Hello from Rio! Now that things have calmed down a little, I can write a bit about the last few weeks, and my first month back in Brazil – because, amazingly enough, it’s already been a month! So what’s been happening? What am I doing, after all?
[Nina Boe is a member of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in West Seattle. This is her second year of mission work in Brazil with the Episcopal Young Adult Service Corps (YASC), a program of the Episcopal Church for young adults ages 21-30 to spend a year in international service. Her first year was in the Anglican Diocese of Sao Paulo. You can read
more about her blog, or check out this video.]
I have two main roles here in the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro. One is part-time administrative & communication support at the Diocesan office at the Anglican Cathedral of the Redeemer in the neighborhood of Tijuca, in Rio’s north zone. This is just a couple mornings and afternoon a week, and has technically yet to really begin in earnest – until recently, diocesan bishop Filadelfo Oliveira was recovering from multiple cardiac surgeries – but has recently returned to work in Rio de Janeiro, and it was wonderful to see him in person, and see him up and about. He has an upcoming trip to the United States, and it is likely after that I will really begin my position.
The other position I have is with Church of the Most Holy Trinity, a parish located in the neighborhood of Meier, also in the city’s zone. A small Anglican parish that has its roots in a mission plant from 1910, it passed through some difficult times in the mid/late 1980s to early 1990s, a time during which many members left, and the state of the building suffered greatly. Before, during and after this same timeframe, the neighborhood itself changed greatly as well, with area demographics shifting from middle class to working class. This era also saw the parish’s worship styles and attitudes shift from what had been slightly more evangelical, to charismatic, to its current more traditional Anglo-Catholic form.
Aside from regular participation in services and community events, some of the highlights of my presence at Holy Trinity is working with Episcopaz, the parish’s human rights ministry. Rooted in our baptismal covenant to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopaz and Holy Trinity host regular events open to the community on various topics of importance. The first one in which I participated was the weekend after I arrived, on domestic violence against women. People came together to create murals, as well as joining a panel discussion with activists and church members.
Holy Trinity is in the process of fundraising to remodel and expand its existing property so as to better serve the community – currently it plays host to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and a weekly community lunch that is also available free of charge to area homeless. Given that Meier’s homeless populations is one of the largest in Rio, the church is hoping to respond to this need by having a parish nurse in the future, as well as space for people to take a shower, receive a haircut, donated personal items, etc…
It’s a quick summary, and I don’t want to write too much at once, but this is essentially a glance at life in Rio de Janeiro. I feel like I’m settling in well, but it’s hard to believe it’s already been a month. I hope you all are well—drop a line sometime! Until next time! Até a próxima!
