Episcopal Press and News

Virginians Visit Companion Diocese in Ecuador

Diocesan Press Service. November 1, 1968 [70-21]

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Fly 17 Virginians of varying ages and backgrounds to Ecuador and have them live for 19 days among the people of this developing nation.

Let them see the work of the Episcopal Church, of other Christian communions and of such agencies as the Peace Corps and the Agency for International Development (A. I. D.) in such cities as Quito and Guayaquil.

Chances are they will return home to discover themselves much more acutely aware of the needs in their own communities than they ever were before, and more willing to become involved in meeting those needs.

While the formula is not "sure-fire, " it certainly worked in the case of 14 laymen and two clergymen from the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, who along with their Bishop, the Rt. Rev. William Marmion, visited their Companion Diocese of Ecuador during June.

The visit was the third between the two "companions," and was planned to build on the two previous exchanges. Southwestern Virginia young people had spent three weeks in Ecuador the summer before, and Ecuadorian youth had returned the visit during the winter, paving the way for their elders.

While in Ecuador, the group from Southwestern Virginia met those responsible for the work and growth of the Episcopal Church there. These included missionaries like the Rev. Onell Soto and the Rev. Ray Reibs, and Ecuadorians like Oswaldo and Marta Viteri. Oswaldo is an artist and his wife, Marta, is secretary at San Nicholas in Quito.

The Virginians also had the opportunity to meet Christians of other communions, and to see the practical advantages of ecumenical cooperation.

There was Sister Thadene, by her own admission a Roman Catholic "nun in disguise," who runs a Shoe Shine Boys Club in Quito. The club offers bargains in shoe polish and three hot meals a day. In exchange, the boys agree to submit to free medical care, go to school, live at home, put some earnings into savings and eat everything put before them.

These are stringent requirements for boys used to living on the streets, boys who are often the sole support of their families, but Sister Thadene insists. There was Gene Braun, who works with A.. I. D. Gene told the group that he feels the institutional Church too often has pushed a party line and unconsciously Westernized in the name of Christ. He, himself, therefore, feels he can best serve with an agency like A. I. D.

There were also visits to such historic sights as Quito's 400-year-old hospital, San Juan de Dios, the Ecuadorian Cultural Center, the market at Saquisili, and a 10-hour train ride "straight down" from Quito to the costal city of Guayaquil.

Much time was spent getting to know the work of such institutions as El Centro Ximena and El Albergue, both sponsored by the Episcopal Church.

At El Centro Ximena the emphasis is on community development, much needed in Latin America. Classes in sewing, cooking, nutrition, child care and recreation are provided. Community problem study groups, such as ones already formed by university students and by teachers, also find a home at El Centro. El Albergue provides a refuge for the homeless boys of Guayaquil, boys who would otherwise spend their nights in doorways or on the streets.

The tour spurred the interest of the tour participants in Ecuador and in the work of the Ecuador Church. They are going around the Diocese telling others of the work of that country.

It also led to rethinking and redefinition of the work of the Diocesan Ecuador committee. The committee is planning to tie in support of the work of the Church in Ecuador with involvement in work in Southwestern Virginia.

One example of this is the Diocesan Mission Study material now being pre- pared for Lent, telling of work being done in Ecuador and of similar work being done at home. Persons will then be asked to become participants in local projects of service.

Such participation is already evident in several Southwestern Virginia parishes. One, St. John's, Lynchburg, is the parish of the Rev. John Spong, chairman of the Ecuador Committee, where parishioners have been given opportunity to participate in a number of local community and Church action projects.

If things turn out as the Ecuador Committee hopes, such involvement will spread throughout the Diocese.