Today we visited four mission churches in Quito. I'm still not sure exactly where we were, but I think the first was in Quito Norte and the rest in Quito Sur. These are parts of the city few tourists see. We have been here three full days, and we still have not seen either the Mariscal or Old Quito (the Colonial area), which is where most of the tourists hotels and services are. The reason I'm not sure exactly where we were is that Javier, our driver, would go to roads that skirt the city in order to avoid traffic in the city itself. Quito is long and narrow, and the traffic is much like that in Manhattan. But not as bad as in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic where driving is like playing one giant game of chicken!
We started our day at Cristo Liberador, which has the largest congregation in the diocese. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the church provides breakfast and a prayer service for the senior citizens of the neighborhood. We arrived in time to greet the senior citizens and have our pictures taken with them. We also handed out the plastic bracelets we carry with us. The adults seem to love them as much as the children. The church also runs a food pantry for those who need food in the neighborhood. The neighborhood also supports and donates to the food pantry.
Father Raul (not the same one who was our host on Tuesday) gathered his educators to meet with us. Some of the young adults on the team took time from their jobs to be there. Others are unemployed. They were eager to share their programs with us, and we were pleased that they provided copies for us to take and share with others. It is important for those of us in the United States to remember that the culture in Latin America is different than the Hispanic/Latin culture in the United States, not to mention that they have different social concerns.
Raul has created two programs in the parish. The first is for "lifelong formation," and everyone who is interested in participating in the ministries of the church (vestry, teachers, even the acolytes) must take the course, but it is open to all. He said that some people who have completed the course have begun the process of discerning ordination to the priesthood. The second is a "Center of Bible Studies." In this class people learn about current methods of reading and interpreting the Bible. They bring in lecturers from other denominations to talk about their manner of interpretation, but the emphasis of the class is primarily on the Episcopal understanding of Scripture. Raul hopes to bring this program to the entire diocese. The Bibles they use most are the New International Version and Dios Habla Hoy (God Speaks Today).
Raul has produced booklets of the Book of Common Prayer services in large type for the seniors. He also has one on baptism that was very good. We could use something similar in English! He is working on booklets on First Communion and Confirmation.
Sunday school classes are two hours long, although they told us that often they could only get in an hour and fifty minutes. They were amazed that in the United States most of our churches only have 45 minutes to an hour for Sunday school. Adults meet Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30. Another group meets at one of the educators house on Mondays from 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., which is primarily seniors. A young adult group meets at 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays.
While we were in that section of the city, we saw people leading goats through the streets. Quito is growing very quickly, but there are still pockets of "rural" activity. Many places we saw patches where corn and other vegetables were being grown--some of them carved out in the oddest places. One of the reasons Quito is growing so fast is that ALL government offices and services are here. The government is only now planning to set up offices in other cities throughout the country. Today is also the first day I saw the blue hearts Marco told us about chalked or painted on the streets. The hearts mark places where fatal accidents happened and are done by an organization that promotes safe driving.
Our second stop was Mision Buen Pastor. We were supposed to meet with Juan Carlos, the priest who serves the mission, but he had been called away to do an emergency funeral. After a short tour of the building, we drove to Mision Reconciliacion. The church owns quite a bit of property, some of it prime commercial space, but most of it is empty. There is also a house on the property that was rented to an old woman by the previous diocesan bishop in such a way that the parish can't touch it until she either leaves or dies, not even to make repairs. The church is right by the old railroad station, which is currently unused. The railroad was all but abandoned after storms in the 1980's washed out the tracks in many places. There is a plan to repair the tracks and restore service on the Quito-Guayaquil line. Once that happens, the railroad station will also be restored, and the neighborhood will be renewed. The church is in a perfect location to both benefit and help with the revitalization of the neighborhood.
Juan Carlos also oversees this mission, so we missed seeing him there as well. Some of the staff met us to take us on a tour of the facilities, including one room that serves as a gathering place for prayer, counseling, and work for a women's ministry. They also served us a lunch of chicken, potatoes and salad (we didn't eat the salad).
As there has been over the last two days, and unlike our visits on Tuesday, there was a lot of talk about the politics of the diocese. The previous diocesan bishop, Neptali Larrea, ruled the diocese with an iron fist and was, as people have been learning more and more in the years since he left, corrupt. Bishop Ramos, the third and current interim bishop for the diocese, has his work cut out for him healing the people of the diocese.
Our last visit was to Mision Emaus. Lourdes, the priest in charge of the mission, gathered members of a women's cooperative she established there to meet us. They set up a display of their embroidery and crochet work. All of it was beautiful. The produced the altar cloth for the altar in the church. Ruth-Ann bought a couple of pieces. The money the cooperative makes from selling their work is collected in a "pool," from which 10% goes to the mission and the remaining 90% to the women who do the work. The mission also has a small one room clinic. A doctor comes once a month, and families from the neighborhood come for medical care. The cathedral of the Diocese of Indianapolis donates approximately $3,000 to pay for medicines for the clinic. The Sunday school room, as most of the ones we have seem, was pretty spartan, but the walls had a painting of Noah's Ark, and there were a table and chairs for the children. They have 12-18 children on Sundays, and many of them will stop in during the week because they know it is a safe place, and there are games and activities for them. Lourdes and her people accomplish a tremendous amount work in four rooms, which includes the small church.
During our travels today we observed a police officer taking a bribe. I'd read that this is not uncommon, but it was still a bit of a shock to see it actually happen. Police officers are paid minimal salaries, as are many people. For example, it takes $450 per month to feed a family of four. This does not include housing, clothing, or anything else, just food. The diocese pays its priests $400 per month, and that probably stretches the diocesan budget quite a bit. All the missions are in poor areas, except for the cathedral. There are no parishes in the middle class or wealthy neighborhoods. That means that financial stewardship is difficult, and the diocese and the mission projects depend on assistance from companion dioceses and churches in the United States doing outreach work.
Mission. Every church here falls under the category of a mission according to the canons and the practice of the Episcopal Church. However, the connotation of the word "mission" in this part of the world is work with the poor and the indigenous people of the area. That comes from the Roman Catholic concept of a mission. It might be beneficial for the growth of the Episcopal Church if they called their churches "parishes," even if only on the signs.
It is late, and we have a full day workshop to lead tomorrow, so I am off to bed.
Peace,
Jeffri
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