Greetings from Quito!Your small church pal is here on her first official meeting with the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. Why Quito you might ask? Because Quito is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Ecuador, one of dioceses located outside the 50 United States. We are indeed an international church, and it has been an enormous privaledge to learn about the ministry and mission of our (small) church brothers and sisters in Christ in this beautiful part of the world.
(For example, today we travelled to different parts of the diocese to work and/or visit various sites. My group toured a primary school that stole my heart--teachers paid the minimum--$200 per month--overseeing 2-3 grades, and parents spending a huge percentage of their income to afford the $56 per month tuition to give their children the gift of a quality education. It is clear that supplies are very limited, yet it is also clear that the teachers understand their work as their ministry. I'm so moved by the entire situation that I can't help but want to help, maybe by trying to find a companion school in the US that could help with used back packs and supplies, or ???)
Obviously my new position is taking heaps of time, but I very much would like to keep the blog fresh and informative. During the search period for a new small church staff person who I envision eventually adminstering this blog, I would very much appreciate hearing about any small church stories or resources you wish to share. Simply send by email, and I will credit you in the posting if you wish. And I'll continue to post what I come across on a weekly (probably Tuesdays) basis.
Blessings, and adios :-)
Suzanne
2 comments:
I'm delighted to see this blog back, and look forward to seeing more posts!
Your comment about backpacks for school children in Quito reminded me of something we do here in our local rural community in Northwest CT. Each year at the beginning of school, we collect from the congregation backpacks filled with school supplies that are distributed by a town social worker to needy kids in one of the area public elementary schools. We know that the faculty appreciates it; it helps all the kids start the year with a more level playing field. Obviously the recipients do as well. And, our little parish seems to enjoy both the project of getting the backpacks and filling them, and the satisfaction that they are helping right here.
The other development in our parish is the recognition that we really do our summer soccer program as outreach. Initially, we thought of it as something to keep the Sunday School kids busy during the summer; then we decided it must be evangelism. But what we are really doing, we think, is sharing a scarce resource with people -- families with kids -- who value it.
Anyway, the more we share what we have without any intention that it will pay back in terms of our own growth as a church, the more effective we seem to be at sharing.
Furthermore, in a rural area where the population of school kids is declining, and churches in general are shrinking, our ASA is actually increasing.
I agree with you about these. Well someday Ill create a blog to compete you! lolz.
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