Pastor reaches out to community near and far

Queens Pastor Bob Fritch says his congregation would be happy if he went to Guyana and never showed up for Sunday Mass.
“They would be tickled if I went there every week,” he said.
Not because they don’t like him, but because for many in his flock he is traveling to the country where they grew up.
In early November, Fritch, the leader of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Jamaica, traveled to the English speaking, South American country for a retreat during which he tried to help get local residents involved with the Lutheran Church.
Our Savior is believed to be one of the largest Caribbean population Lutheran churches in the U.S. Fritch says he has a large population of Guyanese members.
Since he has visited the country several times, Fritch is now able to point out the homes, not just the villages, that members of his congregation grew up in. He said this kind of connection has helped him become a better preacher.
He was able to learn about the culture and the backgrounds of his members, thereby allowing him to better meet their expectations.
He said the Caribbean population expects certain rituals to be preformed by a preacher, such as blessing a new home or someone on his birthday. By traveling to Guyana he has learned how to perform these services and can now better serve his people, he said.
Fritch also goes on the retreats to help reestablish the Lutheran church in Guyana.
During his last trip he helped local Lutherans come up with a plan to get residents out of their villages and into church.
One such idea was to use certain residents as Deacons to perform services instead of needing an ordained pastor in every village.
“I want to get them excited and have them tell me what they want,” he said.
Fritch said he prefers to work with the locals to tailor the religion to their needs rather than telling them how it should be structured.
“[Fritch] doesn’t come here pretending to have all the answers, but instead comes with and open heart, ready to walk alongside the people as we search for solutions together,” said Brian Konkol, a Lutheran Bishop in Guyana.
Konkol described Fritch as a fun-loving guy who is great to work with.
“He is truly committed to his service in the Church, and he is a dedicated worker,” Konkol said. “He is a joy to be with, and a reminder that God has a great sense of humor.”
Despite his several trips to Guyana, Fritch said that when he first joined Our Saviour in 1991, there was no thought of traveling to South America. In fact the church was planning trips to other destinations.
He said he initially came to the church because they were going to start to cater to Hispanics, and he had experience with the group during his time in the South Bronx. But, within a few years many of the Latinos moved away and the Caribbean population moved into the area and began coming to the church.
Fritch said he never expected the change, and acknowledges the evolution of Our Saviour.
When he first started at the Jamaica church there were about 30 worshipers at a service. Today they have three services with 300 people attending each.
“In a lot of places change comes hard,” Fritch said. “Here it is expected. We want to grow, we want to reach out.”