El Salvador Partners Mission Group

Lenten Prayer Meeting - Celebrating the Life of Oscar Romero

2010-03-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

Lenten Prayer Meeting
Wednesday, March 17th
Palmer Theological Seminary
5:55-6:20pm in the Seminary dining room

Celebrating the life of Oscar Romero
(August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980)
What does it mean to live in solidarity with the poor?

LENT is about MAKING SPACE for GOD…
Take a break and spend 15 min. in meditative prayer.
Engage in various interactive prayer stations
OR
simply meditate in candelit silence.

Romero 30th Anniversary Reflections at Palmer Seminary

2010-03-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

Please come and join us at Palmer Seminary (6 Lancaster Ave. in Wynnewood, PA) 12:45pm to 1:30pm on Thursday, March 18th, for a chapel service to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Archbishop Romero's death. Mayra Picos and others from the seminary will share some of their experiences from their recent delegation to El Salvador in light of Romero's legacy. We welcome people from outside the Seminary community!

(Monumento a la Memoria y la Verdad / Parque Cuscatlan / San Salvador)

Solidarity Then and Now -- Storytelling and Inspiration from the 1980s Sanctuary Movement and the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia

2010-03-01T05:12:00.000-08:00

Come to Tabernacle United Church on Thursday, March 4th, from 7 - 9 pm, for an evening of storytelling and inspiration with Philadelphia leaders from the ORIGINAL Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s together with the NEW Sanctuary Movement (NSM) of Philadelphia. Tabernacle is located at Chestnut and 37th Street in Philadelphia, with the entrance on 37th. All are welcome! Bring friends.

Families from El Salvador and Guatemala who were accompanied by the Philadelphia sanctuary congregations in the 1980s will be present to tell about their experience. NSM will honor Philadelphia congregations that were part of the 1980s sanctuary movement, including Central Baptist Church, FUMCOG, Tabernacle, St. Vincents, Germantown Friends, Chestnut Hill Friends, Mishkan Shalom, Beth David, and others. NSM will also officially welcome Mishkan Shalom and Visitation BVM (and possibly one more) as the first congregations to affiliate with Philadelphia NSM.

More info about NSM and details about this event at www.nsmphilly.blogspot.com. Join the "New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia" Facebook group to find out about upcoming events and advocacy actions.

Other highlights of the "Solidarity Then and Now" evening include --

Spoken Word performance by Ruben and Anthony about current realities in the Philadelphia immigrant community today.

Solo dance reflection on immigration by Yatz, accompanied by Juan on guitar.

Porfolio of photographs from the 1980s sanctuary movement by photographer and activist Harvey Finkle. See his current work photographing Indonesian, Burmese, Cambodian, and Mexican communities in Philadelphia at www.harveyfinkle.com.

NSM will share about the Storytelling Project, with personal story sharing by one of the project participants from South Philly. Learn more here.

Upcoming meeting - Report on Palmer Seminary delegation in El Salvador

2010-02-14T13:48:00.000-08:00

Join us at CBC on Sunday, Feb 28th, following worship to hear a report back about the recent Palmer Seminary delegation to El Salvador. All are welcome! A simple lunch will be provided.

Mayra Picos-Lee and others will be sharing stories and a slide show about their experience in Santa Ana with ABC missionary Kim Kushner, learning about SEBLA (the Baptist seminary in El Salvador) and visiting communities devastated by flooding last fall. They also had time to meet with Ruth Orantes.

Here Palmer's group is pictured at the SEBLA offices in Santa Ana after meeting with Jaime Peña, dean of SEBLA and President of FEBES. From top left to bottom right, we are: Joshua Walters, Douglas Avilesbernal, Mayra Picos-Lee, Jaime Peña, Heather Biscoe and Marikay Green.

REUNION OF 1980s SANCTUARY CONGREGATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA AND ORGANIZING FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE IN PHILADELPHIA TODAY

2010-01-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

The New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) of Philadelphia – a growing interfaith coalition with a diverse range of people from many immigrant communities and organizations – is organizing a reunion of the Philadelphia congregations and leaders from the ORIGINAL Sanctuary movement of the 1980s. Some of the families from El Salvador and Guatemala who were supported by the Philadelphia sanctuary congregations also plan to attend this event.

The gathering will be a time to reflect on stories about the passions that created the 1980s movement and to learn from that collective wisdom for the NSM work of accompaniment and solidarity with immigrants seeking justice in Philadelphia today!

All are welcome! Join us on Thursday, Feb 11th, from 7pm to 9pm, at Tabernacle United Church located at Chestnut and 37th Street.

The reunion will include friends from number of key congregations from the 1980s -- Mishkan Shalom, FUMCOG, Tabernacle United Church, Germantown Friends, Chestnut Hill Friends, St. Vincents, and Central Baptist.

To learn more about NSM and for details about this event (including a flyer to download and post) visit www.nsmphilly.blogspot.com. Questions? See Caroline Cargo or email NSM at nsmphiladelphia@gmail.com.

Updates about the Orantes Family

2010-01-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

We recently received the disturbing news that Ruth's teaching job at the Colegio Bautista (the Baptist school in Santa Ana) has been eliminated as of January 1st. Ruth's position in the Christian Education department was one of 20 jobs eliminated across various departments.

This puts added pressure on the family budget, especially since Victor Hugo's school tuition was a benefit of Ruth's employment. Happily we can report that a donor to the Cielo Azul Fund has designated funds to cover all of Victor Hugo's school expenses for 2010.

The loss of the teaching job leaves Ruth free to spend herself in her pastoral work at Iglesia Bautista Shekina. But while there is full time work to do at this growing congregation, the congregation can not match the salary she has lost from her teaching position.

Your continued support through the Cielo Azul Fund (www.cieloazulfund.blogspot.com) will help to give the family a stable economic base for their service to the community.

New partnership with The Simple Way

2010-01-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Over the years, there have been many mutual visits between the Orantes family and members of The Simple Way community in Philadelphia. (www.thesimpleway.org) We are happy to announce that in January 2010, our friends at The Simple Way has become the new fiscal sponsor for contributions to support the ministries of Ruth and Alex and special projects at Iglesia Bautista Shekina!

Ruth and Alex's commitment to faith-based community development, justice, peacemaking, and healing has been a cherished model and inspiration for The Simple Way and for Central Baptist Church for many years.

We are very excited about an opportunity to deepen this connection between these people whose ministries are rooted in service and accompaniment of the poor and marginalized.

With this transition, the former "Orantes Fund" has been renamed. Now we are the "Cielo Azul Fund" and this mission will be guided by an advisory committee from The Simple Way, El Salvador Partners of CBC, and Iglesia Bautista Shekina.

The Cielo Azul Fund is also now featured on the TSW website as one of their global projects! Find us under the "friends and partners" section of their website at www.thesimpleway.org.

All contributions to the Cielo Azul Fund will be processed by The Simple Way, which also means that we are now able to accept secure on-line credit card donations designated for Cielo Azul through our blog at www.cieloazulfund.blogspot.com. The blog has updated instructions for donating online and by personal check.

We look forward to building a stronger, wider community of new friends who will join with us in our partnership with Ruth and Alex in their ministries of justice, hope, peace, and healing for El Salvador!

Shekina Christmas project aids sister church damaged by Hurricane Ida

2010-01-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

a report from Shekina...

Our Sister Church - Iglesia Bautista Discipulos de Cristo - in the outskirts of San Martin suffered dangerous and tremendous damage in the night of Nov. 7/8th 2009 because of Hurricane Ida. There were 2 dead in the congregation. Members of the church lost all fields of beans and corn, which went down into the valley, 300m deep. The church terrace was damaged as well, and they will have to move before the rainy season 2010 (May).

On December 22nd, the Shekina Solidarity Committee (comite de solidaridad) delivered a much appreciated Christmas present of food baskets to 38 families at Iglesia Bautista Discipulos de Cristo. We got to know each other better and celebrated an improvised thanksgiving church service with the pastor.

(Thank you to Bernhard for this update and David Chacon for photos)

Dinner and a Movie -- December Special Event

2009-12-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Join the El Salvador Partners Mission Group for a special event on Thursday evening, Dec 17th when we'll be attending the premier of the film RETURN TO EL SALVADOR at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.

The documentary features Ruth and Alex Orantes. Ron and Betsy Morgan have been instrumental in helping shape the project, and Steve Chandler has worked on the production side. Filmmaker Jamie Moffett (Eastern grad and The Simple Way) came to El Salvador in March with the CBC Delegation for an introduction to El Salvador and to film the elections. The website www.returntoelsalvador.com has a number of preview video clips.

Here are the details to add to your calendar –

6pm Meet for dinner at Gullifty's / 1149 Lancaster Ave. / Rosemont, PA 19010

7:30pm Reception at Bryn Mawr Film Institute / 824 West Lancaster Avenue / Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

8:00pm Premier of Return to El Salvador at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Please RSVP to Caroline Cargo if you plan to meet us for dinner so we can make a reservation for the group to sit together. You can check out the menu online at www.gulliftys.com. Sandwiches are about $10 and dinner entrees are about $15.

If you can't come for dinner, you can still catch up with us at the movie theater at 7:30pm. Tickets for the reception and screening are $10/each. You can purchase tickets at the door, or click here to purchase advance tickets on-line.

“CANSADOS PERO FELICES DE SERVIR” - Updates from Shekina

2009-12-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

Ruth Orantes sends a report that November has been very busy and full of many blessings for the community in Santa Ana! The “Open Doors” annual community outreach project at Shekina had more than 85 people attending workshops led by the young adults and several of the older women of the church.

During the same time, Shekina received a delegation from Cedar Hills Baptist Church in Oregon, which has partnered with Shekina to sponsor a number of medical clinics in Atiquizaya over the past few years.

This year, the medical clinics were offered in coordination with the mayor's office in Santa Ana and with the help of FMLN youth. Shekina's teenagers and young adults worked very hard to plan logistics and to help with translation. In addition to the Oregon delegation members, there were doctors, nurses, and physical therapists from Santa Ana who provided care. The clinics were offered for four days in San Luis La Planta and three days in El Ranchador. More than 1500 people received medical care during the one week of the clinics!

To see more photos of the medical clinic, click here.

Bernhard Voegeli, who recently visited CBC from Shekina, described the communities where the medical clinics were held:

These are very poor communities. The income there (if there is work) is $1 USD per day. It is very conflictive and dominated by the maras (Salvadoran gangs) 18 and 13. Killing is happening often, for as little as 50 US cents...We were protected by a police patrol and felt very secure as the people appreciated our work.

Ruth also sends a thank you to CBC for welcoming Fabiola:

Y con respecto a Fabiola.... Gracias por que todos la estan atendiendo muy bien! Ella nos escribe todas las semanas y cada ves se siente mas feliz entre ustedes.

