St Augustine Roman Catholic

The wedding preparations continue (which makes it sound much more hardcore than it really is). Like proper family folk, Nate and I have decided to have two separate celebrations: one to address his Texas family and US traditions, and one in Peru for my side. And the Peruvian one, as custom suggests and dictates, will be a catholic ceremony.

Which sounds great and all, but I haven't attended church regularly since... uh, my first communion? I have a lot of catching up to do. I have to get confirmed (which includes classes, finding a sponsor and doing the ritual), and Nate and I have to attend the Pre-Cana workshop and do some premarital sessions with a priest. We are doing all the preparatory bureaucratic paperwork here in Brooklyn, which will then be sent over to the Archdiocese in Lima. It seems to be a pretty standard process. I hope.

Well, today was our first meeting with the Priest, and he was very nice and welcoming. I decided on St. Augustine Church mostly because they are located a block from my apartment, but based on how they've been so far I would have picked them even if they were THREE blocks away. Everyone has been nice and welcoming, and specially, so willing to work with us through this process.

Not confirmed? No problem, you are welcome to the classes. Had to miss the first two sessions because you were in Texas? No problem, you can make them up, no big deal. Nate is not Catholic? No problem, this is common, just need some proof that he is baptized. Don't have a certificate? No problem, we can work it out with you as needed. I really get the sense that they are on my side, and happy to be helpful.

If more churches had been like this when I first moved to Austin (St. Austin's, I am looking at you and your wretched school), I might not have had such a negative reaction to the Catholics in the US. It turns out, maybe it was just St. Austins that sucked, because so far St. Augustine seems to be very much like what I remember churches being like in Lima.

The building is old, and, well, it reminds me of a church. I sound like an untrained layman, because a deeply rooted part of me wants Church to look old and solid, like the stones have been around longer than my grandparents. This must be the same deeply ingrained part of me that remembers all the prayers in Spanish, and knows instinctively when to stand/sit and answer the priest while in mass. The architect in me considers this ludicrous and wants me to fight my baser instincts. But there you go, I like St. Augustine because it looks like what a proper Catholic church should look like.

It's curious for me to have a church a block away, and Park Slope is filled with churches, of all sorts of denominations. I know Texas is a god-fearing state, but I have never felt so surrounded by places of worship than when I moved to NYC. Must be the density, because every two blocks, there is another church popping up, happily reminding me that Sunday is coming up, and uh... god is watching? The cultural catholic guilt is a hard one to get rid of.

Nate and I went on a walk this morning after our meeting with the Priest, and I decided to embrace the day and take pictures of the churches we saw on the way. We must have walked about a half hour or so, went to get coffee and enjoyed the pretty weather.

The seemingly excessive amount of churches, which I had noticed before, must be part of what makes this neighborhood feel so authentic. I am not saying that a place of worship is necessary for the longevity of a community, but rather, a diversity of services is what makes a neighborhood sustainable. We, as residents, need to know that there is a church within a walking radius us, just like we need a library, cleaners, doctors, daycare, gyms, shoe repair, electronics, groceries, cafes, etc. And even though I don't patronize many of the aforementioned services , it matters to me that they exist. The day that I need one (like say now, when I am going through the wedding preparation process), I can walk five minutes and be there. I don't even have to leave the neighborhood. And that's part of what makes Park Slope such a sustainable piece of urban fabric.