|
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
[Back to index of May articles] Sowing the seed for a service in Spanish By Lucy Chumbley A janitor. A bridegroom. A joyful celebration. This is how a new Latino congregation that has been gathering to worship at St. Stephen and the Incarnation since early March was born and began to blossom. The fertile ground The area is multi-ethnic with a large Latino population and the congregation, which boasts about 140 active members, is similarly diverse. The church has ample space, including a dining room and an auditorium that all kinds of community groups use for a variety of functions. And the church has Pedro Saravia, a Latino janitor, or in Episcopal parlance, a sexton. The janitor Saravia is a neighborhood resident, and "his presence was accompanied by an increasing use [of the church's facilities] by people from the Latino community," Dunn said. Members of the local Latino community began to reserve the church's space for celebrations such as Quinceaneras - 15th birthday parties - and wedding receptions. But the solemn side of these celebrations was sometimes missing. "When people found out from Pedro that I was willing and able to celebrate these things, they began to ask me to perform Quinceaneras, a baptism, a home blessing - that sort of thing," Dunn said. He could have left it at that, but the seed had already started to unfurl. Preparing the way "One of the things he did very well was making sure the vestry wanted to go for it," Bautista said. "I do believe that he followed the right steps." Those steps, according to Bautista, were ensuring that the people of St. Stephen's were willing to reach out, securing the support of the vestry, joining the diocese's Latino Ministry Committee, exploring the prospect with the diocese's Latino Missioner (Bautista) and presenting a proposal to the committee and Bishop John Bryson Chane. "If the vestry doesn't support it, the ministry will last only as long as the priest is there," Bautista explained. Dunn's proposal enabled the church to secure a $25,000 grant from the Latino Ministry Committee, which made it possible to hire the Rev. Sarabeth Goodwin, a bilingual priest. Goodwin began work as the church's Latino Minister in January, and immediately began to put out the word about the church's desire to start a Spanish-language service. "It's a slow process, planting something," Goodwin said. "But this has happened more quickly than I thought." The bridegroom "He was looking for something to dedicate his time to and said he wanted to be part of this effort," Goodwin said. "He brought eight people to an initial meeting." Goodwin had settled on Palm Sunday as the date to begin the Spanish service, but Perez and his grupo semilla - seed group - were anxious to start sooner. So at 5 p.m. March 5 - a month ahead of schedule - 25 people gathered at St. Stephen's for the church's first regular Spanish service. "It was very exciting," Goodwin said. "We had a choir and a musician from a local Roman Catholic church that has also been involved in the diocesan ministry." "I was very eager to participate in a religious service," Perez wrote in the St. Stephen's newsletter. "In the beginning, I felt nervous, but as the choir sang and the entrance hymn unfolded, I was infected by this happiness that happens when one sings religious songs." The joyful celebration It has been well attended so far, attracting an average of 20 people each week, Dunn said, "which to my mind is pretty doggone good." Goodwin has been handing out fliers in an attempt to spread the word about the service, and the church recently erected a sign in Spanish advertising the Joyful Mass. The congregation already has its own musician, a Bolivian who plays guitar and an electronic mixer, and a regular choir of six women from El Salvador. "It's going to be uneven," Dunn said of the congregation's growth, but "things have been extraordinarily and surprisingly well attended. There's been a lot of enthusiasm." Coming of age "For many, the Eucharist is the hurdle they jump over before they get to the party," she said, explaining that the coming of age celebration includes a renewal of baptismal vows. Before the Quinceanera, she meets with the family to talk about the religious significance of the occasion, and encourages them to attend services for the month before the event. "It's very moving how [the Misa Alegría] has enabled some people to come back to the church," she said. "Many people who have felt estranged from the Roman Catholic tradition have felt welcome." As a result of these pre-Quinceanera meetings, a group of girls has already expressed interest in forming a youth group, Goodwin said. Some have expressed an interest in serving at the altar, others in learning to arrange the church flowers. "There are all sorts of possibilities that we haven't really plumbed yet, but I think as the congregation stabilizes and grows, those will be natural developments," she said. Whatever it grows into, this new congregation is rooted in its commitment to be a welcoming place where people can worship in their common tongue, Goodwin said. "We hope it will be a community where people will find some identity, where they will be accepted regardless of status, and where they will get to know each other," Bautista said. [Back to index of May articles]
|
|
||||||||||
