The Love Shines Through - en espanol!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried to provide an overview of the many different ministries that make up this vibrant parish community. One of my primary reasons for living and working at St. Anne’s has been to live and to be part of the Spanish community that is so alive here.

Since my first night here in June, I have never failed to feel welcomed and accepted by the entire parish, in general, and specifically the Spanish community. From my first attempts at speaking Spanish at Mass (O Dios mio!) to welcoming me as part of the assembly at Mass, to speaking slowly so I could understand to taking the time to explain different practices, expressions and experiences, this community has shown me nothing but acceptance, love, understanding and compassion – and inspire me to do the same.

St. Anne’s is an active multicultural parish. The English, Spanish and Haitian communities both work to support their individual communities and work for the good of the whole parish. Padre Gonzalo oversees many of the works and ministries of the Spanish community at St. Anne’s. There are so many dedicated ministers and volunteers who lead different aspects of the community. Masses are celebrated in Spanish on Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 9:30 A.M. and during the week on Thursdays at 7:30 P.M. I have tried to attend as many of these liturgies as possible. It is not only a matter of language acquisition but joining in spirit-filled and energizing experiences of prayer and worship.

In addition, there are many services and ministries for the community. There is a huge youth group that meets every Friday night. The young people are true witnesses – serving in the community and gathering for time away to support and challenge one another. There are numerous prayer groups for the Spanish community and tremendous outreach is made to invite many to receive the sacraments.

In addition to all of this, there is great effort made to serve those who come to the parish from different parts of the world. They come with a tremendous humility and work ethic, a desire to contribute and to never feel as if they are a burden. Working at St. Anne’s has made me even more empathetic towards the plight of the immigrant. Many in the Spanish community at St. Anne’s have immigrated to the United States in recent years. They have come in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. Most times, there movement to the United States is a desire for safety, a need to support family who remain in their home country or a hope for something greater in America. Our Church has an incredible support for the immigrant – the documented and those without documents. You can read more about the Church’s efforts here and here. (Our own diocese has a Spanish newspaper that can be accessed onlne here.)

I have learned so much about ministry, service and life living here at St. Anne’s. Having the chance to be even a small part of the Spanish community has made a great difference. I’m surely a better person because of it.

Reaching Out in Love with Outreach

As we continue in the month of August, I have tried to reflect about my opportunity to be involved in a number of ministries at St. Anne’s. Like many parishes, St. Anne’s has a vital and powerful Parish Outreach that serves the local community of Brentwood – and what a service it is!

Outreach is a ministry that is unique to each parish, particularly on Long Island. Each community, like each family, has different needs and therefore requires different methods and ways to serve the community. As I’ve written before, the community of St. Anne’s is a generous and life-giving one. At the same time, there is great need here among a diversity of peoples.

Outreach here is presently coordinated by a strong, core group of volunteers. They operate every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to assist those who come to the door. Many times clients will come for the basic of needs – food for themselves and their family. Yet, that is only the beginning and often serves as “opening” to find out about additional needs and to learn about the ways the parish can help and assist them. No one comes and is simply pushed along to the food pantry. Rather, they are invited in, met with a sense of welcome and compassion and invited to share whatever concerns and needs they may have. This can range from assistance with immigration paperwork, a need for support in confronting situations of injustice or violence or helping those without shelter to find a place to stay for a night or two.

The volunteers here work so hard to respect the dignity of those who seek help and support. They have learned new languages to better communicate, discovered and provided connections to community resources and built up the spirit of each client. That’s important for in many cases it is so hard for someone to come forward and seek that support. How hard it is for any one of us to admit our vulnerability and need.

Serving those who come to St. Anne’s is only the beginning for these volunteers. They are also committed to advocating for those in the community. They attend many workshops and conferences to learn about ways they can better support their clients. They have joined local community organizations to make Brentwood a better place to live (here’s one example). And, perhaps most importantly, they invite, educate and form the entire parish community about the responsibility of each and every one of us to reach out to and assist the most vulnerable among us.

Historical Perspectives

Last week, I spoke with Maureen Doolan-Boyle. I know Maureen initially because her wonderful children went to SJB! However, I learned over those year that she has a great connection to St. Anne's and is one of the founding members of the Hospitality Too Soup Kitchen. I snuck over to post this (we have a little down time this morning) to share with you her e-mail to me:

"I am so very happy that you are in St. Anne's! What a wonderful experience with such good, hard working people. The challenges we saw in that community were so very different from what we had seen in any other parish we ever belonged to. The generosity of spirit and the mingling of cultures in this community were some of the best gifts we ever could have given our children as they were growing up. We were active members of St. Anne's for about 20 yrs. The people of St. Anne's were there for us when we needed them and even when we thought we were giving back they were still teaching us and sharing the spirit.

I knew about Dorothy Day before St. Anne's but I "met" her in the old school basement on a cold November morning when discussion of the peanut butter and jelly gang first came together. I learned about dignity within poverty in a way I had never known from this experience. I also learned that not all those who are in need are gracious and thankful but it is just as important to give to and serve them with a happy heart as it is to those who seem more grateful. I saw conversion for the first time through the Little Rock Scripture Studies right before my eyes. Where grown men, only there to just get out of the house (or so they said) found their faith and then lived it. I saw people on Sundays coming to Mass who were very, very flawed (just like myself) but you could just tell that they honestly were doing the best that they could. In other communities I think that many people just had the means to hide their flaws (inside and out) but here they were accepted and in this way honest- I am who I am. What you saw is what you got and as strange as that may seem- it was refreshing.

I saw young families coming to Mass with children dressed in their Sunday best and every Sunday they were wearing the exact same dress or suit because it was the ONLY dress or suit they had and it was saved for Mass and special occasions. Sure there were flip flops and inappropriate t-shirts but the women wearing skirts and the fathers in collared shirts stood out and impressed me and reminded me how important it was make the effort. I had never before seen ushers who were responsible for stopping people after Communion from taking the Eucharist home. This never would have occurred to me but it has stayed with me. There was a reverence in this parish that was felt because it was challenged and the sacredness of the Mass became more important I think because of this.

Being an RC was not the only game in town- how many churches are there in Brentwood? TONS right? There are plenty of options for those who are interested and amazingly St. Anne's and the Roman Catholic church was where these people chose to be on any given Sunday. Over and over again simple things within the Mass and within the American RC culture needed to be explained (during Mass) for those who were "checking it out" or new to the community/culture and as someone who was born and raised an RC this old time education was really surprisingly helpful and a wonderful reminder of why Catholics do the things that they do.

I hope that you not only enjoy your experience at St. Annes and that meet as many wonderful people as we did while living there."

My experiences here at St. Anne's are not new - this community has been changing lives for many years!