COCOA – The students at St. Mark’s Episcopal Academy are about to have some new pen pals, 21st century-style.
The Cocoa school is in the early stages of setting up a cross-cultural partnership with St. John’s Episcopal Church in Siguatepeque, located in the central mountains of Honduras, and St. Mark’s leadership couldn’t be more excited about it.
“We have a lot of hopes for enriching our lives and theirs with some cross-cultural ministry,” said the Rev. Gary Jackson, rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
The idea originated with Jackson two years ago when he saw a similar partnership with a Honduras church and school go into effect at St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church in DeLand. He said the reports he heard from that arrangement were “really good.”
Forming a similar partnership became one of Jackson’s first big initiatives when he arrived at St. Mark’s last year. Two church members, Delores Spearman and Marla Glover, went to Honduras on a scouting trip with a couple of experienced clergy from other churches in September, where found a receptive partner in St. John’s.
“It was wonderful,” said Glover, who travels frequently but had never been to Honduras. “All the children impressed me with how happy they were – they were so happy! And they were so curious about us.”
The planning has really accelerated in the last month, with Jackson and Gigi Pedroso, a teacher of Spanish and Latin at St. Mark’s, just returning from a trip to visit the school and hammering out some details.
After all of these burgeoning plans are put into effect, Jackson expects an incrementally growing program that will include digital teleconferencing between classes, textbook swapping, idea exchanges and, eventually, a short-term teacher exchange.
The benefits? Many, Jackson believes. He can’t wait to get started.
“Friendship and relationship and receiving from them and giving to them and listening,” Jackson said, listing some of his expectations for the project. “Our kids will be able to have a greater awareness of the world outside of suburbia.”