José S. Landaverde

Landaverde transferred to the Anglican Catholic Church that same year. In the summer of 2007, he opened up a closed bar in Little Village and remodeled it to become a Spanish-speaking Anglican Catholic mission in Illinois.

Amor De Dios United Methodist Church at the time of his ministry continued financially unstable, at times encouraging Landaverde to donate his paycheck to the church treasury. He expressed discontent toward the Conference, feeling that it left poor churches even more economically vulnerable. His frustration peaked at the criticism displayed by conservative Methodists who insisted that his theology was too "radical," or, conversely, Roman Catholic. The lack of support and resources from the Church inhibited many of his grassroots projects. Finally, in 2006 he retired from his position in the Methodist Church, leaving a trusted lay member, Ramiro Rodríguez, in charge.

Landaverde was known for his grassroots organizing, particularly concerning immigrants' and workers' rights, being the first to popularize the new sanctuary movement in Illinois. He housed immigrants in danger of deportation, most notably Elvira Arellano in 2004, before she took refuge in Adalberto United Methodist church in Humboldt Park in August 2006. He worked with the day laborers of Home Depot and sent truckloads of provisions to New Orleans in 2005 and donated toys and supplies to Tabasco, México in Christmas of 2007.

As he was obtaining his master's, the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church appointed him as a pastor in Amor De Dios United Methodist Church in July 2003. One of Landaverde's main goals was to promote ecumenicism by merging the gap between the Roman Catholicism of Little Village and Protestantism, inspired by the example of John Wesley, the founder of United Methodism.

Upon seeing what he perceived as injustices perpetuated against Latinos in the United States, particularly undocumented immigrants, day laborers, and those working in temporary agencies, he began working with grassroots organizations to reach out to the exploited community. His leadership led him to co-found the Latino Union in May 2000 in Chicago, Illinois.