Disciple: Continuing Companionship

Even in a time of COVID, our companion relationships continue

Since 1997, the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina has had a companion relationship with Iglesia Episcopal Costarricense, the Diocese of Costa Rica. A major aim of the companionship has been to establish and maintain person-to-person, church-to-church and diocese-to-diocese relationships between the two. The resulting partnerships have enabled a large number of participants from each country to strengthen their own faith, form lasting friendships and learn about each other’s cultures as they proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ through their engagement in exchanges, education, construction and renovation projects, as well as worshiping and celebrating together.

[Image: A work group from St. Timothy’s, Winston-Salem, served at Iglesia La Ascención a few years pre-pandemic. Photo by Tom White]

PANDEMIC IMPACT

Over the past year, Costa Rica, like the United States, has been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Costa Rica’s excellent health system and organized national response put it on a par with New Zealand as one of the best “managers” of early spread. However, like the U.S., Costa Rica saw spikes, as well as increased spread, of COVID-19 during the fall and winter. The Diocese of Costa Rica closed its churches for several months, and in only some cases, including Iglesia La Ascención in Desamparados, were congregations able to worship via Zoom or livestreaming. San Marcos School in Limón operated with a skeleton crew of teachers and students. Fortunately, the Hogar Escuelas in Barrio Cuba and Heredia, were able to remain open with excellent sanitation protocols in place, so they have had very few cases of COVID-19 and been able to continue to serve their many students whose parents need day care, preschool and after-school care.

And like the U.S., Costa Rica experienced economic repercussions. Costa Rica was, pre-pandemic, a major tourist destination and retirement site, drawing travelers from around the globe to its beautiful beaches, volcanic parks, rainforests and ecological diversity. The pandemic brought the tourism industry to a screeching halt, resulting in layoffs and drastically reduced hours for most tourism industry workers. It also forced the cancellation of the 2020 Diocesan Pilgrimage to Costa Rica, as well as virtually all work pilgrimages—the last groups to go made their visits in February 2020. The trickle-down impacts of reduced family incomes were felt by individual congregations of Iglesia Episcopal Costarricense, as well as by the Diocese, which experienced significant financial stress.

STAYING CLOSE

We hope that later in 2021 or early 2022, we will be able to return to the wonderful work pilgrimages that volunteer groups from our diocese have made to Costa Rica to work with churches, church-run schools and groups there on a variety of projects selected by Bishop Orlando. We hope that groups from Costa Rica will be able to return to North Carolina to visit various parishes as they have done in the past, to learn about our formation activities, church management techniques and governance practices, as well as experience English immersion. We hope a planned visit to North Carolina by a group of clergy and laity from the Diocese of Costa Rica can come together in October of this year; that decision will be made in April.

To that end, we have been working with Roger Pennant Grant, Costa Rica’s new CDO and assistant to Bishop Orlando, to begin talking about post-pandemic life. Pennant is a native Costa Rican; you can read an interview with him on the next page. We are excited for this important development in the relationship, which assigns the CDO role to a Costa Rican and makes him integral to Bishop Orlando’s staff. The companion relationship has been, intentionally, a reciprocal one, emphasizing that church members from each country have much to learn from one another while focusing on empowerment for the Diocese of Costa Rica. Appointing a native Costa Rican to the role of CDO is another step in that direction.

MOVING FORWARD

Like a factory production line which, when shut down for a time by a natural disaster, must build back slowly to resume its normal schedule, so must we take steps to rebuild our in-person relationships with the people of Iglesia Episcopal Costarricense. To accomplish this, the Costa Rica Companion Diocese Committee hopes to reacquaint the congregations in the Diocese of North Carolina with the purpose of our companion relationship and with some of the history of the relationship in order to ensure its future meaningfulness to the congregations in both countries. To that end, look for expanded news updates from Costa Rica, along with an invitation to share news from congregations in North Carolina, especially those with Costa Rican connections, with our Costa Rican friends. For those who wish to explore the companion relationship, the committee extends an open and standing invitation to get involved. Being part of a companion relationship is a beautiful way to experience the rich diversity of the Body of Christ.

To facilitate that, we’ll share stories about what work pilgrimages are like and how to become part of one as an individual, a small group or a congregation. It’s amazingly easy to do and incredibly rewarding. If you don’t see travel in your near future, connect with us on the new Companion Relationship of the Dioceses of Costa Rica and North Carolina Facebook Group (see sidebar above). The brainstorming has only just begun on other ways we can engage to our mutual benefit.