El Salvador Jesuit Martyrs 20th Anniversary Nov 16th - events at Villanova

2009-11-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Doug Norton for sharing this schedule of events at Villanova University. For additional information: http://www.villanova.edu/artsci/peaceandjustice/

Remembering The El Salvador Martyrs
November 16, 1989

Renewing Our Commitment To Justice In The World

The Villanova Center for Peace and Justice commemorates the 20th anniversary of the six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter who were murdered on the grounds of El Salvador's Central American University.

Schedule of Events for Monday, November 16th, at Villanova University

12:05 p.m. Memorial Mass in Corr Chapel with Fr. Kail Ellis. A memorial will
be in Corr throughout the afternoon. Stop in for quiet reflection.

12:30-4:00 p.m. Fair Trade Crafts from El Salvador in support of Women’s
Cooperative at Tierra Blanca. Please join in a letter writing campaign.

1:00 p.m. “El Salvador Human Rights Violations, 1983-1989,” a video
presentation: Center for Peace and Justice, Sullivan Grd. Floor.

1:30 p.m. “The Seeds of Liberty,” a video presentation: Center for Peace and
Justice.

2:00 p.m. El Salvador Today: reflections from service break trips and other
mission trips. With Professor Joe Betz. Center for Peace and Justice.

3:00 p.m. “A Question of Conscience: The Murder of the Jesuit Priests in El
Salvador” Film Screening. Center for Peace and Justice.

5:20 p.m. Memorial Mass in Corr Chapel with Fr. Joseph Farrell

More emergency efforts in El Salvador

2009-11-13T05:22:00.001-08:00

On the weekend of November 7th and 8th, El Salvador was hit with the “tail” of Hurricane Ida. Statistics are still being gathered, but early accounts reported 130 deaths and more than 13,000 people left without homes. This total is sure to rise as emergency relief workers continue to work their way through damaged buildings and areas that have experienced landslides.

Please pray for all of those affected by the flooding and landslides, and for the individuals and organizations working to respond.

The damage was mostly felt in poor communities in the area of San Salvador and the southeastern regions of the country. In addition to causing floods and mudslides that have resulted in the devastating loss of lives and homes, the hurricane arrived right on time to coincide with El Salvador's seasonal bean harvest, so the loss of this crucial food supply will have a lasting impact in the months ahead, as well.

CBC's El Salvador Partners immediately received emails from Ruth Orantes and others at Iglesia Bautista Shekina, seeking our prayers for and our solidarity with people who are struggling in the midst of this crisis. The region around Santa Ana received heavy rains, but no significant damage. See the request for prayers from our brothers and sisters at Shekina in Spanish in the previous post below.

The SHARE Foundation is also sending updates and reports with photos from the affected areas of the country. As is often the case in these sorts of situations, the most immediate problems include access to emergency shelter, access to potable water, and food. SHARE Foundation, in collaboration with its partners in the three zones of San Salvador, La Paz and San Vicente, will be working to provide emergency relief. This will include distribution of plastic sheeting and wood for temporary housing; food and water.

The new American Baptist missionary in El Salvador, Kim Kushner, is also sending reports about the storm and emergency relief efforts as she visits affected communities. Here is her report from Tuesday, November 11th:

Today I made a visit to the community of San Martin, located on the outskirts of San Salvador. San Martin is one of many communities devastated by landslides caused by the intense rain this past Saturday.

In October I spent a week in the community, a glorified shantytown that appeared along the railroad tracks during the civil war. The community was leveled by the earthquake in 2001, and has been battered by gangs, violence, and extreme poverty. Most families are subsistence farmers, growing corn and beans on the steep hillsides that form the inlets to Lake Ilopango. People were hopeful, farmers were just one month from a successful harvest, the community had managed to rebuild more than 90 homes since the 2001 quake.

Late Saturday night San Martin was transformed. Houses built on the steep hillsides and on the edges of precipices disappeared. They simply don’t exist anymore. Several households were caught off guard and the families were buried in their homes or washed down the hillside. 100% of corn and bean crops, just one week short of harvest, were washed away. Temporary plastic, tin, and bamboo pole structures are being built to house families on the soccer field.

In spite of the catastrophe, the community is working together to secure drinking water, and is pressuring the government to follow through on its promise to relocate those who are without homes or in precarious locations. A few organizations have come to see the damage; little to no aid has arrived in the community.

San Martin is just one of many communities affected. 13 communities working FEBES, the Baptist Federation of El Salvador, report deaths, damaged or lost homes, or lost crops. Please keep this country, the communities affected, and the Federation team working to respond quickly to the most urgent needs in prayer. Later we’ll begin to coordinate rebuilding efforts and search for long-term food resources.
Kim Kushner, American Baptist Missionary in El Salvador

TO CONTRIBUTE TO EMERGENCY RELIEF EFFORTS IN EL SALVADOR

To contribute to the SHARE Foundation emergency relief in response to Hurricane Ida, make a secure on-line contribution through the SHARE website (www.share-elsalvador.org). You may also contribute via check payable to SHARE (please write “Hurricane Ida Relief” in the memo) and mail your contribution to: SHARE Foundation / P.O. Box 29620 / Washington, DC 20017 .

You may also make contributions for American Baptist Churches emergency relief efforts through the CBC offering plate on Sunday mornings. Your check should be made payable to Central Baptist Church with “One Great Hour of Sharing – El Salvador” on the memo line.

Emergency relief efforts following mudslides and floods

2009-11-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

We received the message below on Monday from Ruth Orantes about the impact of Hurricane Ida on El Salvador, seeking our prayers for and our solidarity with people who are struggling in the midst of this crisis.

In news since Ruth's message was sent, the numbers have been rising. Poor communities in the area of San Salvador have been especially affected. The hurricane's arrival coincides with the fall season bean harvest. The destruction of this crucial food source will have a lasting impact in the months ahead.

The SHARE Foundation reports:

Over the weekend, the storm destroyed more than 7,000 homes and damaged many more. The most recent data, reported this morning (Monday) in the Prensa Gráfica, indicates that approximately 130 people have been killed by the storm, and thousands more injured. This total is sure to rise as emergency relief workers continue to work their way through damaged buildings and areas that have experienced landslides.

See photos and reports at http://share-elsalvador.org/headlines/idarelief.html

*******************************************
From Iglesia Bautista Shekina:

QUERIDOS AMIGOS, QUERIDOS HERMANOS Y HERMANAS... HAY LUTO EN EL SALVADOR... EL PASO DEL HURACAN IDA HA DEJADO 124 MUERTOS, 60 DESAPARECIDOS... MILES DE DAMNIFICADOS... PERDIDAS MATERIALES...

EN LOS ULTIMOS DIAS HABIAMOS TENIDO TIEMPO NUBLADO Y LLUVIAS ESPORADICAS PERO BASTARON UNAS POCAS HORAS DE LLUVIA INTENSA DEL DIA DE AYER Y HOY EN LA MADRUGADA PARA QUE LOS RIOS SE INUNDARAN Y LA TIERRA SEDIERA PRODUCIENDO MUCHOS DESLAVES, ESPECIALMENTE EN 4 DEPARTAMENTOS DE NUESTRO PAIS....

QUEREMOS PEDIRLES QUE NOS AYUDEN CON SUS ORACIONES, POR LAS FAMILIAS QUE HAN PERDIDO SERES QUERIDOS, POR LAS FAMILIAS QUE TENDRAN QUE COMENZAR DE LA NADA, POR LA PROVISION DIARIA Y POR LA SOLIDARIDAD QUE NUESTRO PUEBLO NECESITA...

CONFIAMOS EN SU CARIÑO PARA CON NOSOTROS Y NUESTRO PUEBLO

QUE DIOS LES BENDIGA
UN ABRAZO DE PARTE DE SUS HERMANOS Y HERMANAS DE LA IGLESIA BAUTISTA SHEKINA

UNIDOS EN EL DOLOR... UNIDOS EN LA FE.... UNIDOS EN LA ESPERANZA... UNIDOS EN LA SOLIDARIDAD

A Prayer of Hope for El Salvador - Nov 2009

2009-11-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

In worship at Central Baptist Church today, we joined in a litany of hope for El Salvador, written for the congregation by Kathleen Bailey. This is our community's prayerful response to reports of increasing violence, especially in reflections recently shared with us by Alex Orantes. (See previous post with Alex's reflections that inspired this prayer.)

In this season, we remember the upcoming anniversaries of the martyrdom of the Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter on Nov 16, 1989, as well as the four U.S. churchwomen on Dec 2, 1980. We pray for all who are still today struggling against violence and for those who work to transform our communities into places where peace is a reality.

The full text of the litany is included below. Watch the video here, or click to watch the youtube video of our prayer.

A Prayer of Hope for El Salvador

Leader 1: The Light shines in the darkness,
Leader 2: And the darkness cannot put out the Light!

People: God of Light and Life, no darkness is too deep for your illumination, no wound so grave as to be beyond your healing. O God, your heart beats within us for the Salvadoran land and for its people. Send your Spirit among them to succor, sustain, and comfort those who are uprooted, injured and dying in the terrible wake of violence.

Leader 2: The Light shines in the darkness,

People: And the darkness cannot put out the Light!

Leader 1: We remember the darkness in 1980 when Archbishop Romero was assassinated, and we remember his words, “Justice cannot be killed.” Lord, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader 2: We remember the darkness also in 1980 when the four church women, Dorothy Kazel, Jean Donovan, Ita Ford and Maura Clarke were assassinated. The night before she died, Ita Ford quoted Romero, saying, “One who is committed to the poor must risk the same fate as the poor. And in El Salvador we know what the fate of the poor signifies: to disappear, to be tortured, to be captive and found dead.” Lord, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader 1: We remember the darkness in 1989 when six Jesuit priests from the University of Central America, their housekeeper and her 15 year old daughter were brutally murdered. Lord, in your mercy,

All: Hear our prayer.

Leader 2: Now, in 2009, we know the darkness again as we lift up to You in prayer: two old men slain by machetes; a young husband—trying to support his pregnant wife—shot under a streetlight; a fruit-seller shot without mercy outside the gates of the Baptist School in Santa Ana; the pastor of our partner church and our friend, Ruth Orantes, robbed and grieved; and a country once again knowing the fear of daily violence on their streets and in their neighborhoods, a country with one of the highest rates of homicide in the world.Lord, in your mercy,

All:Hear our prayer.

Leader 1: Guide us as we continue to walk with our Salvadoran sisters and brothers. Guide us as we accompany your faith communities who offer places of refuge to the victims of violence in El Salvador.

Leader 2: You do not leave your people to suffer alone, but we know that You stand close, even in the terrors of the night. You bring the light of hope even in the darkness of oppression.

