Join us for a 4 week Learning Community series at 9:30am on Sundays during the month of September when we will be reflecting on Central Baptist Church's relationships in Central America over more than two decades.
Since the mid 1980s, members of CBC have visited Central America--mainly Nicaragua and El Salvador-- well over 100 times.
Twenty years ago, we were responding to calls from Central Americans to accompany them as they struggled with low intensity conflicts inflicted on them by military forces supported by the United States government.
* We stood with Nicaraguans against the Contras who attacked health and literacy workers and civilian communities in an attempt to undo the advances made as a part of the Sandinista revolutionary triumph.
* We became a Sanctuary congregation, joining with 17 faith communities in the Philadelphia area who sheltered Salvadoran and Guatemalan refuges fleeing from civil wars in their own countries.
* We accompanied Salvadoran refugee communities as they returned from refugees camps spread around Central America to reclaim their lands and communities at the close of the Salvadoran civil war.
* Inspired by the faithfulness of church people to the call for justice, we connected with Baptist churches in El Salvador who are attempting to live out the witness of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the many men and women of faith who died because of their commitment to justice in the face of brutal state sponsored terror.
The idea of these sessions is to hear the personal stories of some of the CBC folk who have been a part of this long connection. We want to hear their stories and reflect together on how these experiences feed into our identity at CBC--to hear where we have been, and to ask ourselves what does this rich history have to say about who we are today, and who we want to be tomorrow.
Ron Morgan will moderate the sessions, which will focus on two or three different personal stories each week.
The leftist FMLN political party in El Salvador held its national convention in mid-August. FMLN Presidential candidate Mauricio Funes outlined his plans for change in the country, promising to focus on problems of unemployment and underemployment and calling for an end to the "economy of privilege." The FMLN platform was unveiled, including initiatives to expand the social insurance system, improve healthcare institutions, and ensure a universal basic pension for the elderly.