We have, together, accomplished much, but there is more work to do, more relationships to build and more good times to be experienced with one another. Look for more information to come, and we invite you to be a part of it all!

JOIN US

If you ever wanted to meet your neighbors in Costa Rica, visit friends made there or forge a new relationship for yourself or your congregation, we invite you to join the new Companion Relationship of the Dioceses of Costa Rica and North Carolina Facebook Group. The intent of the group is to have a place to gather, share stories, teach one another, share prayer and more. All are welcome!

Q&A WITH ROGER PENNANT GRANT, COMPANION DIOCESE OFFICER

Rebecca Yarbrough and Tom White: Tell us a little about yourself.

Roger Pennant Grant: I am a third-generation Anglican from Siquerres, a small city on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica; my home church is San Lucas in nearby Germania. Growing up, I was an altar boy and participated in several youth groups. I moved to San José to study at the university, majoring in business administration and accounting, and joined Good Shepherd Church (El Buen Pastor) there. I am married to Greta and have two sons, Reggie (age 18) and Jerry James (age 13).

I first joined the Diocese Office part time under the Rt. Rev. Cornelius Wilson, as diocesan treasurer during his last years as bishop. When the Rt. Rev. Hector Monterroso was elected as his replacement, I stayed on until early 2010 as the office’s administrative director. During those years, we expanded the relationship with North Carolina. Part of my duties was making arrangements for the volunteer groups that came down. I made a lot of good friends and visited North Carolina. I am very honored and happy to be involved again with my brothers and sisters from the Diocese of North Carolina. Having had the opportunity to meet and share with so many of you previously was a great blessing for me.

RY & TW: How has God called you to this work?

RPG: I returned to the private sector in San José after I left the Diocese, but, after his election to succeed Bishop Monterroso, Bishop Orlando Gómez asked me to return as a volunteer to chair a finance and planning committee that worked with our congregations to help them identify their priorities and develop plans to meet those priorities. I’m also working with them to assess their assets and think about how they can use them to benefit the community. San Lucas has a huge parish hall; how can that help the community of Germania? Can sharing it with the community help attract new members? When Bishop Orlando asked me to expand my duties to include Companion Diocese Officer, in order to continue to strengthen our companion relationships, I did not hesitate to say yes, because it was such a great experience doing this work before.

RY & TW: What are your duties?

RPG: My first wish is to continue the extraordinary work that Allie Norman did in the recent past. Our idea is to enhance structures for doing work together and sharing together in those topics of mutual benefit. I’ll continue helping congregations in Costa Rica establish their visions for how they can use their properties to be useful and helpful in their communities. Certainly, you support us a lot, and sometimes we cannot find words to show our gratitude, but we want to be of use to you as well. We are seeking mutuality and reciprocity in the relationship, and we know you are also. Teachers from Costa Rica once went to North Carolina to teach Spanish. It could happen again, or you could come here to learn Spanish, or we could do a clergy exchange!

RY & TW: How does God figure into this companion relationship?

RPG: The simple fact of seeing your enthusiasm and desire to organize delegations to come and share with us is already a blessing for our lives. In the past, when groups came and saw the different ways they were to share their stay with us, it was cause for jubilation at both the host church and the diocesan office. More North Carolina churches contacted us to make mission trips, and more of our churches asked to be part of an exchange program. We have done this, and want to do this, not only on construction or remodeling projects, but also with Vacation Bible Schools, workshops for the clergy and other programs. We worship together, we eat together and we celebrate together! So I do not doubt the presence of God tightening our ties!

RY & TW: What are your hopes and dreams for this relationship?

RPG: That we can grow together and be useful in our mutual growth and spiritual development, becoming better people, willing to reach out to those most in need, wherever they live. Sometimes the need is not for material goods but to feel the comfort and understanding of someone who listens. In that sense, I believe that this is achieved with exchange, with sharing. The simple fact of knowing that you are there to support and guide us gives us peace.

The Rev. Rebecca Yarbrough is a deacon at Chapel of Christ the King, Charlotte, the diocesan Jesse Ball DuPont Funds Grants Coordinator and a member of the Diocesan Costa Rica Companion Diocese Committee. Tom White is a member of the Diocesan Costa Rica Companion Diocese Committee.