A church to call home

The Westbury, N.Y., Corps is The Salvation Army’s largest congregation in the Eastern Territory. What’s so special about this ministry to Haitian immigrants?

Captain Stephanie Sainteme refers to The Salvation Army in Westbury, N.Y., as her “home corps”—with good reason. The first time she walked into the building, she wasn’t a Salvation Army officer or even a Christian. She’d been invited by Jean Sainteme, who attended church there and had chosen this as the location for the couple’s first date. “My mother was impressed because he did not invite me to a club or to party or to drink. He invited me to church,” Captain Stephanie recalls. “When I got there, the bond and the relationships I developed, I felt like I had a new family.”

Captain Jean Sainteme, now 47, a Christian since childhood, grew up in The Salvation Army in Haiti. Stephanie, now 45, continued to go to church in Westbury after that first date and eventually put her faith in Christ too. The couple went to training to become Salvation Army officers in 2015 and first served in Hempstead, N.Y., before being assigned back to their old corps in Westbury in 2018.

“This is my corps, and this is my church,” Captain Jean says proudly. “We love to worship. We don’t do it for our glory. It’s for God’s glory. We give Him the glory.”

Seeing God’s blessings

The Saintemes now lead a dynamic and growing Haitian church, which is often billed as the largest in The Salvation Army’s sprawling Eastern Territory. Major Joy Jugenheimer, secretary for program in the Greater New York Division, says the Westbury Corps draws 400 to 500-plus people between its two services on Sunday mornings. That doesn’t include online views, which average over 200 each Sunday. Westbury’s Sunday school hosts 120 to 180 people each week, and around 180 attend a weekday Bible study.

On most weeknights, the tiny church building on Long Island, about 25 miles east of Manhattan, is bustling and bursting at the seams with the sounds of children’s laughter and musical instruments. Westbury’s young people are regular win- ners at Star Search, the territory’s annual music competition for youth.

“The thing that makes our corps successful is community,” Captain Stephanie says. “We not only have a relationship with the children, but we also have a relationship with the parents, and many of them also come to the corps. It makes the corps stronger and stronger.”Captain Jean says the services on Sunday morning are in Creole, unless there’s an English-speaking guest who requests translation. Many of those coming are first- or second-generation immigrants from Haiti who have experienced unrest in their home country and need a calm place to call home in America.

“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”

—ISAIAH 32:18

“They find community,” says Captain Stephanie. “They find love. They find relationships. We treat them like they’re our own family. As a corps officer, this is our duty. We help them any way we can socially and spiritually. “Most of them also need a church. They need a community to be a part of. When they come for social services and they come visit us on Sunday, they feel like this is a commu- nity they want to be a part of because of the way we receive them as our own.”

A good night’s rest

Captain Jean, who came to the United States when he was 20, says many of the newcomers from Haiti suffer from trauma. “It’s like God took them away from Hell and now they’re in Heaven,” he says. “A lot of them cannot sleep at night because of the memories of gangs and guns going off day and night. Some of them had to move from their homes, leave everything behind, and find somewhere to escape and now they are in the U.S. They are very thankful to be at the Westbury Corps.”

Those suffering the worst lived around the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Captain Stephanie says, but many come from other parts of Haiti where things are not as bad. One memory that sticks with her, though, from five years ago, is of a little girl who told her, “I’m finally going to sleep tonight,” after fearing violence most of her life. “Many of them, you can see the joy they have in their faces and the happiness,” she says. “If you don’t look at them as people who have been traumatized, you’re not going to know because the one thing they cannot take away is the joy that the Haitian people have.”

The key to helping people adjust, the Saintemes believe, is to give everyone a warm welcome to a place where they can feel at home and know they are safe and surrounded by caring Christians. “We welcome them in a special way where they feel loved,” Captain Jean says. “They feel like there is somewhere they can go and someone that will help them.”

While the current humanitarian crisis in Haiti is heartbreaking, he has fond memories of his homeland. “It was great growing up in The Salvation Army and I had a good foundation of the Christian life. It got me to the U.S., and I’ve continued to serve the Lord.”

“They find community. They find love. They find relationships. We treat them like they’re our own family. As a corps officer, this is our duty. We help them any way we can socially and spiritually.”

