Welcome to Barriers to Bridges, I'm glad you've come by!
This update presentation below covers the last 20 months since October 2019. I can't believe it's been that long - time apparently changed during the pandemic - but that's the reality! Since returning from Ecuador in April and recovering from Covid-19 and vaccination shots, I've been catching up and preparing for the next steps.
As I typically do, since the news posts I've been writing are fairly detailed and cover well the arc of the last year, I've strung the posts together chronologically in this Sway. Posts are grouped according to phases over the last 20 months, each group having its own overview. And within each group, each post is listed with a link with which you can open it up for all the details.
Here are the principal currents from the last 20 months:
As mentioned previously, the time testing a provisional lay membership with the St. James Society ended in 2019, but the transition from that reached a dwell period in the Pandemic. With society opening up more, the transition back to "friend" and sometimes collaborator is moving forward.
B2B has moved forward with activities, but also obtained more clarity in identity and mission:
Foundational value is in accompaniment as brothers and sisters in Christ and the treasured mutual benefits - both spiritual and material - that have come about both for the poor and me. Accompaniment is local both in the US and Ecuador, and then cross-cultural / international. It sprouts new activities, ministries, and groups with benefits for all:
Preached and written spiritual reflections in English and Spanish
In person and video teaching series in English and Spanish: Scripture (Food in the Desert), Social (A Spirituality of Equality), Personal Testimony (The Four Houses)
In person and online workshops in English and Spanish for people in life transitions (Tree of Life, Young Mothers, Migration, Pandemic Re-Birth). These often are a foundation for the emergence of groups
Language, culture, and material collaborative sharing, in form of growing communion of relationships, to facilitate cultural bridging of people.
Individual spiritual accompaniment and retreats
After spending most of my Ecuador time in Chontal since the landslides of 2014, I'm exploring and discerning other locations in Ecuador to consider as well (e.g., Mindo, Quito), where there might be more possibility of collaboration and cross-cultural encounter that resonates with the mission.
I'm currently in a one- to two-year pause in the US for personal and transitional growth, applying to courses and small certification programs in spiritual & psychological care. These help to augment the overall pastoral and spiritual care in all my activities in B2B, and to open more opportunities for retreats, personal spiritual accompaniment, and experiences and groups where people find support in life transitions. Not only is this a greater need now everywhere because of the pandemic, but particularly in poorer rural areas in Ecuador where these opportunities are almost impossible to find.
I've increased my online capabilities due to the evolving effects of the pandemic.
I've placed the financials at the end of the Sway, including the profit-loss statements from 2020 and 2021 YTD, plus the current balance sheet. In 2020, the pandemic was more costly in some ways (flights and extended stay), but also less costly in others (monthly expenses). Investment was also made into technology, and I did no fundraising for my own support. In 2021, there were increased flight and housing costs due to pandemic complications that affected travel (flight and housing costs.) I also have not done any fundraising for my own personal support. That leaves current cash assets at $679, enough to cover the operating costs this year while investing personal assets into my own development for the mission.
As I mentioned above, the plan is to remain primarily in the US for the next one or two years, to continue ministry in Boston, to develop some formational and financial support, and to take next steps in growth.
Well, enjoy the presentation below in Microsoft Sway. You can click in a corner of it to expand it, and if you’re having trouble, you can use this link to view it directly in its own window:
Feel free to contact me and reach out anytime!
-Jerome