Miguel Hernandez ’13, ’14 new Canon for Education in El Salvador
The Rev. Dr. Miguel A. Hernández, M.Div. 2013 and STM 2014, as well as a former member of the Alumni Executive Committee and adjunct professor of liturgical Spanish, was installed as Canon for Education in the Anglican Episcopal Diocese of El Salvador on August 27, 2022.
Hernández contributed to the formation of the Seminary in the Anglican Episcopal Diocese of El Salvador in 2017, and has been teaching at the Seminary since then. He also teaches at Caldwell University in New Jersey (2018 – present), and the New York Theological Seminary in the Doctor of Ministry Program (2020 - Present). Hernández has also taught at The Newark School of Theology as well as at General.
Born in El Salvador, Hernández continues to serve as the Priest-In-Charge of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in West Orange, NJ, where he celebrates masses in English and Spanish every Sunday. He has a passion for education and for finding ways to contribute to the well-being of his community. At Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, he teaches ESL classes, and he introduces children and young adults to God, Science, and Art in the summer program.
In the Diocese of Newark, Hernández has been part of the discernment committee for postulants seeking Ordination to the Priesthood and has taught Theological classes to students preparing for Ordination to the Diaconate. For a number of years, Hernández has served in the Commission of Latino / Hispanic Ministry and the Liturgy and Music Commission. In addition, he is an active member of the Gertrude Butts Scholarship Fund and has been supporting the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) for many years.
In the community, Hernández serves on the Board of the West Orange Hispanic Foundation and has served on the Human Relations Commission in West Orange, NJ. He is invited to speak on various issues affecting the community and as a translator.
Hernández was educated as an engineer at The City University of New York where he obtained an A.A.S. degree (1980) from the New York City College of Technology and a Bachelor of Technology degree (1982) from the City College of New York. Later on, he received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from NYU School of Engineering – previously Polytechnic University (1992). In 2012, Hernández retired after 27 years of experience as a Telecommunications Engineer with the title Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff (DMTS) from AT&T Bell Labs / Lucent Technologies / Alcatel-Lucent (now Nokia) to complete his theological studies and to be formed as a priest.
He received the Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Theological Seminary in May 2018. His project concentrated in the area of God and Science and involved creating an awareness campaign of the Water Quality in the West Orange community in NJ. In connection to this work, he has become a member of The Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease (CEED) Stakeholder Advisory Board at Rutgers University representing the community.