People: And the darkness cannot put out the Light!

Leader 1: In your mercy and grace, transform hearts and minds so that there might be an end to the violence, an end to the menacing, an end to terror, an end to hatred and, finally, an end to killing so that the peace which so many have died trying to birth might be reality.

All: May God’s Light be with us all.

Litany by Kathleen Bailey, member of Central Baptist Church and El Salvador Partners

“Return to El Salvador” preview party and fundraiser!

2009-10-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Join us at Urban Saloon / 2120 Fairmount Ave. / Philadelphia, PA at 8:00pm on Tuesday, November 3rd.

This is the documentary by Philadelphia filmmaker Jamie Moffett that features Alex and Ruth Orantes. Ron and Betsy Morgan have been working on this project with Jamie, and CBC's very own Steve Chandler is involved in the production team, too. The party on Tuesday will feature excerpts from the film and discussion about the current state of affairs in El Salvador and what you can do to help.

Tickets for the preview party are $15 and you'll need one to get in the front door. Your first beer is free with the ticket purchase!

To find out more about the project, visit www.returntoelsalvador.com.

To purchase a ticket for the preview party, click here.

Here's a link to the URBAN SALOON website for directions. www.theurbansaloon.com

Delegation from Calvary Baptist Church in Washington DC

2009-10-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

A delegation of 11 members of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington DC recently returned from a trip to El Salvador organized by Pastor Edgar Palacios. (Several of the delegation participants are friends of John and Nancy Thayer from Central Baptist Church - the other "CBC")

During the visits in El Salvador, the Calvary delegation met with new friends and participated in missions projects. At one church, they worked on a new project that will benefit the unemployed in the church through a metal-working shop/school. The shop will build kitchens, fences, and balconies for people’s homes and train new artisans to take their skills elsewhere to find work. In the beginning, this will benefit 8 families and it will continue to grow and help the local community get back on their feet! They also met the recipients and applicants of the Shalom Scholarship, a program sponsored by Calvary to enable students in El Salvador to complete their education. The group also had an opportunity to meet with El Salvador's Vice-President, Sanchez Ceren.

Their experiences during the Oct 10 to Oct 17 trip are documented in a great blog with lots of stories and photos. Check it out at http://calvarytoelsalvador.wordpress.com/

Cielo Azul -- New Solidarity Fund

2009-10-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

The new Cielo Azul Fund is launching a fall campaign to insure that the work of peace and justice that Baptist pastors Ruth and Alex Orantes have been carrying on will continue to grow. For five years the Orantes Fund has supported the Orantes family in their pastoral work; now Cielo Azul is committed to an even broader level of support not only for Ruth, Alex and Victor Hugo, but for the programs that have arisen out of their ministries in the communities where they work.

In the weeks and months after the March 2009 election of Mauricio Funes as President of El Salvador (“the first President to support the needs of the poor in 150 years,” as one Salvadoran activist put it), we have had great hope for the future of a people who have struggled so long for a dignified life free from political, economic and criminal violence.

Our choice of a new name (Cielo Azul means“blue sky” in English) is an attempt to symbolize this new reality. And there are signs of a move in that direction in a recent report from Alex:

For next year, students in public schools will receive uniforms and school– supplies, shoes, food and milk from the government. This will reactivate the small tailoring and shoe shops It will benefit small businesses that sell school supplies. It seems to be an excellent sign. People are happy, full of hope by this news which is leading to fresh preparation within each school.

But the latest report from Alex on increasing violence in El Salvador is a reminder that hope can be very fragile. More than ever, our friends in El Salvador need spiritual and material support to continue build communities based on faith, justice and service to all who are in need.

Please consider a gift to the Cielo Azul fund in order to send a message of solidarity to Ruth and Alex and the communities where they work. See the new blog at www.CieloAzulFund.blogspot.com for information on how to contribute.

Stories from El Salvador -- Alex Orantes

2009-10-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Alex and Ruth Orantes will be featured in an upcoming documentary by Philadelphia filmmaker Jamie Moffett. To find out more, visit www.returntoelsalvador.com.

In this video clip, Alex Orantes recounts a time in his youth when he was nearly killed by death squads while enjoying a night out with some friends.

Stories from El Salvador - Ruth Orantes

2009-10-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

A pastor and teacher, Ruth Orantes has long hoped the FMLN, the "party of the people", would one day take office. When that came to pass on March 15, 2009, the city of Santa Ana threw the party of a lifetime.

To find out more about the upcoming documentary, visit returntoelsalvador.com

Alex Orantes - Reflections on Violence in El Salvador

2009-10-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday two old men were buried. The father and the uncle of an FMLN friend. The details are dreadful: They were surprised at home by the killers, who without having a word attacked and beaten them. They were slain by machetes and were found naked but they were not robbed. I was there at night for the visitation and there were a lot of people from the community, almost everyone from the FMLN, from the Catholic Church and Evangelical Church, accompanying this beloved family and the two murdered old men that were dearly appreciated by the community.

In recent days, a clown that used to spent the day juggling and begging at a street light, about 1,500 meters from where we live, was murdered. Later I knew that he had AIDS. It is very sad, he was shot right there. His surviving wife is pregnant and it is possible that she has AIDS as well, I hope her baby doesn't carry it. This young man was related to an FMLN activist.

A lady, who used to sell fruits in the street, was shot without mercy at the gate of the Baptist School, in front of students, parents, and teachers.

These violent acts should not take anyone that has had the misfortune of witnessing more terrible things in the past by surprise. However, they deserve a special analysis. Why this happened in a county administered by the FMLN? Why did these crimes happened in public places and in front on many people? It is true that we have been hearing about the violence in the country and particularly in places that are known as violent, Why in Santa Ana, with a national and local FMLN administration?

I have a feeling that there are obscure interests and financing in all these. It seems like there are groups that are up in arms and show the anger that characterized them in the past, when they feel that their interests are at stake. We are deeply concerned that these increasing violence is a prompt by political-economical reasons.

Our suspicion is not a result of an absurd imagination. Recently, in the context of elections, presidential or by district, the media invaded us with news of mutilated bodies found in different parts of the country, most of them young women, bounded, with marks of violence, and some cases burned, and others with acid in their faces and bodies.

Everything was leaving doubts about concrete actors, in other words, there was no interest to investigate whom was directly involved in these crimes. But something curious about it, was that the ways in which the people were assassinated were very similar to the ones executed in the 70's and 80's by the National Guard and the Police. Then, it is not difficult to think about the possible sources of all this violence in the present as it was in the past.

Many people are thinking the same, Is it possible that there are groups that are willing to do anything to make the FMLN administration look bad by increasing crime, violence and fear, that were the conditions needed to seek support from the right wing?

The truth is that the blood shed by our brothers and sisters is still screaming for justice.

Our God is still nailed to the cross, in the people humiliated by their poverty, their unemployment, fear and uncertainty, and their own violent deaths. In spite of the strength of our hope, it seems like the Golgotha is chasing us, and wants us to get used to life in these conditions, without the right of constructing a society where every person, regardless of their ideology or religious creed, is a life of value before God. God is shot in each brother surprised by this macabre violence that seems to have a hairy hand, a hand that pays coins to betray and that lifts the people on the cross.

We are always awaiting for a new reality. A reality that we have worked so much to have and that many have died dreaming about it. This unexpected reality is being built.

I have learned a lot from working as the administrator of the Santa Isabel's Cemetery. I get to know each case, the hurting families have to indicate some data about the dead, like age, gender, cause of death, etc. I get to know the tendency of violence. When I arrived to the cemetery in July, I found it abandoned and neglected, full of bushes and shrubs, an adequate place for drug dealing and robbery. It needed a good cleaning but it is approx 70 acres of land. We requested the support of inmates in the phase of trust and 40 inmates have been working for a month with us, and we provide them with lunch every day.

They were not incarcerated for giving our flowers and poems but for assassinations, rapes, kidnapping, drugs, gang-related crimes, etc. It is a small group of a population that has been incarcerated for 5, 12, 17 and 25 years. In all that time they have not had any judicial processes or rights. The food they are served is provided by a company whose owner is a deputy of ARENA, the food is trash and a torture. However, there is a lot of money in that business. We hope that the new government would put an end to this mistreatment. This instance, is just to point out that there is population roting in Salvadoran jails and in the census they represent the curse and the devil of society, but they are only victims of their own penalty and of the penalty of others that should be there instead of them, with collars, untouchables that were for a long time protected by the government.

The violence is very concerning but as alarming as it sounds, it is important to identify the causes in order to provide an integral solution and not the accustomed hard way to those who end up being victims of an unjust system that will take a long time to change. The fight continues, despite the fear, our conscience illuminates us to not punish the cat for the scratch and set free the hyena, the vulture and the jackals to destroy.

I love the prayers and I am glad to know that there are a lot of people, here and there, with a heart beating for this Salvadoran land and for its people. Also, I'm convinced that there will be no changes without a creative and just action, nor changes without working hard. Honduras is a greater example of the solidarity of the right wing in the world to defend their projects, violating the democracies by chasing, suppressing and assassinating its people. The actions of the past remain alive in old structures but hope is growing in its organization.

This outburst of letters and words will not bring back life to those who are victims of this cruel violence.

God is with us, I hope.
Alex Orantes
translated from the Spanish by Yatzaira Marcano (member of Central Baptist Church)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please consider making a gift to the Cielo Azul Fund in order to send a message of solidarity to Alex and Ruth Orantes and the communities where they work. Please see instructions above for how to send your contribution.

Alex Orantes' disturbing analysis of the harsh realities of life in Santa Ana arrives just as the Cielo Azul Fund is launching a fall campaign to insure that the work of peace and justice that Baptist pastors Ruth and Alex Orantes have been carrying on will continue to grow. In the weeks and months after the March 2009 election of Mauricio Funes as President of El Salvador (“the first President to support the needs of the poor in 150 years,” as one Salvadoran activist put it), we have had great hope for the future of a people who have struggled so long for a dignified life free from political, economic and criminal violence. But this latest report from Alex about violence on his very doorstep is a reminder that hope can be very fragile. More than ever, our friends in El Salvador need spiritual and material support to continue build communities based on faith, justice and service to all who are in need.

Salvadoran environmental activists to speak in Philadelphia

2009-10-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

The National Mining Table of El Salvador Speaks Out in Philadelphia

Presentation of “The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera” with filmmaker Jamie Moffett

Saturday, October 17th, 4-6pm
Tabernacle United Church / 3700 Chestnut St. / Philadelphia, PA

The Romero Interfaith Center of Philadelphia is proud to invite you to meet members of the National Mining Table of El Salvador, a popular movement of people in El Salvador that has been struggling against the environmental and public health threats posed by mineral mining by foreign corporations. The National Mining Table (or La Mesa Nacional Frente a la Mineria en El Salvador) is being honored in Washington D.C. on October 15 with the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award for their work in making El Salvador the first country in the world to ban gold mining.

