is Anglican. Several are Baptists. Another is a Methodist.

They don't want to transfer their membership or leave their home church behind. But they do feel the need to come together once a month to pray, talk and support one another -- in English and Spanish.

These men and women are part of a new effort called "Reino Hoy," or Kingdom Now, a traveling fellowship that holds services at a different Durham location on the last Sunday of each month. Its core group of 10 to 15 people want to minister to the region's growing Hispanic community by living out Jesus' call to love one another.

The Rev. José Luis Villaseñor, the group's leader, began the fellowship a year ago out of a desire to bring a "united witness" to the Hispanic community -- one that transcends race or denomination.

"Latinos know this home," said Villaseñor, who also serves as pastor of Latino ministries at Apex United Methodist Church. "But it doesn't feel like it."

The group's racially, ethnically and religiously diverse members have seen the challenges many new immigrants face in this country, and they are determined to do something about it. Reino Hoy's guiding principle is "radical hospitality."

So far the group has worshipped alongside such different groups as White Rock Baptist, a mostly African-American congregation, and Watts Street Baptist, a mostly white, liberal congregation.

Villaseñor isn't worried that the group doesn't have a home or a clearly laid-out road map.

"Jesus went where the need was," Villaseñor said. "He wasn't about starting a program."

Surveys show that up to 70 percent of Hispanics are Roman Catholic. In Durham, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church has welcomed Hispanic believers with two Sunday Masses in Spanish and a variety of programs. They, in turn, have expanded the church's rolls, making it the city's largest congregation, with 2,300 households, or about 6,000 people, of which 450 households are Hispanic. Many other Hispanics come to Mass but never register.

But Hispanics who define themselves as Protestant are scattered in a variety of smaller churches, where they number a few dozen at most. Even churches that are open to Hispanics have responded with small gestures rather than extended arms.

"Hiring a pastor and saying, 'Go deal with the Hispanics,' this is not evangelism or community building," said Roger Velasquez, a chaplain at Duke Hospital and a Reino Hoy participant, referring to the practice at some churches of segregating Hispanics under a Spanish-speaking pastor.

Velasquez says church members should welcome Hispanics into their homes and learn a few expressions in Spanish to make them feel welcome. He relates a story of a Hispanic man who cried when he was served dinner in the home of a local family -- an experience the man had never had.

Many churches aren't even open to welcoming Hispanics. Five years ago, the Rev. Maggie Crandall led a church of mostly elderly people in a small town outside Durham. When she invited a group of poor and mostly illiterate Hispanic families from a nearby housing development to attend her church, the congregation's leaders locked the doors and changed the key.

"It never crossed my mind I was supposed to limit hospitality," Crandall said.

She now preaches on occasion but wants to do more to help the state's growing Hispanic community. Fluent in Spanish, she signed up to be a a part of Reino Hoy.

Worshipping alongside different churches is one way of breaking down stereotypes.

"It's a sacred space where people can strip down fears that set us apart and clothe ourselves with the things that make us the same," said Betsy Divers, one of the leaders at Reino Hoy.

Over the past year, Reino Hoy has also invited the city's Hispanic pastors to meet with Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez. And it partnered with White Rock to offer computer classes for families that don't have them.

At Sunday's prayer gathering, a smaller than usual group met to confess their own prejudices. Velasquez spoke of the difficulty he had with some U.S. citizens.

"How do I express love to Mr. Bizzell?" asked Velasquez, referring to Johnston County sheriff Steve Bizzell, who called Hispanics "trashy" in a newspaper article.

For many in the group, the attitudes of fellow U.S. citizens toward illegal immigration is a source of anxiety. The group wants to work outside formal avenues to show love and compassion to Hispanics.

"I'm interested in breaking down barriers and being a witness to the spirit of Christ in the world," said David Sweeney, a lay member of St. George's Anglican Church in Raleigh and member of Reino Hoy. Sweeney traveled to El Salvador on a mission trip last summer and has been trying to learn Spanish.

He said he's open to whatever journey Reino Hoy might take him on.

"I want to help where I can," he said.

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