St. Charles Haitian Faith Community Prays for Pastor

There is so much about the faith and religious experiences of St. Charles County that I do not know.

For example, a small group of people from Haiti meet each Sunday to worship together in French, Creole and English.

La Grace and La Verite Eglise Chretienne, which translates as truth and grace Christian church, meets at 1:15 p.m. in the chapel at 

Lamonste Jean-Baptiste leads the small group of three or four families who participate, although he is not a pastor. He was a broadcast journalist in Haiti which explains his exemplary communication skills in French, Creole and English. Jean-Baptiste came to the United States in 2001 leaving the political unrest of the Haiti of that time behind.

The other families who attend La Grace and La Verite Eglise Chretienne are generally from the St. Charles area. One person attended ; one family lives in St. Peters.

“A couple of women do not speak English, and so I translate into Creole,” said Jean-Baptiste.

The founding pastor, Jean Lesley Paillan, moved away two years ago. This group broke off eleven years ago from a congregation in St. Louis. They began meeting in the pastor's home and eventually, started meeting at Harvester Christian Church.

The community prays that a pastor will come to shepherd the small flock. Until then, the people carry on what Paillan began in June 2000. 

I attended two services. On Jan. 8, I was warmly greeted by Marie Desir who told me that the service would be in both English and French. Her three sons were there too. One runs the sound system and video projector for the photos, scripture and songs.

Desir opened the worship with prayer, including these words for “everybody in Haiti, that God keep you safe.” She led us in the praise song, “I Love You, Lord.”

Another woman, Slabine Mompremier, offered prayers in French and English and led hymns and praise songs in both languages. She has a beautiful voice. The hymn “Amazing Grace” is haunting and soul-stirring in any language.

Jean-Baptiste began by talking about Haitian traditions. ”At the new year, we clean everything in the house,” he said. It was a nice transition to his theme of getting rid of all the unnecessary “stuff” in our lives that stop us from having a relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

It is clear that Jean-Baptiste has deep faith. I would never have guessed that he was not a trained preacher. “I grew up in a Christian family,” Jean-Baptiste said to me in a phone interview. “We went to church every Sunday. Every Sunday.”

Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

During this service, children were content to wander among the chairs or sit in parent's laps. Jean-Baptiste said that the faith community had grown to as many as 30 people, but two families have moved away, and so the number is half of that.  The worship service is listed on the website and currently on the church sign.

I do believe this small and steadfast gathering of God’s people knows the truth of Jesus’ statement. It was a worship service in every sense. God’s word was proclaimed, God was praised, and prayers were prayed of concern, joy and of thanksgiving.

In her prayer, Desir prayed in part, “Thank you, God. We worship you with our songs, with our prayers, with our hearts.”

In any language, that prayer would receive an “Amen.”

There is something powerful and pure in the perseverance of faithful people. People who sing "Give Thanks" and help me mean it. "We talked about joy last year," Jean-Baptiste said to us. "This year we will spend on the good news."

I am sorry that I missed the messages about joy. Yet in the words of the Letter of James 1:2a I "count it all joy" that I have met and that I have worshiped with the Truth and Grace Christian Church.