Please join us in welcoming Vidalina Morales Gamez, Miguel Angel Rivera Moreno, and William Rondy Castillo Olivoto Philadelphia to share with us the experiences of their communities in Cabañas and Chalatenango, El Salvador, who have declared their opposition to mineral mining development in their communities based on environmental, public health, and human rights concerns.

Additionally, we will be showing the short film entitled "The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera," created by Philadelphia resident and filmmaker, Jamie Moffett. The film shares the story of the disappearance and murder of Marcelo Rivera, a local organizer deeply involved with the struggle against Pacific Rim in Cabañas. Jamie will be present to discuss the film as well as his upcoming feature length film entitled "Return to El Salvador."

Updates from Alex in Santa Ana

2009-09-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

We send greetings to all in CBC and the Simple Way. As always we are fighting here, hoping that we can see new realities as good news for the poor of our country.

For next year, students in public schools receive uniforms and school supplies, shoes, food and milk from the government . This will reactivate the small tailoring shops, clothing makers, and shoemakers. And this will also benefit small businesses that sell school supplies. It seems to be an excellent sign, but we will see how it turns out in practice. People are happy, full of hope by this news which is already pushing preparation processes within each school.

However, the right of the country is trying to overturn this reality as they have always done . They are telling people that this program will start to turn El Salvador into another Cuba, because people will have to stand in line to receive these packages. But for a long time and even now, people have had to line up outside under the hot sun to pay their utility bills for electricity and telephone.

Well, on 02 November, there will be an ecumenical political activity in Santa Ana in memory of all fallen in a time of war. This will be in St. Elizabeth Cemetery, a place where, in 2010, we will build a monument to honor our fallen martyrs in the struggle.

Alex Orantes / Santa Ana / September 30, 2009

"Old Friends and Guerrillas" program at Brandywine Peace Community

2009-08-21T04:53:00.000-07:00

Old Friends & Guerrillas: Will El Salvador Turn in a New Direction?

Talk and photo show with Tom Paine Cronin, long-time Labor Leader in Philadelphia and President emeritus of AFSCME DC 47, and John Grant, Veterans for Peace, photojournalist and film maker, who were in El Salvador for the historic elections in June.

Sunday, September 13, 4:30p.m.
Brandywine Peace Community Monthly Potluck Supper*/Program
(*bring main dish, salad, or dessert to share)

Gathering will be held at University Lutheran Church, 3637 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA

For more information, visit www.brandywinepeace.com

Updates from Shekina

2009-08-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

We recently received a number of updates from Ruth about a variety of current projects and upcoming plans at Shekina.

Shekina hosted a delegation from FBC Madison (IN)in early August, and there are plans for a medical delegation from Oregon in November. The congregation offered prayers for Tessa and the youth group said their farewells as Tessa prepared to return (reluctantly!) to the US and to Central Baptist following her 3 month school exchange and homestay with the Baides family from Shekina.

Work continues to progress on the land adjacent to the church where the Community Center will be constructed. They have recently rented a bulldozer to prepare the land for construction.

Ruth also sends another thank you to Central Baptist for providing funds to set up the mini clinic to offer first aid at Shekina and to buy the kitchen stove and equipment for preparing meals at the church.

Read below for more of Ruth's report in Spanish:

Espero que todo este bien con ustedes... Nosotros hemos tenido la semana pasada 12 hermanos y hermanas de la Madison First Baptist Church, Indiana. Ha sido una semana muy bonita. Trabajamos 2 dias en el terreno de la Iglesia; realizamos dos paseos y fueron a Atiquizaya todo el dia viernes... ah y el domingo estuvieron en nuestro culto y disfrutaron una tarde con las familias anfitrionas. Ellos eran 4 senoritas, 3 mujeres adultas y 5 hombres adultos.

Ya puede imaginarse lo cansada que estoy pero muy contenta de como va saliendo el trabajo de la Iglesia. Ahora solo nos quedan preparnos para la delegacion medica que viene en Noviembre de Oregon. Tambien para el mes de "Iglesia de Puertas Abiertas" y todas las actividades de la Iglesia de Navidad y Fin de ano.

En cuanto al Centro Comunitario... ya estamos queriendo comenzar a preparar la tierra para el edificio que sonamos.

Hoy fue el ultimo domingo de Tessa y oramos por ella. Pero el jueves tenemos una fiesta con cena en la Iglesia para despedirla. Y tiene invitaciones especiales a cenar toda la semana en casas de hermanos de la Iglesia.

Compramos el canape, el biombo y el botiquin de primeros auxilios + medicina para el espacio de la mini clinica. Tambien compramos la cocina para las actividades culinarias de a Iglesia. Bueno, esta semana la estrenamos con la delegacion de Madison. Asi que mil gracias por hacer esto posible.

Un abrazo en Cristo,
Ruth Rodriguez de Orantes

El Salvador Partners planning meeting

2009-08-20T09:33:00.001-07:00

Please join us at 9:30am Thursday Aug 27 at CBC for a mission group meeting. Our agenda will include:

* reflections / reports by Tessa Bailey on her 3 months in El Salvador

* updates from Shekina, news from Ruth and Alex, etc.

* discussion about our hopes, visions, dreams, and opportunities for CBC's El Salvador relationships in the upcoming church year

* budget proposals for CBC's 2010 stewardship campaign, based on priorities we select from our list of hopes, visions, dreams

* planning calendar for the fall

Invitation to learn about immigration and the New Sanctuary Movement in Philadelphia

2009-08-03T10:29:00.001-07:00

The New Sanctuary Movement
Congregations and Immigration: An Issue of Faith

A series of four discussions
9:30am to 10:30am on Sundays
Sept 13th, Sept 20th, Sept 27th, Oct 4th

Central Baptist Church / Wayne, PA

As part of a Central Baptist Church focus on immigration and advocacy for immigration reform, we begin our fall Adult Learning Community with a four session series organized by leaders of the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement. Through presentations, group discussions, videos, and conversations with special guests, we'll be looking at a variety of questions:

Why is immigration a faith / moral issue?

Who are the people who are immigrating to the U.S.?

How do current U.S. immigration laws actually work?

What would a better immigration policy look like?

What is the potential for reforming immigration policy under the Obama administration?

What is the current climate like for immigrants in PA, especially in the Philadelphia area?

What local advocacy efforts are forming around immigration issues and policy reform?

What is this “New” Sanctuary Movement all about?

Facilitators for this class will include the current co-leaders of the Philadelphia NSM -- Peter Pedemonti, one of the founders of Philadelphia NSM, lives and works at a Philadelphia Catholic Worker House; Jen Rock, who joined Peter in leadership of the Philadelphia NSM in 2009, works for Habitat for Humanity.

We hope to have several special guests share their personal stories, as well. Faheem is Pakistani, and he and his family were accompanied by Phildelphia NSM when he was detained by immigration and sent to the immigration detention center in York, PA. Eva, who is Mexican, has an equally powerful story to tell.

We are also inviting Mishkan Shalom, a progressive Jewish congregation in Philadelphia that was one of the 19 original Sanctuary congregations in Philadelphia in the 1980s, to talk with us about their decision to become the first congregation to officially affiliate with this New Sanctuary Movement.

Central Baptist Church is located in the center of Wayne, one block south of the train station, near the intersection of Route 30 (Lancaster Ave) and Wayne Avenue. Click here for a map and specific directions. We hope to see you in September!

About the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement

2009-08-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

The Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) is an interfaith coalition of immigrants, congregations, and passionate individuals dedicated to taking a stand for immigrant rights by responding actively and publicly to the injustices faced by our immigrant brothers and sisters living in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia NSM working groups include outreach to faith communities, accompaniment of immigrant families, Know Your Rights workshops, education, fundraising, and Immigration Reform Campaign. We are affiliated with the national NSM which has groups working in metropolitan areas across the United States.

For more information about the Philadelphia NSM, contact Peter Pedemonti (646-226-0848) and Jen Rock (267-275-7810), or email nsmphiladelphia@gmail.com.

We expect to launch a website / blog for the Philadelphia NSM in the near future. To learn more about the national movement, see www.newsanctuarymovement.org.

We encourage you to learn more about the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement by attending our monthly coalition meetings. Join us for our gatherings at 7pm on the 2^nd Thursday of every month at Visitation BVM Catholic church at 300 E. Lehigh Ave. in Kensington. (Note that the August meeting is one week early, on Aug 6th.) All are welcome!

Upcoming dates and topics for Philadelphia NSM coalition meetings:

August 6th at 7pm: Messaging Workshop: Help craft NSM's message and then learn to effectively deliver it! Please note that this is a week earlier than our usual 2nd Thursday schedule.

September 10th at 7pm: Media Training: Learn the tools necessary to get media, talk to media, and successfully use media to get our message across.

Recent death of El Salvador activist Marcelo Rivera

2009-08-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

Marcelo Rivera was a community leader from San Isidro, in the northern department of Cabañas. He had been an outspoken opponent of the mining industry's enviornmental destruction and human rights violations in El Salvador. He was kidnapped on June 18th, 2009, near the town of Ilobasco, Cabañas. On July 1st, his body was found inside a dry well. DNA tests were conducted and confirmed that the body belonged to Marcelo. His belongings were found in a nearby abandoned house in the middle of a corn field. According to the medical examiner, Marcelo was kept alive several days after his disappearance. His body showed signs of brutal torture typical of a death squad killing.

Here are links to full reports from the SHARE Foundation:

First Victim of the Anti-Mining Struggle

Anti-Mining Activist Disappears

While Jamie Moffett's film crew was in El Salvador in July for the "Return to El Salvador" documentary, they also had an opportunity to investigate this case. This short film takes a close look at the recent death of activist Marcelo Rivera, the current class-action lawsuit against El Salvadors government, and the connections between the two.

To sign a petition and send a personal message to the office of Arlen Specter demanding an investigation into this crime, click this link http://citizenspeak.org/node/1710

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvXm52BhSHQ

Documentary film will feature Ruth and Alex

2009-06-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

Jamie Moffett, Philadelphia filmmaker and friend of the El Salvador Partners, is making great progress on "Return to El Salvador," his upcoming documentary. Jamie and his crew, including CBC members Ron and Betsy Morgan, will be traveling to El Salvador for another round of interviews and filming in July. Their plan is to meet up with Alex and Ruth, who will provide personal stories and commentary about the war and post-war context in El Salvador. Jamie's first visit to El Salvador for filming was in March 2009, when he and Julia Shields were part of the SHARE Election Observers with CBC's delegation.

