"You have to understand the population you serve. We need leaders
who can pastor in a culture other than their own.”
-Father Baldwin, St. Benedict the African
(Suarez, 52).
If there's any
doubt that the changes happening at St Anthony’s Catholic Church located on
Leesburg Pike across the street from Culmore, are simply the result of
demographic changes happening everywhere, all one needs to do is go one parish
over to St Phillips Church. According
to ministerial assistant Barbara Ostrander, the church, which has been around
since 1962, "hasn't changed demographically at all, except the people
have gotten older." Ostrander, who has lived in the parish since 1965,
estimates the church is 80-85% Anglo and about 10% Hispanic (Ostrander, 2002).
St. Anthony’s Church
However, St.
Anthony’s is a world apart. Due to its close proximity to Culmore, the church
has been infused with hundreds of new Spanish speaking immigrants and has
adapted to this situation. According to Father Paul, as recently as 1978, there
were no Spanish speakers in the Parrish and most of the congregants were
primarily upper middle class. In the
80's though, Culmore became the haven of refugees fleeing the Salvadorian civil
war, and changed the demographics of the parish where Spanish speaking
Salvadorian immigrants have now replaced the non-Hispanic whites (Father Paul, 2002).
St Anthony's has done quite well in adapting.
The have hired bilingual social workers and teachers and eventually worked out
a program of services with 60% being conducted in Spanish to only 40% in
English. Father Paul is fluent in Spanish and all of the priests there have
varying degrees of bilingualism (Father Paul, 2002). St. Anthony's is also the primary location by the Fairfax court
system for sending Hispanic offenders in need of community service time. “The
atmosphere is one that is by far the most comfortable for the convicts,” and as
Father Paul puts it, "You can make it fine here just speaking Spanish"
(Father Paul, 2002).
St Anthony's
Church has been thoroughly molded by the sudden infusion of hundreds of brand
new Spanish speaking immigrants. By bending to and even embracing this change
of tide, the church has provided further proof that Culmore the community has
been shaped according to its new inhabitants.