Some Christian churches in Arizona with large immigrant congregations reported a 30 percent drop in their attendance figures.

The parish was established in 1899 for a mostly Irish immigrant congregation, breaking from the parish of St. Augustine by the Rev. Bernard F. Brady.

The church with the immigrant congregation that I know best, and the one that has the deepest significance for me, is San Silvestro.

German Lutherans in Michigan felt a need to train pastors to serve a growing number of immigrant congregations.

The Rev. Viorel Dumitrescu says he is a God-fearing pastor and former torture victim who only wants to build a home for his immigrant congregation in a former knitting factory.

In adding immigrant congregations, the Presbyterians have not been alone.

For members of the mostly immigrant congregation, said Carmen Villegas, 52, a longtime parishioner, the church is a home away from home.

"Africans are taking their faith to Africans," he said, adding that in the city alone, he has counted at least 110 African immigrant congregations that have sprouted since the late 1980's.

About 1,000 families regularly attend its Friday services, which cater to an immigrant congregation - mostly Palestinian, with some from Egypt and Syria.

The buildings express the religious zeal and faith of the large immigrant Polish congregations.