Here's an excerpt from the Return to El Salvador Blog about the documentary project, where you can also find more information.

The atrocities of the Salvadoran civil war inspired many international human rights groups and faith communities to advocate for justice and peace in El Salvador. Two of the many Americans who became involved in the movement for peace are Dr. Betsy Morgan, a university professor who went on to write a documentary about Salvadoran refugees, and her husband, Ron Morgan, who has volunteered in relief efforts and election monitoring. The Morgans, along with many of their students and their church community (Central Baptist Church in Wayne, PA), have become outspoken advocates for peace and justice in El Salvador both during and after the civil war.

Jamie Moffett, this filmʼs director, was one of those students who heard the stories of El Salvador and was compelled to act. Moffett decided to make a film in which he would travel with Betsy and Ron to reconnect with their friends in El Salvador, and hear and document stories of what happened during the war and what life is like now. He and his crew are traveling to a place teeming with past and current struggle, both to share the stories of pain and suffering that have been kept silent for too long, but also to document the stories of hope. They are going with the desire to understand and communicate the aftermath of war.

Moffett believes that everyday Americans are unaware of the profound impact of their tax dollars and decisions of their elected representatives upon the lives of innocent people. He believes this precisely because, until recently, he himself was ignorant of the particulars of American involvement in El Salvador. He says, “There was just so much that I didn’t know until I started to research. Now that I know, I’m disappointed, upset, and I want to make sure that other Americans are given the opportunity to know the facts.”

With this film, Moffett goes beyond simply educating his fellow citizens on the facts of history. This project is a call to action, urging Americans to become involved in not only knowing the past, but in building a more just and peaceful future.

For more about the documentary and to pre-order a copy of the film, visit the website http://www.returntoelsalvador.com/.

Here's a brief trailer introducing the documentary.Return to El Salvador trailer on YouTube

Celebrations at Shekina - reports and photos

2009-06-11T04:08:00.000-07:00

The past month has been a full and busy one for our friends at Shekina in Santa Ana. A special service on May 3rd marking the congregation's 17th anniversary was attended by representatives of many Baptist congregations. On June 7th, Shekina celebrated the completion of the walls and gates for Shekina's Christian Social Center by symbolically presenting a key to the property to one of the children of the congregation.

Bernhard, a member of Shekina, sends these photos and descriptions of the celebrations. For more images and videos, click on the links below.

17th Anniversary photos It was a family festivity: of the congregation, of the Baptist churches of El Salvador sending delegations from all over the country and of the international Shekina family with many messages (and donations!) from Holland, Sweden, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico as well as from different parts in the US.

Shekina's Christian Social Center photos The reason for these photos and videos (with sound!) is the international implication in this (regular) Shekina church service on Sunday at 9:00. We have friends in Sweden, Holland, Costa Rica, Switzerland and different parts of the United States, who dream with us of the Shekina Christian Social Center. June 7th 2009 was the end of the construction of the walls (necessary for security) and the entrance through a sliding door from the church. The youngsters (and their parents) mentioned already, that campments away are no more necessary as all can be done now on church grounds and helps to save costs... Before the turning over the key of the porton (gateway) there were acknowledgments to God indeed and also the different contributers CBC Wayne PA, Madison IND and Portland OR, our main sister churches (with their active contributions).

El Salvador Presidential Inauguration

2009-06-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Doug Norton

Perhaps it is no coincidence that as red banners were flying in our Central Baptist Church worship commons this past Sunday for Pentecost, winds of change were blowing through the waves of red FMLN banners and shirts as throngs of Salvadorans celebrated the return of their government to the people.

In the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another since the long civil war ended in 1992, Mauricio Funes of the FMLN was sworn in as president of El Salvador on June 1. Funes visited the grave of Archbishop Oscar Romero on the morning of his inauguration and invoked the memory of Romero as both his teacher and the spiritual guide of the nation in his inaugural address. He struck a note of contrast with the governments of the past decades, promising an administration that recognizes people because of their talents and honesty rather than their connections or their surname, saving special consideration for the poorest, the vulnerable, and the excluded. Funes held up “the strong examples” of U.S. President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva “as proof that progressive leaders, instead of being a threat, can be a new, safe alternative for their people.” Funes promised to renew and expand relations with the United States, with which “historically, we are bound by many ties, in particular by the presence of millions of our compatriots who live there, work there and build their dreams there.”

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the inauguration. Funes praised Clinton in his address as a “woman who honors America” and said in a joint news conference with Clinton after the ceremonies that the FMLN was ready to “turn the page” on its troubled past with the United States.

“We need to reinvent the country. We need to carry out a peaceful, democratic and ethical revolution; the change is starting today,” said Funes. A survey carried out by the University Institute of Public Opinion at the Central American University (UCA) in late May showed support of Funes by 82 percent of the Salvadoran people. This support was reflected in huge celebrations across the country on the days before and after the inauguration. This sense of strong support by the people was felt by the members of CBC who served as
election observers in San Salvador in March.

Happy 17th Anniversary to Shekina!

2009-05-03T12:25:00.001-07:00

Invitation to "Postcards from El Salvador" Luncheon

2009-03-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

“Postcards from El Salvador”
12:15pm following worship on Sunday, April 19th

Lunch will be provided by
the El Salvador Partners Mission Group

Join us for a slide show and reports from CBC’s delegation

Now that we have recovered from the excitement of our recent experiences in El Salvador, we have started organizing our stories and photos to share in various ways with the CBC community, as well as the Alliance of Baptists and the Baptist Peace Fellowship and others.

We have a lot to tell you about...

the diversity of the 150 member SHARE delegation, including a large number of high school students from Oregon, college students from Georgetown and American University, a Jewish hunger advocacy group named MAZON, the National Lawyers Guild, and more

the fascinating elections process and historic FMLN victory celebrations in San Salvador

advocacy actions before the election and a post-election visit at the US Embassy

bowling with Nora Pullen and youth from Shekina one night in San Salvador

a beautifully relaxing afternoon and evening with some of the Shekina adults at a lake in the town of Suchitoto

We hope you’ll join us for lunch and a slideshow presentation on Sunday, April 19th!

--Caroline, Doug, Andy, John, and the El Salvador Partners Mission Group

Counting Votes at JRV #00032 in San Salvador

2009-03-31T10:24:00.001-07:00

Final count was 158 FMLN / 151 ARENA / 3 invalid ballots

video by C. Cargo

Election Day Crowds in San Salvador

2009-03-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

Crowds entering and leaving voting center at La Feria in San Salvador

video by C. Cargo

Commotion inside voting center with FMLN and ARENA on March 15

2009-03-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

Crowds of FMLN and ARENA supporters at voting center when ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila arrives in person with his daughter to cast her vote

video by C. Cargo

Houston to San Salvador - Reflections on the delegation experience

2009-03-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

CBC member John Thayer reflects on an intergenerational encounter early on in his first trip to El Salvador for the recent elections delegation:

10 March 2009

My traveling companion, Doug Norton and I boarded Continental 826 in Houston for our first ever journey to El Salvador. The experienced members of the Central Baptist contingent, Caroline Cargo, Bernie Peterson and Andy Smith had their own travel plans, but we would all meet soon in San Salvador. The five of us were registered to have training and participate as “International Observers” during the Presidential elections on March 15, 2009.

Doug’s seat assignment was near the front of the aircraft and I proceeded to the middle to 18C, an aisle seat. That seat was occupied! I rechecked my ticket, then asked the small, Spanish-speaking woman about her seat assignment. She seemed annoyed, and moved to the window seat. My sense was that if I had at least some facility with Spanish I might have handled that better. Oh, well.

Soon enough the third passenger in our row of three showed up. He was a young man who looked to be about 16 or maybe 17 years old. I saw him look at his boarding pass over and over and then he asked to get past me to the middle seat. I asked whether his boarding pass was for the window seat and he replied that it was, but that he was okay with the middle seat and would stay there. Once settled, I asked this fellow about his trip. He gladly related that he and about 30 of his classmates from a high school in Seattle would receive training from SHARE to be International Observers in the upcoming election in El Salvador. We were going for the same purpose! Secretly I wondered whether such young people would be up to the tasks that might even challenge Cargo, Norton, Smith or certainly, Thayer. Was he even old enough to vote? Likely not. As we conversed more my suspicions were eased some.

The flight to San Salvador was to take less time than from Philadelphia to Houston, so it wasn’t long before the steward brought the immigration forms to fill out and submit to officials in the airport at San Salvador. The woman in the window seat looked puzzled as she perused the form so the steward asked whether the man in the middle would be willing to help her out. The high school student said, “Oh, sure.” My pre-judging the role as observer was gathering data feedback and my view was adjusting. Soon the student and the woman, perhaps approaching middle age were conversing in Spanish about the items on the form. Okay. I get it. This guy was more mature and skilled than your average high school junior.

As we approached our destination I asked the skilled gentleman whether he was in a total immersion program and he replied, “No, but I have had classes since I can remember. And I am getting a little tired of it.” That’s when he related some of the history of his school, Northwest School of Seattle. That’s a story worth looking into. Then we landed. It was a very smooth landing. So how did the high school folks do with the observing tasks assigned to them? Sorry. This article doesn’t cover the final answer.

John Thayer
Central Baptist Church

To learn more about the Northwest School in Seattle, click here. The Northwest School has a formal partnership with the SHARE Foundation. Through SHARE, the school conducts annual trips with students to El Salvador. A large group of the school's students took part in SHARE's 150-member elections observers delegation in March 2009.

Reflections on El Salvador delegation

2009-03-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

Andy Smith was one of four delegates from Central Baptist who participated in the March 2009 SHARE Foundation election observers delegation. Following is Andy's personal report about the elections and about some of his time visiting with a Salvadoran friend prior to the start of the official delegation.

I returned recently from El Salvador where I had the privilege to accompany the Salvadoran people as one of 4000 international observers for the Presidential elections on March 15. I went as part of a delegation from Central Baptist Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania, that was also endorsed by the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and the Alliance of Baptists. First I want to celebrate with the Salvadoran people. The victory of the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front), the party formed after the 1992 Peace Accords from former guerillas in the civil war, is a victory for the people. Having a President who for the first time will be on the side of the majority of the Salvadoran people who are poor will be a striking change. At the same time, replacing the system of global capitalism and domination by foreign powers that has kept the people in poverty for so long is a task that is much larger than this election, but the election does mark an important and hopeful step in the process of building a different kind of society, one based on justice, equality and sharing of resources.

I started the election day at the stadium in San Salvador where the Salvadorans living in the United States were to vote. The turnout there was low, only 175 for the entire day, out of some 39,000 who had received the necessary document of identification. For the afternoon our group decided to move to another location where there would be more voters.

