Lesson from Fr. Brito

Note: This is fifth in a series about my visit with a group of U.S. deacons to the Dominican Republic in spring 2011.

In the most recent installment of the story of my “Latin Experience” in the Dominican Republic last spring, I gave an overview of the classroom instruction we received for the first couple days at the Bishop Kellog Conference Center in San Pedro de Macoris. This month I want to focus on just one of those classroom sessions, the one that spoke most powerfully to me.

The session called “A Social Analysis of the Latin American Family” was conducted by Fr. Napoleon Brito, Dean of Epiphany Cathedral in Santo Domingo. What impressed me so much about this presentation was that Fr. Brito had the courage to share with us—the outsiders from the U.S.—some of the problems of Latino culture.

Fr. Brito listens to Deacon Maureen Hagan's question.

Fr. Brito identified several phenomena that have powerfully influenced Latino families in various ways, such as the rural to urban transition, the growing gap between rich and poor, and the other pressures of modernism—all experienced by many societies, including our own. Thus the construction of affordable housing in urban areas has not kept pace with population growth, 80% of youth work to supplement inadequate family incomes instead of study, and consumer goods ranging from food to culture and media are unequally distributed.

In Latino society, however, these phenomena and their consequences interact with another cultural characteristic—machismo—in a way that produces especially negative outcomes. Machismo can be defined as exaggerated masculinity stressing attributes such as physical courage, virility, and aggressiveness. These attributes are typically expressed through domination of women.

The combination of poverty and machismo is lethal to families and thus highly disruptive of society as a whole. The consequences Fr. Brito enumerated include:

• A low rate of marriage and high rate of co-habitation.
• Men with two or three families who can barely support one.
• Alcoholism, sexual promiscuity and a general cultural emphasis on hedonism.
• Many children born to single mothers or into families in which the father is dividing time between more than one family and job.

 The Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic is responding to the state of Latino families with a strong focus on family ministry in urban areas. These devastating challenges, Fr. Brito explained, can best be dealt with by strengthening families. And although “family values” often get cited but rarely defined in the U.S., the Church in the Dominican Republic has had to be much more purposeful in ministering to families holistically, especially by countering machismo and promoting the full-time presence of men in one family.

A mother and her sons walk the dirt streets of a poor barrio in San Pedro de Macoris, DR.

It is our natural tendency as humans to put on a good front, brag about our accomplishments and foreground the most enticing, enjoyable aspects of our culture. Likewise, it is our tendency to hide our shortcomings and unite to keep problems hidden from outsiders. I have heard these tendencies with startling clarity in our own political dialogue of late, when those who dare to admit that we as a society also have problems are labeled unpatriotic.

Fr. Brito’s talk was compelling and informative. But I was most impressed with the courage it took for him to speak to outsiders so openly and frankly. Latino culture has much to offer that is wonderful: spirit, color, music, warmth. But I particularly appreciate that our hosts trusted us enough to share their challenges with us as well. Would that we should be so humble.

Learning the Culture

Note: This is fourth in a series about my trip to the Dominican Republic in late May 2011.
                                            
In the second entry of this series, I wrote about the opening Eucharist of my 10-day “Latin Experience” in the Dominican Republic, an educational opportunity organized by the Association for Episcopal Deacons (AED).  It was a most inspirational beginning.
                                
The group of ten from the U.S. of which I was a part spent the next several days at the Bishop Kellog Conference Center in San Pedro de Macoris. We had come to the DR to learn about Latin culture and spirituality and about the formation and role of deacons in the Dominican Church, and we needed to acclimate before we ventured out to meet people and join in the ministry of the church there. Many a blunder has been committed by well-intended but uninformed “do-gooders” in another land!

But we had a purpose beyond personal development and doing ministry abroad. U.S. Deacon Bob Snow has been a missionary in the DR for more than 10 years, and during that time has hosted hundreds of mission teams from the U.S. He conceived of Latin Experience as a way for the DR Church to “give back” to the U.S. Church, and to give back in a way that would help the U.S. Church minister to the many Latinos among us here.
                                       
Our teachers at the Bishop Kellog center included both U.S. missionaries in the DR and Dominicans. We got to spend lots of time with Dominican deacons and those in the process of becoming deacons.
    

U.S. missionaries Deacon Bob Snow, Karen Carroll and Ellen Snow.

Indeed, one of the first and most powerful lessons we learned is that the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic is very big on deacons! As in the Diocese of Western Louisiana, Dominican deacons attend a diocesan school of theology and get all of their training locally. Priests must get a Master’s degree from a seminary. Thus it takes less time and is less expensive to produce deacons than priests.
    
In addition, the church must go to the people in the Dominican Republic because many of the people are poor and have no way to travel to big churches in urban areas. Thus the Dominican Church is busy planting small churches in barrios and rural villages. Many of these congregations will never be able to support a full-time priest. Thus priests aided by deacons serve several parishes, and in some cases deacons are in charge of missions.
    
I got to share in the ministry of deacons in the DR, but that comes later in the story. For now, a few words about our classroom experiences. Day one of that training, no fewer than FOUR bishops were in attendance! One of the four was the U.S. bishop who was a participant just like us deacons. Another of the four was retired U.S. Bishop Bill Skilton, who serves as assistant to and translator for Bishop Holguín.

Current Bishop of the DR Julio Holguín.

