Add another church - maybe!

So here we are on Andros - and I have learned we are in Central Andros. If you've followed the blog for any time you know we have 3 faith communities, one where we live in Fresh Creek, one about 10 minutes away at the US Navy AUTEC base, and a third about 40 minutes south in Cargill Creek. Well a few months ago a Nigerian Doctor who has a clinic in Mastic Point (read North, North, North Andros - far, far away) attends Sunday liturgy in Fresh Creek. After Mass tells me that, while Catholics up north had moved away and the Archdiocese had to close that church decades ago, over the last few years others have moved back. He told me he knew of several Catholic families that would love to have Catholic liturgy if I'd drive the 2 hours north.

Well, juggling 3 liturgies on the weekend is a challenge, but adding a 4th seemed unrealistic so I told him to go see how many people would actually come and, if he could find anyone I'd make the effort to go north. So off he goes and I really don't expect to hear from him anytime soon. Enter the Holy Spirit.

A woman calls to get a Baptismal Certificate and after digging out 3 huge ledger books of names I find a tiny one - yup, the baptismal register of Mastic Point. So I call the good Doctor and tell him I actually have a book of names - the Catholic families of Mastic Point. Well he is thrilled and I fax off the names of those baptized after 1960, figuring these are all about 50 or younger.

This past Sunday he shows up again and has found 12 families, all who want to meet. So on Sunday, after the 8:30 in Fresh Creek, then driving 40 minutes South to Cargill Creek for the 11, then doing sick calls to the locals, THEN we'll load up the van and drive 2 hours North and see if we can find the clinic in Mastic Point. Yup, we're going to gather together for the first Catholic liturgy in decades in North Andros at the Mastic Point Clinic. Hopefully this is the start of something very exciting.

Will this end up in adding a new church on Andros? Well if you believe WE are the Church, then the Church is already there! Praise God. I'll let you know how it all works out.