The whole process that I witnessed took place in a peaceful way. As an election official at my own local polling place in the United States, I was struck by the similarities of the Salvadoran process. At the same time I noticed many differences, most strikingly the many vehicles with large groups of people and flags from the two parties, riding through the streets all day and chanting for their party. In front of the building where I was for the afternoon, there was a continuing demonstration with hundreds of people waving banners and chanting but the atmosphere remained more that of a festival than a political demonstration. In the middle of the afternoon as Rodrigo Avila, the candidate of the ARENA party (the party in power) came to the hall, a large group of FMLN supporters marched through the hall waving banners and shouting their party slogans. They continued to do so from the balcony as Avila, surrounded by a large group of ARENA supporters also with flags and chanting, entered, went to one of the polling stations, and then left. While such overt demonstrations are not permitted by the Salvadoran electoral law within the polling place, they were not stopped. The police were ready but always on the sidelines as the demonstrations continued in a peaceful way.

There was a real celebratory mood among the people at the place where I ended the day. As the election results were announced at each of the 60 polling booths in the large hall, chanting broke out. When all had reported a large group of FMLN supporters began to dance in the middle of the hall.

During the day I had opportunities to listen to Salvadorans. One man, Armando, wanted to tell me about how his people were without work and suffering. He wanted to know what it was like in the United States and if Obama could make a difference. While I understood much of what he said and could respond in my limited ability to speak Spanish, the experience made me resolve to recover my ability to speak and understand Spanish more fluently. It also made me more aware of how I, a person from the United States, carry the imperialism of my country by not being able to converse in the language of the people where I am.

In gathering the reports from all of the 150 observers in the SHARE Foundation group of which I was a part, we heard few incidents of problems, most of them minor. Overall the election process went very smoothly. In spite of the overwhelming spending of ARENA compared with the FMLN (about $24 million to $4million), many threats of job loss for not voting for ARENA, suppression of poll results that showed the FMLN with large leads, strong bias in the press for ARENA, well-publicized positions of Republicans in the United States of security threats to the United States if the FMLN won, and threats that an FMLN victory would mean the cessation of Salvadorans in the United States sending money back to Salvador (about 18% of the Salvadoran economy), the people spoke in an organized and deliberate process and hopeful change will occur. As observers we received many thanks from the Salvadoran people for being there. We learned on the day after the elections that the presence of so many international observers had been the reason that ARENA had conceded the election peacefully and did not challenge the results.

Several days prior to prior to observing the elections I had the opportunity to visit several places I had not been before and see some of the natural beauty of this small country which is slightly smaller than Massachusetts. The contrast between the dire poverty (about fifty percent of the population) with the wealth of the elite and the beauty of the land is stark. On the trip into San Salvador from the airport I observed many roadside stands selling coconuts and other fruits and vegetables. These stands line many of the roads and streets in the cities and represent the alternative economy for those who can find no other work. Items for sale range from food, including entire roadside restaurants, to musical instruments to clothes to handcrafted furniture. Others who have nothing to sell but their own labor often stand at intersections and wash windshields.

The road from the airport to San Salvador climbs as it passes through the hills, many of them deforested as is much of the Salvadoran land. Groups of houses built from whatever could be found like corrugated metal stand on the hillsides. There is no electricity or running water. A major daily job of many rural Salvadoran women is to fetch water for their family. Often a long walk of several hours is necessary with the water being carried in a large urn on top of the head.

Along the way we also passed a group of maquiladoras. These foreign owned companies are assembly plants for items like clothing. Workers are paid little to put together materials shipped in which will be shipped out as finished products. The Free Trade Agreement required that new, interstate-like highways be built so that the tractor trailors could transport the materials to and from the maquiladoras. These new highways cut through towns and mountains without viable ways to cross for the people on foot and bicycles and were built with money diverted from education and healthcare.

As we approached the city I was warned to put my window up because we could be approached by someone with a gun who could demand something from us. At one intersection we passed through several times a 14 year old girl was washing car windshields. My host remarked that this could be her own daughter. She always stopped and gave her some money, noting the need to change the kind of a system that could put girls of this age in the streets because they had no other way to survive. When asked late one evening how long she would be there, the young girl remarked, “Until I get enough money.”

On Saturday we went to a beautiful volcanic beach where the coves and cliffs with the black sand reminded me of Hawaii. The surf is good here with several resorts devoted to serving foreigners. Some Salvadoran boys with their surfboards were enjoying the waves at a public beach next to the club where we were. The impact of the world financial crisis was clear at this club. Of the 30-40 shelters with picnic tables and hammocks, only three or four were occupied on a beautiful, warm Saturday afternoon.

Our trip along the Route of the Flowers took us through five small towns and majestic scenery of the many volcanoes in the Western part of the country. This was once prime coffee country. Now many of the coffee plantations have been converted into hotels and restaurants since the coffee business is not viable for the owners with the market price of coffee as low as it is. Each of the towns had its own unique ambience with a church and town square, an open air market, and many small stores with various arts and crafts. The markets were bustling since Sunday is the prime market day where one finds food of all kinds, clothing, shoes, and some arts and crafts.

Suchitoto is a treasure in the hills about one hour North of San Salvador. It’s the cleanest town I’ve seen in El Salvador with many houses having a sign painted on the wall beside the door indicating that they recycle solid waste and the slogan reduce, reuse, recycle. Other houses have a sign indicating that no violence against women is practiced in that home. A relatively new institution in town is housed in an old school that was abandoned during the civil war since Suchitoto was the scene of much intense fighting. The Center for Peace and the Arts is the vision of Sister Peggy Smith, a sister of Charity of New Jersey, who has made this her home for many years. The center includes a facility for housing delegations. Its mission is to provide training for people in the arts including theater, photography, music and many others.

Lake Suchitlan lies below Suchitoto. Created many years ago as a reservoir for the production of electricity, today it is a spot for fishermen and tourists. We spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon there with a group from Shekina, our partner congregation in Santa Ana. Following lunch at a restaurant beside the lake we boarded two small boats for a sunset cruise around several of the islands. Bird Island has a large population of nesting cormorants and some Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Little Blue Herons. Other bird life seemed abundant with vultures, Crested Caracaras, and swallows. The magnificent sunset over the mountains provided a fitting close to a beautiful day.

I have been to El Salvador six times since 1986 through relationships that my congregation has with congregations there. Each time I have had many feelings and new insights about the destruction of people’s lives and the earth through the systemic effects of the global economic system. Yet each time I have renewed personal relationships and started new relationships. Each time my resolve to fight this system and help create a new one is strengthened. The strength, creativity, and joyfulness of the Salvadoran people in the face of what appear to be overwhelming odds continue to be an inspiration to me.

El Salvador is a land of many contrasts, yet in spite of the poverty its people remain a people of hope. The electoral victory of the FMLN provides a monumental shift in the political scene that adds to this hope. My various times in El Salvador have always nourished my soul and stimulated my thinking. They provide an experience that I find necessary to continue my own life journey without becoming numb to the world-wide impacts of the society in which I live in the USA. I recognize anew each time I go the interconnectedness of our world. Deep and lasting relationships with Salvadorans will continue to be an important part of my life as I seek to work with others in building a world of justice and integrity.

Andy Smith
Devon, Pennsylvania USA

FMLN Celebrations in Convention Center at end of vote counts

2009-03-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

From Collages

Elections in El Salvador - part 1

2009-03-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Thank you from Ruth Orantes and first impressions from Global Baptist Peace Conference

2009-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

Ruth's thank you to CBC and an initial report from Rome

A few of us gathered on Sunday, February 22, to have a phone conference with Ruth Orantes about her recent experience at the Global Baptist Peace Conference in Rome. She has (mostly) recovered from the 28 hour, complicated travel from Rome to Zurich to Paris to Chicago to Los Angeles, where she is spending a few days with family and members of Shekina who have immigrated to California. She will return to El Salvador this weekend. Ruth plans to send us photos and maybe even a power point presentation about her experience at the conference, but she shared some initial stories about the gathering during our 45 minute phone call from the west coast.

Baptist leaders from 60 nations took part in the events -- “people of all colors, all languages, from all continents.” Ruth was deeply moved by the testimonies of peacemakers from diverse settings in Angola, Morocco, the Republic of Georgia, Bangladesh, Italy, the US, and more. She made many new connections, but also discovered a number of familiar faces in the crowd -- Ruth Mooney (former ABC missionary in El Salvador), Edgar Palacios (a Salvadoran pastor who now lives in Washington DC and is on staff at Calvary Baptist), Gustavo Parajon (Nicaragua), LeDayne McLeese Polaski (BPFNA), and Ken Sehested.

Ruth took part in a variety of training seminars, including a session on Peacemaking Heros (led by Dan Buttry), training in Restorative Justice (led by Marinetta Cannito Hjort, the Baptist Chaplain at American University), and an interesting discussion of bridge-building work between Christians and indigenous religious leaders in Mexico. She was pleasantly surprised to meet a Philadelphian in the crowd – Daniel Hunter, who has led conflict transformation trainings on five continents for various social justice movements.

One of the most meaningful interactions for Ruth came out of a workshop on Rev. Martin Luther King's legacy and his significance for on-going struggles in Latin America. The seminar was led by a Brazilian pastor who had studied in the US. Ruth expects to continue a dialogue with this pastor and they are hoping to find ways to connect their congregations.

Ruth's first and last words in the conversation were an expression of deep gratitude to CBC for enabling her to attend the conference. She sends a big “thank you” to CBC for helping her have access to this kind of experience for personal development and to enrich her ministry.

Conversations with Ruth Orantes at 5:30pm on Sunday, Feb 22nd

2009-02-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

Plans are coming together for a phone conference with Ruth Orantes to talk with her about the Global Baptist Peace Conference she attended in Rome. All are welcome to join us for the conversations at 5:30pm at CBC on Sunday, Feb 22nd.

Ruth sent 3 email reports to us during her time at the conference, including this note about the closing worship held in the Waldensian church:

There were prayers in various languages, many songs, profound liturgical actions, and the prophetic preaching of Ken Sehested. We also celebrated communion. It was a deep moment -- people of different colors, with different languages, from different countries and experiences -- with everyone gathered together at the Lord's Table.

Advocacy Training re: Immigration Reform and New Sanctuary Movement

2009-02-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

Plan to attend the Advocacy Training Event at Central Baptist Church this Saturday, Feb 21st, from 8:30am to 12:30pm. Breakfast is included.

One of the topics to be addressed in small groups will be Immigration Reform, which we have identified as a focus issue for education and advocacy.

The CBC Board of Outreach has lined up 2 people to present information on immigration issues -- Antony Dugdale, who works with the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union in Philadelphia, and Peter Pedemonti, who is co-director of the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement.

