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Soccer Chaplains United Add Chaplain to Rio Grande Valley, TX

We are pleased to announce the addition of a chaplain to serve the Rio Grande Valley Toros FC of McAllen, Texas. Isidro Piña, a local minister in the Edinburg/McAllen, Texas area, has been patiently waiting for the chaplaincy opportunity to develop. We met Isidro, last August, and began a conversation about possibly serving the club.

Isidro becomes the 11th chaplain to serve with Soccer Chaplains United and came via a recommendation from Chaplain Cesar Duran. You can read more about Isidro on his bio page here.

Isidro will work to develop relationships and trust in this new role. When I asked him to say something about coming onto Soccer Chaplains United, he shared the following:

I felt privileged when I received the invitation to join Soccer Chaplains United and to serve our local soccer team, the Toros in their spiritual needs.  I am sure our journey together will be exciting but above all, it will be a blessing.

One of Isidro’s passions is running.

The Toros play in the United Soccer League which currently is the second division of soccer in North America. They are in the Western Conference and face other teams including the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and Portland Timbers 2. The Toros also maintain an affiliation with the Houston Dynamo and exchange players during the season for fitness and playing time opportunities.

I had a chance to meet with the Toros head coach when the team was in Colorado a few weeks ago to discuss getting the chaplaincy started. One of the primary important qualities of the chaplain that the coach and team expressed was the need for the chaplain to have bilingual ability (in Spanish) given the needs of the local community and many of the players that come through the Toros team. We’re excited to find a pastor and chaplain candidate that met so many of the Soccer Chaplains United standards, including Clinical Pastoral Education and training.

Please pray for Isidro and his wife, Blanca, as they begin this new work.

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