Bishop Julio Holguín, the current bishop, welcomed us and talked about the vision and ministry of the Episcopal Church in the DR, as well as challenges the church faces. He also presented us each with a beautiful cross of black coral and silver. You will see it hanging around my neck with my deacon’s cross most Sunday mornings!
    
Bishop Holguín is the second native-born bishop of the DR. He introduced the first native-born bishop, Bishop Telesforo Isaac, who was also the first DR-born deacon and priest. 

1st native-born Bishop of the DR Telesforo Isaac.

Bishop Isaac captivated us with stories from his lifelong work developing the Episcopal Church in the DR. He also spoke clearly and directly to us about the utter necessity of suspending one’s own cultural norms, standards and practices when in a cross-cultural ministry situation.  It is not possible to show the love of Christ while busy passing judgment on the other, he argued.
    
And that evening we got another taste of exuberant Dominican spirituality in a rousing session of learning Spanish-language praise songs!

Fr. Brito, Aspirant Elsa and Deacon Lourdes teach us praise songs.

 

Bilingual Unity

Note: This is second in a series about my trip to the Dominican Republic in late May 2011.

In my last post, I began to tell about “Latin Experience,” an educational opportunity organized by the Association for Episcopal Deacons (AED).

The group of ten that arrived in San Pedro de Macoris on a Saturday evening included a retired bishop, three postulants at various stages in their discernment and training, and six deacons. Deacon Bob Snow, a U.S. American who has been serving as a missionary in the DR for 10 years, met us at the Bishop Kellogg Conference Center. Several Dominican deacons and postulants were also on hand to welcome us and help us get settled in our rooms. Some of them spoke some English and some of us spoke some Spanish, but even when language failed, everyone understood our shared excitement at being together.

La Iglesia Episcopal San Esteban

We had been told in advance to be sure to bring vestments because the Dominicans “love processions.” They would be disappointed if we did not all vest and join in. Thus Sunday morning we streamed across the street and gathered on the steps outside the main entrance to La Iglesia Episcopal de San Esteban (St. Stephen).

What better way to kick off our Latin Experience than with a glorious bilingual Holy Eucharist! The Dominicans worship with great joy and spirit. Accompanied by a keyboard, the congregation rocked the house with singing and clapping as we processed down the aisle to special seats at the front for los diakonos Americanos, the American deacons.

Deacon Emilio Pringle calls the people to worship. I am behind him (center frame).

I got to go all the way to the altar because I had volunteered to assist and was immediately assigned the role of Deacon of the Table. In the photo below, you seem me performing my most unusual task ever as Deacon of the Table: Holding a microphone for the celebrant.

Opening Eucharist at San Esteban, Bishop Michael presiding.

The singing, the sermon and most of the prayers were all in Spanish. The Gospel was proclaimed twice, first in Spanish then in English. The Great Thanksgiving was in English because our Dominican hosts would have it no other way than that el Obispo Michael Garrison from the U.S. celebrate the Mass.

But here’s what makes a bilingual service within the Episcopal tradition so special: At many points in the service, such as the opening salutation, the confession, the prayers of the people and throughout communion, it matters not at all whether the words are spoken in Spanish or in English, or—as was often the case—in both languages at the same time.  Everyone knows and understands. We are united in faith by our liturgy as shared in the Book of Common Prayer.

What a wonderful expression of the unity of the Body of Christ within the diversity of humankind! Gracias a Dios. Thanks be to God.
                  

A Latin Experience

                                                         
Note: This is first in a series about my trip to the Dominican Republic in late May 2011.

In late May of this year, I went to the Dominican Republic for 10 days to participate in “Latin Experience,” an educational opportunity organized by the Association for Episcopal Deacons (AED).

Port cranes framed by the balcony of Alcazar de Colon in Santo Domingo.

                      
Although Latin Experience was designed by deacons for deacons, the group of ten that gathered at the Bishop Kellogg Conference Center in San Pedro de Macoris included one bishop and three people still in training for the diaconate. We were from all over the country, California to Maine, plus one was from Canada. Nevertheless, we all had a most amazing experience in the Dominican Republic and came home changed by it. 
                                  

Orchids on the streets of Santo Domingo.

The Latin Experience consisted of three distinct parts. We spent the first several days at the Bishop Kellogg Conference Center in San Pedro de Macoris on the southern shore of the Dominican Republic. There we worshiped and ate together and learned a great deal about the people, culture and history of our church in the DR from various presenters, ranging from Bishop Julio Holguin to Dominican deacons and several U.S. missionaries to the DR.

At the conclusion of our “classroom time,” we spent several days traveling by van to visit Episcopal ministries in San Pedro and the surrounding villages and rural areas. Our eyes were opened to both the poverty of many people and their incredible spirit and spirituality. As Bishop Holguin had told us, the Dominican people see from the heart.

Our third day of travel began in the countryside and ended at Diocesan headquarters in capital city Santo Domingo. The next day, we were picked up by Dominican deacons to spend two days living with them and their families and participating in their ministries. I went to Barrio Las Minas on the east side of Santo Domingo to stay with the family of deacon-in-training Elsa Lopez and serve at her home parish, La Sagrada Familia.

Of course, I quickly turned into the official photographer of the trip. Many of my photos are already posted on the AED Website, but stay tuned. I’ll include some right here with each edition of this series.