Our missionaries feed and heal

FEED AND HEAL

A reflection by one of our missionaries

Photos of children in Jujuy: being fed, being healed

At the conclusion of the Eucharist, we receive a mandate to go out into the world, to love and serve the Lord. What does that mean for missionaries in the middle of a pandemic in an area where there are still not many vaccines, health resources are few, the economy is broken, people are unemployed, schools are closed, food pantries and soup kitchens open and close, open and close?

What does it mean when we receive the same mandate that Jesus gave to a group of fishermen and housewives: heal and feed.

We heal and feed, heal and feed. That is what we do.

Sara Miles is an Episcopal priest, a former atheist who wandered into a church one day, received Communion, and experienced a religious conversion; she has spoken at St. Stephen’s. In her book Take This Bread, she recounts the transformation of her church into a food pantry for the poor in her community. Each week, the people of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco move the furnishings out of the nave and bring in food for people to take home with them.

In Argentina, in the pandemic, we have done the opposite. We have taken the feeding programs—and the soccer fields, and the playgrounds, and people’s homes, and the streets—and turned them into church. Like you, we could not have church in the traditional ways. We had no church services. We had no social services.

By Monica Vega

Many people have died, many people have lost their jobs, and many cannot feed their families. Many are suffering from mental health issues because of isolation. The pandemic has taken so much away.

But it has also given us an opportunity: to respond to that call from Jesus to his disciples, and to us. We have learned the names and address of the people sent to us to feed and heal.

We have distributed tons of food parcels. Feed and heal.

We have visited those who are isolated and lonely. Feed and heal.

We have helped clothe little girls who were wearing their deceased grandmother’s underwear and clothing because they had nothing else to wear on a visit to the doctor. Feed and heal.

We have been with children on soccer fields and playgrounds and on the streets. Feed and heal.

We are discovering in all these settings the surprising dwelling places of God, and we are immersed in God’s presence.

Monica Vega is one of our two missionaries in Jujuy, one of the poorest communities in Argentina. The other is Heidi Schmidt, who took the photos on this page. Heidi and Monica will visit us at St. Stephen’s in the fall. Watch The Spirit and eSpirit for specific dates.