The words of Mordecai to Queen Esther ring true in the life and ministry of Guillermo Marquez-Sterling, leading him to the Church of the Red Rocks. “Who knows, but you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this,” citing Esther 4:14. It is as though all of Guillermo’s pilgrimage was leading relentlessly to Arizona’s Red Rock country and the Verde Valley.
Guillermo was born in Miami, Florida, to parents who fled Cuba when Fidel Castro took over the government there in 1959. His maternal family eventually started a small business and settled in Puerto Rico. His father pursued a career in higher education in the States.
Reflecting on his childhood, Guillermo noted that he grew up in a poor neighborhood, yet his mother wanted him and his brother to speak English without an accent, so she enrolled them in an English-speaking school. When his father became a Professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, he spent idyllic summer days there. He experienced the differences between the culture of the heartland of America and the island culture of Puerto Rico.
Paramount was his parents’ emphasis on education, which nurtured his love of literature. After graduating from Seminary, Guillermo’s first congregation was a new church plant serving Hispanic farm workers and their families, a time when he experienced cultural tensions and witnessed injustices. These experiences were preparation for ministry in a multicultural world during challenging and ever-changing times.
In his autobiography, he shared, “I am passionate about integrating our faith into our daily lives so that faith is not a rote tradition but a way of being; and about creativity as an instrument of the Holy Spirit to transform people’s lives and the community. I am passionate about extending God’s love to everyone and forming meaningful relationships. I am passionate about interpreting scripture so that it is relevant and meaningful to every member of our community and the Church. I am passionate about creating God’s peaceable kingdom by addressing the systemic injustices that keep people from living their lives with dignity, enjoying all the abundant blessings in our lives, and sharing them with those we love.” We are seeing Guillermo’s passions come to life!
Our congregation unanimously selected the Rev. Dr. Guillermo Márquez-Sterling following an extensive national search process of the United Church of Christ. Pastor Márquez-Sterling came from the Pass-A-Grille Community Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. Pastor Guillermo’s official installation as settled pastor of the Church of the Red Rocks is January 19th at 2:30 p.m. I encourage every member and friend to attend, and we will demonstrate our commitment to supporting his ministry as our pastor! Unable to attend, please send a congratulatory card.
