Maureen Capillo

I was a parishioner at Saint James from June 2005 through July 2007.  Many of you might remember my eager energy at coffee hour, my work forming the prison ministry committee, or my participation a young women's pray group and the larger young adult group.  Still others of you might remember me as the young woman whom you assisted when a fire destroyed most of my material possessions in the summer of 2006.

I am writing first to update you on a significant trip I just made to Ecuador.  This trip would not have been possible without Saint James, because it was within your walls that I first met Chris and Trish Morck.  I hope you enjoy the below summary of my activities.

I spent two months this summer in Quito, Ecuador supporting a variety of programming at three churches in the south part of the capital.  Like most major cities in the United States, Quito is a bustling and vibrant community of believers.  It has a strong public transit system, which made it easy for me to get around the city.  It also has an extensive park system that I enjoyed, eventually using park names as my point of reference while I hoped in and around the city working on a variety of church projects.

However, much like the United States, Quito and Ecuador more generally has a series of problems plaguing their community - education, the prison system, immigration, rising rates of early teen pregnancy, homelessness, a growing population of street children, extreme poverty, and employment rates are just a few of the things I saw while I was there.  I also saw the Episcopal Church working hard to support communities, families and children in some of the hardest hit neighborhoods and barrios of the country.  From their elementary schools to their prison ministry, from their church outreach programs to regular hospital visitation, and from their work with Colombian immigrants to leading workshops for women on HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy - the Episcopal Church of Ecuador is persevering.  The people I met are truly participating in God's call to serve and love your neighbor.

During my time in Ecuador, I learned a lot about service, love and my role as a United States citizen in our global community.  I also learned about the great difficulty of building cross-cultural community and strengthening bilingual partnerships.  There is a lot of work still to be done and I want to help.  I am planning on returning to Ecuador in February, 2009 to continue my work at la Iglesia Reconciliation, Emaus and Buen Pastor.  I hope to broaden my scope to assist with the church's prison ministry program and possibly support one of the Episcopal elementary schools.

I have been surprised by everyone's eagerness to hear about my journey.  This out pouring of love from you and others in my extended network has helped me transition back to the United States and has allowed me the opportunity to share with you the joys of my work abroad.  Thank you for your intent willingness to listen and your open and generous hearts.  It has been a pleasure to share my experiences.  I hope to visit with the Saint James community in December or early January of 2009, to share more stories and hear about all that has been happening since my departure.

May you all move forward with god's grace and wisdom.

Maureen Capillo

capi4299@yahoo.com

(617) 840 - 7939

Documents

• Discernment Letter 
• Fundraising Letter
• Budget and Workplan