Take a look at this article for info about the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement - http://www.phillyimc.org/en/comment/reply/76978
And here is the main website for the New Sanctuary Movement -- http://www.newsanctuarymovement.org/

The advocacy training general session will be lead by Rev. Lisa Harris from ABC-USA National Ministries. She will address a number of issues including:

How can we most effectively engage in the advocacy work that our faith calls us to?
How do we know what legislation is out there? What resources are there to evaluate it?
Where can we find out who our congressional representatives and who their staff are?
Is there a new paradigm for citizen participation in the Obama presidency?

The training will also include small group breakout sessions when you will choose from one of several focus areas:

Healthcare Reform – Dr. Stephen Gambescia, Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions
Gun Violence Prevention – Pastor Dolores McCabe, Eastern University and Millcreek Baptist Church
Immigration Reform – Antony Dugdale, Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, and Peter Pedimonte, New Sanctuary Movement

Seeds of Hope Benefit Dinner for El Salvador farmers

2009-02-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

"Seeds of Hope"
Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction

1:00pm to 4:00pm
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Whitsun Hall at Camphill Soltane
224 Nantmeal Rd. / Glenmoore, PA

Minimum suggested donations: $15.00 for a meal and a handcrafted pottery bowl, $8.00 for the meal only. Reserve your bowl now! Advance tickets and more information are available from Kathleen Bailey, who teaches at Soltane.

Proceeds of the fundraising event will support the SHARE Foundation's microlending project for farmers in El Salvador. See below for details about the food crisis in El Salvador and SHARE's new agricultural program.

At Camphill Soltane (www.camphillsoltane.org), the prevocational students have spent this school year preparing for a Benefit Dinner to support the Seeds of Hope Initiative as a way of adding a practical component to their experience of this year’s academic theme which is World Cultures. The garden class has grown, harvested and preserved herbs and vegetables for the dinner. The cooking class has chosen soup recipes and begun making and freezing soup. The library skills class created tickets and publicity flyers; the pottery class has a goal of creating 200 bowls, and the bicycle maintenance shop is donating a bicycle to the silent auction table.

On March 15, four members of our CBC congregation will be in El Salvador monitoring the presidential elections. We invite you to attend the Soltane Seeds of Hope Benefit Dinner on that day in an act of solidarity with them.

Seeds of Hope
There is an ongoing world food crisis happening before our eyes. Last year, in El Salvador the price of beans jumped from 45 cents per pound to $1.25, nearly twice the price of beans in the United States. The prices of corn and rice have also doubled or nearly doubled. In El Salvador, the combination of international trade policies, the succession of natural disasters such as droughts and flooding, competition for food and bio-fuel and the ARENA government’s dismantling of the agricultural sector for 19 years has profoundly compounded the crisis.

Yet in the face of this unfolding tragedy, a persistent group of small farmers across the Salvadoran countryside are finding local solutions to this crisis so that their families do not go hungry. These farmers are determined to stay on the land and feed themselves and their communities, as they have been asked to do for generations, despite the global pressures that are collapsing local food economies. Now they have turned to the SHARE Foundation for support. In response, SHARE has launched the “Semillas de Esperanza” (Seeds of Hope) Initiative in order to provide farmers with the supplies they need to sow seeds of hope, and to support this burgeoning movement towards food security and food sovereignty.

Salvadorans have been growing corn and beans since before the time of the conquest, so it would be easy to assume that there would be no shortage of these staples, and that Salvadoran farmers could produce enough for everyone on Salvadoran land, at prices consumers could afford. However, generations of land concentration and the more recent onset of economic policies that undercut local producers in favor of international trade (e.g. subsidized corn from Iowa) have made easy access to wholesome food a thing of the past.

El Salvador is literally going hungry – people are unable to feed themselves with what they earn -- and as a nation, more and more foods are being imported because local production is shutting down. Hunger and the resulting migration is proof that the current economic policies have failed to provide sufficient and realistic economic opportunities for poor Salvadorans.

However, the food crisis presents an opportunity. Salvadoran farmers have requested seeds of corn, beans and squash. If we can get seeds into their hands so that they can grow a crop that has increased in demand, we will be supporting both farmers, for whom basic grain production had ceased to be profitable, and consumers, for whom prices of basic grains have more than doubled in the past year. It is exciting to consider the possibility of famers regaining control of local food production so that they and their customers are not at the mercy of the global market.

The Seeds of Hope Initiative provides packages which include native seeds, organic fertilizers, and educational workshops about how to farm organically as a way to become more independent from high priced hybrid seeds and chemical inputs. A package costs $350 and will be offered as a micro-loan, the repayment of which will be used as a revolving fund for planting in the future.

For more information or to make an on-line donation, visit Seeds of Hope on the SHARE Foundation website.

Greetings from Ruth Orantes at the Global Baptist Peace Conference

2009-02-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Thursday / Rome, Italy

Dear CBC brothers and sisters,

I'm in Rome and it is 11:20pm. I have not had any problems on my journey since I left El Salvador. My days in the Netherlands with the brothers and sisters of the Protestant Church of Ann Zee Egmond were very beautiful. Everyone treated me very well and we further strengthened the relationship with their congregation.

I arrived on Monday in Rome – or rather at the retreat center (outside Rome) where the conference is being held. I found some people I know – Rosemary Richard Kidd of Manchester, England; Rev. Edgar Palacios and his daughter from El Salvador (they live in Washington DC); Rev. Gustavo Parajon from Nicaragua; LeDayne from the Baptist Peace Fellowship whom I met in New Orleans; Ruth Mooney, who was a missionary in El Salvador; and Ken Sehested. I am also getting to know other people and making new connections.

The worship times are very significant. The presentations and the testimonies are very interesting, and the workshops are very productive. There are many subjects that are relevant for our journey in El Salvador.

We have people from about 60 countries – all colors, all languages, from all continents. I was talking one day with Dan Buttry and he said that he is very happy and impressed by the good number of young people here who can continue the work for peace and justice. Their presence brings much joy here. For example, we had a half hour after completing an activity, and here was a group of 25 youth trying to play together, even when they had to translate everything in several languages. But it was obvious that they were enjoying being together.

Last night, the Italians offered us a night of Italian music. It was "bellisimo!" There was a soprano who impressed everyone., and a harpist who played majestically, and also a trio and a quartet of singers.

Tomorrow we are going to visit Rome. We will have three activities. We will participate in a worship service in the Basilica of St. Paul's. At 4:00pm there will be a peaceful demonstration for peace in the Plaza San Lorenzo, and then we will have evening worship in the Waldensian Church, where Ken Sehested will be preaching.

Please share my gratitude with the brothers and sisters of CBC for making my participation in this Conference possible! May God bless you all.

With love,

Ruth Eunice Rodriguez de Orantes
Iglesia Bautisa Shekina

El Salvador Partners to join international observers for elections in El Salvador

2009-02-12T04:52:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce that Andy Smith, John Thayer, Doug Norton, Caroline Cargo, and Bernie Peterson will travel to El Salvador with the SHARE Foundation's 150-person delegation that is part of an international consortium of observers calling for free and fair democratic process in El Salvador's presidential elections on March 15th. Nora Pullen is also participating in the SHARE delegation with a group of American University students.

The work of the election observers delegation members actually begins well before arriving in El Salvador. Already we have received a 30-page election observers training manual to review, and SHARE is providing frequent updates and analysis of the political campaigns. When we arrive in San Salvador on March 10th, we will have a busy schedule, including instruction in specific roles for election observation teams, explanation of our official data keeping and report writing tasks, visits to the Legislative Assembly, accreditation by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and press conferences. After the elections, we are expected to prepare final reports that we will deliver to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and to the U.S. Embassy, as well.

Although the mission of this delegation is clearly focused on supporting the presidential elections process rather than visiting with our sister church communities, we are hoping that we will have an informal opportunity to connect with some of our friends from Shekina and Shalom since SHARE is likely to send a team of observers to the voting sites in Santa Ana. Also, Caroline Cargo will be arriving early in El Salvador in order to spend several days with Ruth and Alex Orantes and other members of Shekina prior to the official start of the SHARE delegation.

We look forward to reporting back about our experience! We have tentative plans for a CBC luncheon in April. Doug Norton is coordinating a presentation to Villanova University's Center for Peace and Justice Education, which provided some financial support for the delegation. And we plan to share written reflections with the Baptist Peace Fellowship and the Alliance of Baptists, both of which organizations have endorsed and promoted this election observers delegation as an official Baptist witness and presence in El Salvador .

El Salvador completes troop withdrawals from Iraq

2009-02-12T02:16:00.000-08:00

The last 200 Salvadoran soldiers deployed to Iraq returned home to El Salvador on Saturday, February 7th.

Stationed in Al Kut, on the Tigris River near the Iranian border, the Salvadoran contingent was attached to Polish soldiers and was chiefly tasked with building schools, hospitals, roads and water and electricity infrastructure.

El Salvador was the only Latin American country with troops in Iraq after the Dominican Republic and Honduras pulled their troops out in 2004, following Spain's lead.

More than 2000 Salvadoran troops had been deployed since the first contingent was sent to Iraq in 2003. Ultimately 5 Salvadoran soldiers died and 20 were wounded during their term of service.

Here's a 6 minute excerpt from Guerra Ajena (Foreign War), an hour-long documentary on the Salvadoran troops in Iraq, which aired on Discovery Channel Spanish edition in 2007. Or go to this YouTube link.

Briefing on Upcoming Elections in El Salvador

2009-01-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

We invite you to attend a briefing on the upcoming national elections in El Salvador. The gathering will take place at 7:00pm on Tuesday, January 13, in the Gomez Room at Central Baptist Church.

Jose Artiga, Executive Director of the SHARE Foundation, will be present to discuss the election and SHARE's election monitoring plans for the March 2009 presidential elections.Since the Peace Accords were signed in 1991, SHARE has facilitated a US Observer presence for each national election in support of the communities that SHARE has partnered with in its development, human rights and citizen participation programs. This March, over 100 observers will be a part of SHARE's effort.

Expectations are high that the 2009 elections may finally break the right wing ARENA partyʼs hold on the presidency. The FMLN candidate for president, Mauricio Funes, is a 49 year old TV commentator who has often been critical of ARENA. For the first time in this election, the FMLN has nominated a person who was not a guerilla commandante during the 12 year civil war. Members of our sister churches have been highly motivated to support his candidacy. The attached photo shows Pastor Alex Orantes, from Iglesia Shalom, participating in a public forum with Mauricio Funes recently.

José Artiga, Executive Director of the SHARE Foundation: Building a New El Salvador Today, has over 27 years experience in the United States working on El Salvador and community development issues. After arriving in the United States from his native El Salvador in 1980, barely escaping the death squads, he helped develop the Sanctuary Movement in the U.S. to help other refugees fleeing oppression and violence. He also led the “Going Home Campaign” to provide support to Salvadoran refugees based in Honduras returning to their country.

