Saludos

That´s Spanish for ´greetings´and with this blog I send greetings to St. Peter´s Church in Freehold, New Jersey from the people of the Church of Cristo Salvador in Santiago, and Jesús Nazareno in San Francisco de Macoris, where I spend the weekend.

The Church of Jesús Nazareno is quite a bit different from Cristo Salvador. It is located in the downtown part of the city, and the congregation is much more middle class (NB: middle class in this country is certainly less affluent than the middle clas in the US). There is also a colegio -- sort of a parochial school attached to the church.

I arrived in San Francisco de Macoris on Saturday afternoon, in time for their youth group meeting. Their concept of ´youth´ is a bit different than ours in the US. They include young people from ages of 13 up to about age 30. There were about 25 or 30 total in the group, and it began with two youth (who appeared to be approximately college age) leading a Bible study on the parable of the prodigal son. There was prayer, and a couple of songs. Then Fr. Hipólito, son of the priest in Santiago and a priest himself, gave a power point presentation on the subject of ¨Why young people distance themselves from the Lord,¨ using a passage from Hosea as his topic. I was impressed with his teaching, which was solidly Biblical, well organized, and spiritualy challenging. Then the visitors were asked to introduce themselves. Before closing, there was more prayer, and another song.

A couple of differences between youth group here and youth group in the US that I noticed -- this was a very serious group. No entertainment, joking around, or ´fun stuff.´ And no food. I had brought a bottle of water with me which I quickly hid, feeling as if I were doing something verboten every time I tried to sneak a sip. The other thing that I noticed was the warmth and genuine Christian love demonstrated: every person who came into that parish hall greeted every other person personally -- sometimes with a handshake, but more often with an embrace or a kiss. ¨See how they love one another...¨ I thought. I´m not necessarily saying the Dominican way of Youth group is better than the US way, but I do notice there are distinct differences which are related to culture and tradition.

I spent Saturday night with Hipolito and his family. His wife is quite a fabulous cook, and I felt that she made a special effort to create some terrific dishes. Clearly she understands the meaning of Christian hospitality, and was demonstrating it. They have three children ranging in age from 7 to about 11 -- it has been so long since my own daughters were that age, that I´ve forgotten what it´s like to share a meal with children. I really enjoyed the time with them, and had the feeling that these are friends I had known for my whole life - and surely would know for the rest of my life.

Sunday morning I had the honor of preaching at Jesus Nazareno. I also assisted at the Eucharist. A wonderful, wonderful day.

Now things are winding down... with a few days of rest for reading, writing, and a bit of sightseing.