James Pawlowicz

Mission Country: Brazil

hometown: Bolingbrook, IL

home parish: St. Margaret of Scotland, Capitol Heights, MD

faith community: Roman Catholic

languages: Some German and Spanish

travel: Italy, Mexico, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.

James Pawlowicz, originally from Bolingbrook, Illinois, comes to Maryknoll Lay Missioners with a unique blend of experience in animal science, community engagement, and pastoral accompaniment. A magna cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, where he double-majored in Animal Science and the Sociology of Law, Crime, and Deviance, James spent seven years working in animal control—an unexpected but profound formation in humility, equity, and compassionate service. His work brought him into every kind of neighborhood and household, teaching him to meet people where they are, to see their dignity beyond circumstances, and to show up with patience, respect, and presence.

Alongside his professional work, James has walked closely with migrants through parish-based ministry, accompanying individuals who have faced violence, displacement, and trauma. He also brings experience from LGBTQ ministry within the Church, where he has learned the power of genuine listening and the importance of spiritual companionship. Most recently, he has served in project management within his nonprofit, honing practical skills in organization, strategy, and collaboration.

James is deeply rooted in his Catholic faith and active at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Maryland, a community whose culture of belonging and mutual care has reshaped his understanding of church and community. Drawn to mission as an act of being “sent,” he hopes to continue growing in humility, joy, and nonviolence while offering his gifts of accompaniment, discernment, and perseverance.

An outdoors enthusiast, two-step dancer, avid reader, and gardener, James is eager to discover how God will work in and through him in mission.

education:

I earned a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. I double-majored in Animal Science and the Sociology of Law, Crime, and Deviance.

work:

As a teen, I discerned that I wanted to follow my passion for animals, so I went to school for animal science and sociology and then followed an internship into an early career in animal control, which is a combination of law enforcement, education, mediation, and public service. That lasted about seven years with an intermission in natural resources. For the last three years I’ve been working in project management within the same nonprofit for which I was an animal control investigator.

volunteer:

Over six years working in animal control in two cities, I entered all kinds of homes and neighborhoods, gaining a deeper understanding of poverty and learning to approach it with comfort, equity, and patience. That experience, along with time accompanying migrants—many of whom shared harrowing stories of violence and persecution—taught me the value of showing up for people, seeing them fully, and offering companionship as a form of service. More recently, I have also been involved in LGBTQ ministry within the church, continuing to learn how to create spaces of presence, welcome, and compassion in communities that are too often marginalized.

hobbies:

I enjoy being outdoors, hiking, dancing (especially country two-step), gardening, reading (especially science fiction & fantasy), praise & worship, spending time with friends.

What motivated you to become a Maryknoll Lay Missioner?

I am drawn to overseas mission as an answer to God’s calling me forth. Jesus sent his disciples out, and that is what I want to do. To obey, as 2000 years of followers have done before me, participating in a tradition that reaches through all of history, if I think of Elijah and Naaman, Joseph and the Pharaoh, or Abraham and Melchizadek. Cross-cultural experiences build the faith. They show us more of the complexity and diversity of our God, allow us to shed some of the attachments and falsehoods that come between us and God, and bring us closer to Christ, who traveled a great distance to be with us. I want to help others and I hope to grow spiritually along the way.

I want to go as part of a Catholic community rather than singly or as part of a secular community for the help in staying spiritually centered in the work, staying spiritually centered in my life, and having trustworthy support as I experience challenges. I hope that I and my colleagues will support and edify one other as any apostolic community does.

Of MKLM’s 5 Core Values, please choose one and share an example of living it out.

Community. I spent the first decades of my life in parishes where I could come and go in comfortable anonymity. But in 2020 I moved to my current parish, St. Margaret of Scotland. Once we started masses in person, so many people quickly learned my name that it scared me. The parish has deep, deep roots; diverse members; and a sense of being one church family that has deeply affected me. I have learned to not only tithe my time and talent to the parish, but to take their traditions, joys, and sorrows as my own, to let them become a part of me and my identity. I have likewise been learning to accept that they have done the same, generously and unconditionally accepting me as a part of their lives. We show up together, we take care of one another, and we practice a love that is bigger than our differences.

What personal gifts or strengths do you bring to mission?

Accompanying others, includes listening, acknowledging the other person, and recognizing my own boundaries. Also, project management is a more concrete skill I’ve been developing. This is the art of getting things done and getting them done well. I am naturally industrious, organized, and strategic.

What are you hoping to learn from the local people in your mission setting?

I am hoping to expand my mind regarding culture, personality, faith and spirituality, God, you name it. I also hope to learn some local stuff of course! Language, music, dance, native plants, cuisine, etc.

How do you envision building relationships across differences (language, culture, faith, etc.)?

Finding something to connect over, working to overcome some barriers of ignorance on my part, continuing to show up, and letting relationships bloom and fade in their own time.