Setting the tone

The Saintemes exude the love of God, according to several people in the congregation. It permeates the upbeat praise and worship at the Westbury church, helping many of them focus on God instead of their past experiences in a country plagued by gang violence.

“They feel blessed and they feel comfortable and that motivates them to come back,” Captain Jean says. “I think another thing that has helped us grow, especially with new people, is when people worship with us, they feel the Spirit. A few of them told me as soon as they come into the building, they feel the Spirit and love the worship and they want to come back.”

Once newcomers show up at his church, Captain Jean says, The Salvation Army helps them obtain housing and access to English as a second language classes. The church also offers a food pantry twice a week and is the place to go if you need help with job applications or translation of paperwork to obtain U.S. citizenship.

“We are a bridge for them, and they know where to come for help,” Captain Stephanie says. The exorbitant cost of housing in the area is a major obstacle, but the Haitian people’s warmth and generosity are often on full display when others need a temporary place to stay or other material help. “We try everything we can to get food on the table,” she says. “It’s family helping family. That’s one thing about the Haitian community. The Haitian community has a bond. It doesn’t matter if you are my cousin or my aunt. If I know that person is in need, I will help that person. We have to say thank God for the Haitian community. They’re not going to let others do without or be homeless. They’re going to try to help them.”

Ginette Timolis, who came from Haiti more than three decades ago and is involved in several church ministries, agreed with her pastor. “Everyone looks out for each other here,” Timolis says.

Legacy of success

That sense of togetherness is never more apparent than in the church’s youth programming. Its success stems from “a dedication and willingness to do what God has called us to do,” Captain Jean says. “We have a large group of kids who love arts and music, and they put themselves into it. To make progress, you must be consistent on everything. Consistency is something we keep in mind. Our corps is busy nearly every night of the week.”

Captains Jean and Stephanie Sainteme pray over a couple in their congregation.

In 2024, Westbury sent 28 kids to the territory’s Star Search talent display. As in many other years, they brought home a bevy of trophies and honors. “Good teachers, good leaders, and good helpers make us who we are today,” Captain Jean says. The church sent students like Talisha Steide, 10, who says she loves learning spiritual lessons about Martin Luther along with her arts training. Shyla Trophete, 9, studies drama, monologue, and singing at Westbury. “I like being on stage,” she says. “I’m a drama queen.” Briana Romulus, who is the church’s new program director and teaches timbrels, is one of many young adult instructors who came up together and coach the kids to display excellence in Christ

“We learn from each other and help each other out and we’ve grown together,” Romulus says. “We put in a lot of hard work.” Julie Dorce, a dance instructor, agreed that it’s a close-knit group. “Even though most of us aren’t actually blood family, I think we are a family,” Dorce says. “We’re always there for each other when we need something. We try to keep in touch with each other. When someone needs a ride or whatever, we’re always picking each other up. When someone needs to talk, we’re there.”

The spiritual side

Laura Joseph, whose parents came from Haiti, teaches drama and makes sure to work spiritual elements into her instruction as her leaders once did when she was a student. “To see myself now being a leader and interacting and teaching the kids is a fullcircle moment for me,” she says. “I really just enjoy being able to teach them the Word of God and drama and acting and how that’s another form of worship and giving back to God.

“What makes our corps special is that we’re not just strangers. We’re not just people who come to the corps to do our tasks and walk away. We’ve really developed a familial relationship with one another, and that structure has really just kept us together.” Coming back to Westbury as leaders after being soldiers there has not been without challenges because of the familiarity, Captain Jean says. People remember the Saintemes when they were just soldiers and fellow workers.

“It’s not always easy to lead your own people, but we thank God because the people respect us, and they know who we are. They see God in us. They see the Spirit in us. They obey us. They love us and we love them too. They help us in everything we’re doing. We have a large congregation, but we have a lot of help.”

The building in Westbury is getting cramped, and plans are in the works for a new structure as the church continues to grow under the Saintemes. “Everybody knows Westbury has a great corps with a lot of kids, but a small building,” he says. “Our hope is to get a new building for the community. I’m sure our people would love it and it would glorify God, which is why we do what we do here. It’s to bring glory to God in all we do.”