Southeast Asian Vicariate

Southeast Asian Vicariate Church of Our Lady of Lavang 5404 NE Alameda Dr., Portland, OR 97213

You can see this pink structure on the north side of NE Sandy Boulevard near NE 54th Street. It used to be a convent. I believe the present site dates to 1999, while the vicariate itself was founded in 1981. It supports the Portland Vietnamese who began to arrive here in large numbers after the fall of Saigon in 1975. You can read more about the vicariate in this article from the Catholic Sentinel.

The grounds are very large, taking up at least a square block and consisting of many buildings in addition to a large church.

The grounds are landscaped with palm trees, giving the impression that you might actually be in southeast Asia or some other tropical clime.

The service was packed with nicely dressed parishioners predominately wearing black, with a smattering of white and to a much lesser extent prints and colors. On the patio west of the church a fiesta of some sort was taking place. Five priests con-celebrated the Mass. Of the 200-300 people filling the church and another 100-200 outside participating in the fiesta, I was the only person not of Asian descent.

Mass was entirely in Vietnamese, the only words of which I know are chan muối, which is a salty lime drink. I thought I even heard the word muối during the sermon, but it may have been my imagination.

Although I clearly stood out, no one stared at me. I stood in the back the entire service so as to be as inconspicuous as possible. My fellow wall-standers to my right and left shook my hand during the handshake of peace. Other than that, I was left alone during the service. As I was leaving two little girls in the parking lot said hello and giggled.

To me the most amazing thing was to see all these immigrants, speaking a foreign language and living thousands of miles from their homeland,
who clearly have been able to make a living in their new country and to form a vibrant community.

St. Sharbel

1804 SE 16th http://www.saintsharbel.com/           

                                                                           

I arrived a few minutes late, having had a little difficulty finding this church tucked in the leafy Ladd's Edition neighborhood. After a two-hour service I had to leave a few minutes early to make it to a Mother's Day brunch; consequently I only was able to snap two quick photographs. Next time -- and St. Sharbel deserves a next time -- I will make sure to experience the Mass from beginning to end.

St. Sharbel is a Maronite church. It is an Eastern Rite church, with rituals somewhat similar to to an Orthodox church (a friend calls them "bells and smells"), except unlike the Greek or Russian Orthodox churches, the Maronite church is in full communion with the Holy See. The service was conducted half in English and half in Arabic except for the consecration, which was in Aramaic, the language Jesus is said to have spoken.

The Maronite church began in Syria in the 5th century with St. Maron, but soon spread to Lebanon.  Many, but certainly not all, in the congregation today were Lebanese and could speak Arabic. The family behind my friend and me helped us when we got lost in the hymnal, one of which was entitled "The Cedars of Lebanon Hymnal."

The church is a handsome stone edifice but cannot be seen well because of a large tree in front of it. The inside is a cozy medium-sized space, roughly square. The altar is in a corner rather than against a wall, and the altar rail is a curved semi-circle. There are many statues and paintings in and near the altar area. The pews are made of oak and curved as well. The floor slopes down toward the corner where the altar is, giving the room a theater-like feel.

The service is quite a bit different than the Roman Rite, but not as different as St. Irene Byzantine Church's. Maronites cross themselves in the same manner as Romans -- touching their left shoulder and then their right at the end of the sign of the cross. During the handshake of peace a charming gesture was introduced to me. The alter boys went into the congregation and offered their hands with their fingers pressed together as if in prayer but pointed toward persons at the end of the pews such as me. The parishioner then put their hands around the alter boy's hands also with fingers pointed forward and then pulled their hands toward themselves, wiping their hands against the other's as they separated. Then the congregation did this with each other. I saw variations of this such as a person extending just one hand and the other clasping it with both hands while gently pulling away. It was unclear to me who should be the one offering their hands and who should be the one clasping and pulling away.

(This gesture reminding me of another gesture from a foreign culture that the reader is probably equally unfamiliar with: Filipino children will take an adult's hand and press the back of the hand to their forehead in greeting. Both are touching (no pun intended) gestures.)

The pastor, Abouna ("Father" in Arabic) Jonathan Decker, S.J.M.J., has a New York accent, wore a skull cap, had a long beard and wielded a silver cross with a long blue tassel in his right hand nearly the entire service. He spoke English and Arabic and blessed us with the the cross throughout the service. There was also a cantor and a violinist who were in an adjacent room, separated by a screen from the congregation. Fr. Decker greeted all the visitors, singling out each one, including me. The congregation was also quite friendly.