[Episcopal News Service] For the Rev. Nancy Frausto’s students at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin a trip to the Texas-Mexico border is a standard part of the curriculum.
“We go, so they can learn about border ministry and immigrants firsthand,” said Frausto, 37, the seminary’s director of Latinx Studies.
Born in Mexico, Frausto crossed the border with her parents at 7 and grew up in Los Angeles. She is the first and only Episcopal priest to have benefited from the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Her ministry and student instruction focus on pastoral care and healing racial trauma.
“Part of my healing has been to come to terms with trauma and not be held captive by it,” Frausto told Episcopal News Service. “It is important to acknowledge trauma, whether you’re a first- or fourth-generation Latino in this country. It’s okay to let go and heal without feeling guilt for the sacrifice that was made by our parents. This is a message of hope.”
Frausto is one of five “Women of Distinction,” being honored by the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing during Women’s History Month. Each week throughout March the Atlanta-based center will highlight a woman, chosen for “grace, grit and a courageous commitment to dismantling racism and advocating for wellness,” on its website, according to Catherine Meeks, executive director.
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