Diego Arredondo was recently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry of the Texas Army National Guard during a ceremony at St. Mary’s University. The following day, he received a bachelor of arts in criminology from the university. A pre-law student, he plans to attend law school in preparation for a career in federal law enforcement or as a prosecutor.
Arredondo graduated alongside his wife, Destiny, who received a bachelor of arts in criminology with honors. She is a member of the First-Generation College Honor Society and completed an internship with the San Antonio Police Department. She will attend the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Texas State Trooper Academy.
Both are products of the Baptist Temple youth program. While still in high school, Diego wrote the following essay:
Congregating has been a staple in many cultures since the beginning of time. Is congregating part of your cultural identity? The picture I took tells a narrative story about a place of worship and its many years of service to the people, the presence of a spiritual leader and an environment of learning that has taught and exposed many people the Word of God.
This picture takes place in Baptist Temple Church of San Antonio, which is my place of worship. I have been attending Baptist Temple Church since 2019 when my father was hired as the Minister of Outreach. I have learned the history of the church and have been involved in its thorough and complicated projects to enhance its community's resources. This beautiful church has a deep-rooted history in the east side of San Antonio and has been serving its community since 1911 and has recently celebrated its 111-year anniversary. With a deep history like that it's safe to say that this place has become a cultural site for many of those who attend and congregate here. 
There have been thousands upon thousands of messages given at this cultural place. This picture sadly was only able to capture one of these moments. This first paragraph would not be complete without explaining the Baptist culture. Baptist believers trust and believe that Jesus is the son of God and believe that followers should make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The center of the Baptist faith and belief is servitude and this picture represents a service of hope given to the community.
Another beautiful story told in this picture is the presence of a spiritual leader, in this case my pastor Jorge Zayasbazan. This narrative photo displays our Church Senior Pastor Jorge Zayasbazan giving a sermon this morning. The presence and leadership of a spiritual leader has also been around since the beginning of time. Another staple of culture is having a spiritual leader and Baptist Temple has many to grace its community. Every Sunday a message is given and this picture depicts the weekly services and congregation that gathers together to hear the Word of our God.
Culture can also be a habit or consistent activity but culture is also who you are as a person and as a group and spiritual leaders ensure that a group of people can be given the tools to pursue and help others pursue and trust in God, this is why they are so important to religious culture. This picture captures the story of a man who has dedicated his entire life to spreading the word of God, making disciples and church planting to the masses. The picture is taken from the perspective of someone who has been widely influenced by him as a spiritual leader and is mentored by one as well, spiritual leaders have always been rooted into my culture since birth.
Although this photo can tell a thousand stories, my final one is that the photo captures a moment of culture in the way of the environment. The main culture idea that this picture captures is the religious environment that is common in the Baptist faith. It displays the colored stained glass windows that has been around for ages, the stained woodwork that flows throughout the church and the pool with the river painting over it where many have chosen to be baptized and give their life to Christ Jesus located right behind the stage area, all these beautiful features are a commonplace in Baptist churches, the instruments used to play music, the colored flags/banners with inspirational quotes and finally the warm colors and warm loving environment you can feel through the screen.
This culture is a big part of my life. Every Sunday and even more through the week I look forward to feeling the beautiful environment which is therapeutic to the eyes, soul and heart. This cultural environment is used to teach and preach the word of God to the mass community, share its overwhelming resources, make disciples and share God’s love. It is a beautiful, warm and inviting site.
Overall, this narrative photograph tells a story of culture. It displays culture in three ways, one is the history of a place of worship, the importance of a spiritual leader and the environment of worship and its effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment