Maryknoll Lay Missioners

In addition to my parish work, I’ve been doing some prison visits as well.  My fellow Maryknoll-missioner Heidi has been working for the Pastoral Carcerária (prison ministry of the Catholic Church) here for 15 years, focusing mostly with women in prison and human rights.  Through Heidi I got connected with the Pastoral, attended a training, and began visiting three different prisons.

Earlier last year I had visited two women’s prisons with other missioners (once for a mass and once for a health class), but on those occasions I didn’t get a chance to visit the areas where the prisoners live.  When I went to a men’s prison with a team from the Pastoral for the first time,  I was completely taken aback when I entered the cell block.  I had seen the film Carandiru (about the 1992 prison revolt and massacre) and thought that the depictions of overcrowding, freedom with the cells and cell-block, decorations, and hanging laundry were a thing of the past.  I could not have been more profoundly wrong.  As we entered the cell-block, I felt like I was walking into a scene from Carandiru.

We entered a court-yard full of men who were just sitting around, with maybe a few playing soccer.  The courtyard was surrounded by two levels of cells, with towels and laundry hanging everywhere.   The cell we visited had eight bunks, but a prisoner told me that 20 men sleep in that cell at night.  The longer you’re there, the better chance you have of eventually moving up to a mattress.  Another prison I visit is CDP Belém, which is even more crowded.  One unit of the prison was designed for about 750 men, but holds almost 2,000.  The cells there have six bunks, and 30 men sleep in each one. (Check out these photos comparing the size and type of cells in Germany to the ones in Brazil).  At Belém I was very impressed with the soccer goals the men had constructed using string and plastic bottles!

“CDP” indicates “provisional,” meaning the men are there awaiting trial (the majority of men I met were in for drug offenses).  But because of nation-wide overcrowding, even those who have been sentenced can remain in a CDP long after they should.  A major downside to remaining there is that unless they’ve progressed to the point where they’re allowed to work (in the prison or out in the community), there is absolutely nothing for them to do all day.  One group of men showed me the paper swans they were making — simply to occupy their hands and minds, they said.

Each time I’ve visited a prison, it’s been a different experience.  One team I went with provided a charismatic prayer service and then spoke briefly with the prisoners before heading out.  Another team spoke with the prisoners first, took notes on questions they had about their judicial processes, and then offered a simple prayer service for All Souls Day.  Before we left the prison, we visited with the lawyers to follow up on the prisoners’ concerns and questions.  Another day, I was with a Franciscan priest who wanted to learn more about the prison and different ways that he and others could help out.  So we chatted with an administrator (who was great about helping me understand some differences between U.S. prisons/justice system and what we have here in Brazil) and he gave us a tour of the garden maintained by the prisoners in the semi-open unit.

I’ll write more about prison visits in a future post.  For now, it’s been good to get started in this ministry and begin to discover the meaning of Matthew 25:37  “I was in prison, and you visited me.”

When a Maryknoller finishes language school in their placement country, the next task is to find a ministry.  The experienced missioners in country help out — setting up meetings, coming up with ideas — but the new missioner can also find their own contacts.  I had let the Maryknoll Brazil group know that I was interested in pastoral ministry, and that I liked the idea of a parish setting as well as prison ministry.  It was through one of our Maryknoll sisters that I become connected with Sta. Terezinha.

1st planning meeting - somehow I don't look as stressed as I felt!

When I first got involved with the parish a few months ago, I realized that the pastor was announcing to the parish that I was starting a program to train catechists.  This caused me no small amount of panic because a) despite over a decade of ministry in the church, I don’t have any experience with parish catechesis (I was never even a CCD teacher), b) I have no experience training catechists and don’t know anything about teaching children, and c) my Portuguese needs quite a bit of work!  I expressed my concerns to the pastor, and he said, “Don’t worry, you have all month to learn Portuguese!”  Great.  My sympathy for Moses and Jeremiah — when they protested to God that they didn’t have the skills or experience to do what he asked — increased greatly.

Our first planning meeting with the catechists felt to me like a disaster!  There were about 15 people there, all talking very fast and all at the same time, and all complaining about the state of catechesis in the parish (lack of resources and unsupportive parents, and who knows what else I missed because of the language!).  And the pastor announced that I would begin the course for catechists the next week.  Ack!  Fortunately, it’s only gotten better since then.  I formed a leadership team with a group of experienced catechists and they’ve been a great source of ideas and advice.

Catechists' Formation Program

An initial group of about 20 has now stabilized at around 12 people, and I’ve been surprised at how much I’m enjoying myself. I’ve picked up a few popular education techniques from colleagues and am using various dynamics and group work rather than just lecturing.  I’m getting good feedback — the catechists (to-be) say that they enjoy the course and the more dynamic way of learning.  And when I said at the last meeting that we don’t have an encontro next week, there were some real expressions of disappointment in the room!  What a relief.  I’ve still got a ways to go and lots to learn, but now I’m looking forward to it rather than dreading it.  Graças a Deus!

São Joaquim community - Parish of Sta. Terezinha

When I moved to Brasilândia, I began working with the parish of Santa Terezinha.  Like most parishes on the periphery of the city, it’s made up of several worshiping communities, each with its own chapel.  The church of Santa Terezinha is the seat of the parish, and the largest of the communities.  Nossa Senhora de Lourdes is nearby and hosts an animated congregation.  The three smaller communities, São Joaquim, Santo Eugênio, and São José, are in the poorest areas of the neighborhood — with São José located in a hillside favela.  Check out the parish blog here.

 

Many residents of Brasilândia are migrants from the Northeast of Brazil — an area with its own rich culture and traditions (and historically one of the poorer areas of the country).  One of my first Sundays with the parish, we had a “Missa Nordestina” — Northeastern Mass — celebrating the culture of our migrant families.  For the offertory procession, people carried/danced with various symbols of the Northeast.  I was only able to capture the first minute on video, check it out here:  Missa Nordestina

Not every community in the parish has mass every Sunday.  Eucharistic celebrations are led by trained lay ministers and the parish’s deacon.  This is partly due to the fact that there’s only one priest per parish in Brasilândia, but also because for a long time in Brazil there was a movement to increase and promote lay leadership.  In the past, lay leaders performed almost all baptisms and witnessed weddings as well.

The pastor of our parish, Padre Valdiran, initially asked me to get a Confirmation program going for the parish’s youth — but that’s morphed into creating a formation course for people wanting to serve as catechists and well as organizing the entire catechesis program for the parish!  Right now only a few of the communities have any catechesis offered, and there’s no preparation for Confirmation whatsoever.

The parishioners have been very welcoming — during my first month in the parish, I lost track of how many different times I was presented to various communities.  Each time, the congregation sang a song of welcome.  Everyone’s been patient with my Portuguese, and many folks love to try out their few phrases in English on me.  I’ve been to a few parishioners’ homes for meals, and meals at the parish house (often cooked by Valdiran himself) are fun and full of good conversation.

Today was a good day. I was able to be part of something good. My part was being a connection and a driver.

In the past month, I’ve been a part of a number of different things, besides my usual work leading an education project for kids. I’ve met two different groups of visitors from various countries – some only here for a few days. Sometimes even these brief connections with people can be ever so meaningful.

Today I was able to help a young man get a wheelchair – his first ever. If he’s on a smooth surface, he can maneuver himself around, set his brakes or get going again. He’s stronger with one hand than the other, so he’ll take some time figuring out how to really get going. Even when he’s being pushed around, the dignity of being able to sit upright and watch the world, rather than being carried like a child swaddled on his mother’s back reminds me of why I am here, to listen, to help where I can, and to celebrate the joys in life that come in spite of the struggles.

One group of visitors came to help construct a house. I was able to pitch in for one day & got my first experience of local construction by hand! We literally passed globs of mud from one person to the next into the house, then packed it between rocks for the walls, then sealed the wall by throwing mud at it.

One other treat in the past month was going to a nearby national park with coworkers. We stayed at a lodge right at the edge of the park with a waterhole, where the elephants and other animals came for a drink. It was amazing.

I also celebrated being another year older and know how very blessed I have been. Thanks to all of you for being part of my life.