Un Dios

Corona, a section of Queens, has a congregation that is at its very wits end. There are two more surviving members left of this once proud Lutheran Church. A myriad of reasons are the causes of why this congregation is down to two members, but God will not let it die. Let pastorally by Pastor Priest of St. John’s, Emanuel Lutheran Church in Corona is being headed by a small committee to keep it kicking.

One member is an elderly woman who speaks both Spanish and English, but definitely prefers the Spanish. The funny thing about Corona is it is in a Hispanic neighborhood. It seems we have the perfect little set up there, and with the help of a Diaconate Candidate from San Pedro’s in Brooklyn, another one from a church in Woodside, and an elderly couple from another Lutheran Church, that outreach has begun. The one member, the Hispanic lady, lives in the church rectory and keeps it up quite nicely for an older woman. She does what she can to get by and is refusing to let Emanuel Corona, literally down the block from Citi Field where the Mets play (a bastion of death) to die.

I mentioned that there are two surviving members, the woman and also her husband. Her husband tiene ochenta y cinco anos (as he relayed to Pr. Priest and I this afternoon). He is a stroke victim and lives in a nursing home. His status as a functioning member of the barely breathing church in Corona is non functional. We went and visited him today. For Pr. Priest to do this is purely on his own and out of pastoral care. Emanuel Corona is not even in St. John’s circuit. But he goes anyway because these two have not had a pastor for quite a long time, as evidenced by it being down to two members. So we arrived today to a man who is recovering from a stroke, is 85 years old, and barely speaks a lick of English. Now I took 4 years of Spanish in high school, I’d say 5 but senior year was a joke, and I once was good at it. This is not really the case any more. Since then I have taken Greek and Hebrew and thought I lost all my sense of the Spanish language nearly completely. But then I walked into this elderly mans room today. I won’t claim I knew everything he said, but by some miracle I was able to understand a lot of it, and what’s more, communicate with him in his native tongue.

And just as I wrote in a post a couple weeks ago, in this short visit, my favorite part was when we got to the Sacrament. To see his face light up as a guy who otherwise mumbled due to his disability clearly recited in Spanish the parts of the liturgy and The Lord’s Prayer was simply breathtaking. It humbles you to the core and you appreciate everything you have, but more than that, you appreciate everything you have in Jesus Christ. It reminded me that even though we are trying to save a congregation and essentially a building, and for good cause, ultimately the church is found wherever the Word is preached and the Sacraments are administered. The church was present in that nursing home room today.

One thing I remember he kept saying over and over was “Un Dios.” As he said this he would point upward as well as look upward. He was making it clear there is One God, and he knows who that God is. “Un Dios, Un Dios,” he kept saying. “Un dios en Cristo Jesus” I responded with, as the man nodded and smiled his approval. It is that type of care that the pastor and his ministry is all about. But more than that there is no reason why a lay person, not ordained, cannot give ministerial comfort to the hurt and sick. “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am with them.” Go and bring that comfort of the Gospel, no matter who you are. Yeah, you may not be bringing the Sacrament, but you are bringing a comfort that is of utmost importance to people. If there is one thing I have learned here it is the ministry of presence and how essential that is to people of all stripes.

I came out of there blown away and thinking to myself over and over again, “Un Dios, Un Dios.” Never forget that. There is One God, and He cares for me and He cares for you through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.