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Sunday Evening Mass

January 29, 2006

At the Church of the Resurrection, the Sunday evening Mass is in Spanish, and the seats are filled.

Earlier in the day, the Rev. Malcolm Burns celebrated English-language and Portuguese Masses. In Farmingville, the Spanish Mass is the fastest growing and the final one of the day. Spanish-speaking worshipers now account for 22 percent of the 7,000-member parish.

Burns has a point he wants to make.

"Give to Caesar that which belongeth to Caesar: and to God, that which pertaineth to God," Burns intones in Spanish to the congregation of men, women and children.

He tells the congregation that representatives from 7-Eleven stores had been to the church to discuss the possible establishment of a hiring site in the community, which would remove the crowds of job seekers from the corner. He said he wanted to meet with Levy to discuss the issue, adding that he was not entirely comfortable in his role as both a Roman Catholic priest and a mediator.

"It's not the normal role of a priest to broker discussions with Mr. Levy," he said. "But we have to bring business, the workers, and our Caesars, so to speak, together and look for common ground."

He said he was hopeful that local business owners who benefit from the labor of the workers, hundreds of whom were seated in the pews in front of him, would donate land to establish a hall. The 200 parishioners who have been part of Farmingville's transformation to a hamlet with an increasingly Latino face have heard such proposals before.

"If the father can't help us, no one can help us," says José Trejo, 25, who is from Hidalgo, Mexico. "Maybe here at the church, the truth of the situation can be found."

There were other topics on the priest's mind.

"How many here have children in need of baptismal?" he asked. Several parents raised their hands. One mother is applauded by the congregation as she holds a newborn in her arms.

"You keep having more and more children. We need more hours for baptism," Burns says.

After the service, some of the parishioners spoke of the costs of school clothes and quinceañeras, a formal ball held for many Latinas on their 15th birthday. For his part, Burns wanted to reinforce the point that answers can surely be found.

"People want to be good neighbors to each other here," he says. "They tell me, 'Let's try to be good and kindhearted and help one another out.' "