Please join CBC's El Salvador Partners in welcoming Jose to talk to us about the March 2009 elections.

7:00pm, Tuesday, January 13, in The Gomez Room
Central Baptist Church / 106 West Lancaster Ave. / Wayne, PA 19087

IMPORTANT NOTE: For this evening gathering, enter through the church office entrance located in the back, across from the main post office and public library on West Wayne Avenue.

Click here for directions and parking info.

Ruth Orantes to attend Global Baptist Peace Conference in Rome

2008-12-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

We celebrate the good news that Ruth Orantes will be attending the Global Baptist Peace Conference in Rome in February 2009. The invitation for CBC to sponsor Ruth as a delegate for the conference came to us following Ruth's participation in the Alliance of Baptists convocation in New Orleans in 2008.

This global event will inaugurate the 400th anniversary year of the Baptist heritage being recognized in various locations around the world. Like previous conferences in Sweden (1988), Nicaragua (1992), and Australia (2000), this gathering will bring together Baptists who are active in nonviolent struggles for justice and for strengthening the witness of Baptist peacemaking in various global contexts.

The conference will consist of six days including intensive training in conflict transformation, nonviolent prophetic action, and other relevant topics, inspiring speakers, workshops, and worship.

The Global Baptist Peace Conference is sponsored by numerous Baptist organizations from around the world, including the Alliance of Baptists, American Baptist Churches, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Unione Cristiana Evangelica Battista d'Italia, Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, and the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Funding for Ruth's travel and registration for the event has been made possible through the generosity of a number of congregations and groups: Central Baptist Church / Wayne, PA; First Baptist Church / Madison, Indiana; Protestant Church of Holland (a sister congregation to Shekina); Alliance of Baptists "Bridges of Hope" 2008 grant; Global Wellness Treaty Fund.

To learn more about the conference, visit www.globalbaptistpeace.org. We look forward to an official report from Ruth upon her return!

Partnership Conversations, Plans for 2009, Prayer Requests, and Politics in El Salvador

2008-12-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Please plan to stay after worship this coming Sunday, Jan 4th, for important conversations about CBC's El Salvador and New Orleans partnerships. The gathering will be facilitated by Marcus and Laurie. The goal will be to put together a document on these two partnerships that can become part of the church profile documents for the pastoral search process. Bring your own sandwich. Drinks, chips, and fruit will be provided.

For those of you who are looking ahead to the coming year and filling in your new calendars, there is a new 2009 Planning Calendar outlining key dates and events relevant to our El Salvador relationships posted at the top of the blog.

A couple of personal prayer requests from Ruth and Alex -- One of their good friends (seminary classmate and a pastor colleague) died in mid-December. They have had a long and special relationship with this friend and his family, and they feel a deep loss. Also, Alex's brother who lives in Los Angeles shared the news that his wife has been diagnosed with cancer. Ruth is very grateful that she will be able to spend a few days in Los Angeles visiting them on her way back from the Global Baptist Peace Conference in Rome.

As El Salvador prepares for their elections in January and in March, there is both great hope and great anxiety. There are a number of good on-line resources to keep informed. SHARE is doing a great job providing analysis of issues and updates about the political situation. Here's a quick list of links to some of the recent headlines from the SHARE website at www.share-elsalvador.org:

Elections Watch: November Update

Elections Watch: October Update

Action Alert - October 2008

Elections Watch: September Update

Transparency and the MCC-Financed Transnational Highway

The Dawn of a New Era? El Salvador's Upcoming Elections

New US Grassroots Coordinator's Perspective on El Salvador

Political Violence Increases in El Salvador as Elections Near

Hope to see a good group on Sunday!

"Puertas Abiertas" events at Shekina during November

2008-11-30T10:56:00.001-08:00

Our friends at Shekina have just completed the November "Puertas Abiertas" community outreach events. Pastor Ruth Orantes reports that it was a big success again this year. Here is a link to see additional photos of the activities Shekina organized for children and adults in the neighborhood.

Meeting with CBC Pastors

2008-11-30T10:17:00.000-08:00

CBC's pastors have requested a meeting with our El Salvador Partners to discuss future directions for our relationships in El Salvador. Please join us at 9:15am on Tuesday, Dec 2nd, at CBC. All are welcome.

"ON THE LINE" Video and Discussion led by Michael Heniese

2008-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday, November 16th, 7pm to 9pm at CBC
Sponsored by CBC's El Salvador Partners

Unpatriotic…. Anti-American… Terrorist… These words have been front and center in the past months of our US presidential campaigns. What is the role of dissent and protest in a healthy democracy?

Just two weeks after the US presidential elections, the annual vigil and non-violent protests to close the School of the Americas / WHINSEC will take place in Georgia at the gates of Fort Benning on November 21 -23. The protest will be an opportunity for the progressive movement to push once again for the closure of the SOA/WHINSEC and to set an agenda against oppressive U.S. foreign policy, whatever the result of the elections will be.

Join us on Sunday, November 16th, from 7pm to 9pm for a 55 minute video about the people behind the movement to close the School of the Americas, one of the largest nonviolent movements in America today, including reflections by Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, and others about their activism, the dark side of U.S. foreign policy, and the challenges of protesting since 9/11.

After the video, Michael Heniese will lead a discussion about dissent, activism, patriotism, terrorism, and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. We will also have information available about advocacy opportunities to finally close the School of the Americas.

Here's a preview of the ON THE LINE video...

Presidential elections in El Salvador

2008-10-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

CRIPDES leaders Bernardo Belloso and Jose Heriberto Orellano Franco were recent guest speakers at a forum on El Salvador's upcoming presidential elections hosted by the Philadelphia Romero Interfaith Center.

Revised plans for October meeting -- dinner and elections forum in Philadelphia

2008-10-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

We have agreed to a revised plan for regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, Oct 22nd, so that we can attend the US / El Salvador elections forum at Tabernacle United Methodist. (see information in previous post) We think the forum will be especially interesting for those of us who are considering the March 2009 election observers delegation.

5:30pm early dinner and meeting for updates about Salvador Partners at a restaurant in University City near Tabernacle

7 - 9 pm US / El Salvador Elections Forum with Salvadoran guests at Tabernacle

We can certainly work on carpools as needed, and we will figure out specific plans for dinner in a restaurant.

Please send an email to Caroline if you plan to join us in Philadelphia for this event.

US and El Salvador Elections Forum

2008-10-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

US & El Salvador Elections Forum
What do the results in each country mean to the other?
Projections, connections, and challenges

October 22, 2008

Tabernacle United Church

3700 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

7:00 – 9:00 P.M.

CRIPDES leaders Bernardo Belloso and Jose Heriberto Orellana Franco speak about issues in the Salvadoran elections and the polls which show that the FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes leads against the ARENA candidate, Rodrigo Ávila. Also Carol Towarnicky, former chief editorial writer for The Daily News, discusses the implications of the upcoming U.S. presidential election results on the 2009 Salvadoran elections.

Additional guests include:

Emily Carpenter, National Director of the USESSC; and

Jan Morrill, USESSC El Salvador Co-Coordinator, who will be translating.

The Reverend Margaret Sawyer, Associate Pastor of Zwingli United Church of Christ as Moderator.

Background: In 2004 both countries experienced irregularities in their elections. In El Salvador, local US government officials preferred the incumbent and took an active role against the FMLN candidate. Many feel this influenced the election's results.

CRIPDES is the largest rural grassroots movement in El Salvador working in over 300 rural Salvadoran communities.

Presented by Philadelphia's Romero Interfaith Center. To learn more about USESSC and the issues, check out www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org.

US presidential candidates on immigration issues and additional resources

2008-09-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

With an estimated 2 to 3 million Salvadorans currently in the US (both documented and undocumented combined), US policy on immigration is an issue of great interest and concern to those of us with connections to communities in El Salvador and Salvadorans living in the US.

Take a look at the Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin official campaign web pages to read about the US presidential candidates' stands on immigration issues:

Obama / Biden official campaign statement on immigration issues

McCain / Palin official campaign statement on immigration issues

Also see "Tim's El Salvador Blog" (www.luterano.blogspot.com) which frequently provides excellent summaries of news reports, government statistics, and first person stories about remittances, deportations, border crossings, and more. Check out Tim's collected blog entries labeled "migration."

Immigration issues in US presidential campaign ad

2008-09-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

The CNN Election Center 2008 website reports that McCain is releasing an ad today blasting Obama on immigration although McCain voted the same. Read complete article from Sept. 12 or see excerpt in italics below.

Meanwhile, McCain's campaign said a new Spanish language ad set to air in battleground states blames Obama and Senate Democrats for the failure of attempts to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.

"Obama and his congressional allies say they are on the side of immigrants. But are they?" asks the announcer in the 30-second spot, "Which Side Are They On?"

"The press reports that their efforts were 'poison pills' that made immigration reform fail," he continues. "The result: No guest worker program. No path to citizenship. No secure borders. No reform. Is that being on our side? Obama and his congressional allies ready to block immigration reform, but not ready to lead." Watch the ad

But Obama and McCain cast identical votes in the major congressional showdowns on the issue last year.

Both men cast votes in favor of an unsuccessful early June effort to end a filibuster. Later that month, they voted again to end debate on the issue -- but again failed to shut down the filibuster effort, led for the most part by Republican senators.

The ad is set to air in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, all crucial states in November with significant Hispanic voting populations.

SHARE Foundation launches new blog about El Salvador

2008-09-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

The SHARE Foundation has launched a brand new blog "to support those interested in promoting social justice in El Salvador to stay in touch with the Salvadoran community."

The first news report from the field is entitled "Meat, Cheese, and Bicycle Repair" and tells the story of three women in Chalatenango who have used a micro-loan to expand a women's development project there. Interesting reading!

Check out the SHARE blog English version at www.thesharefoundation.blogspot.com. And for the Spanish version, visit www.lafundacionshare.blogspot.com.

FMLN Political Convention Held in El Salvador

2008-08-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

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.

To read more about the FMLN and presidential candidate Mauricio Funes

To read more about the ARENA party and presidential candidate Rodrigo Avila

Polls show FMLN over ARENA for El Salvador President

2008-08-23T11:47:00.001-07:00

In recent polls, FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes continues to hold on to a lead over the ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila. (see statistics below)

Before running as the FMLN candidate, Mauricio Funes was a television journalist. He gained fame for his morning interview program that was generally critical of the Salvadoran government. Funes is the first candidate from the FMLN not to be an ex-guerrilla commander.

His opponent in the March 2009 election for the presidency is the ARENA party's candidate, Rodrigo Avila. During the civil war in El Salvador, Avila was an active member of one of the infamous “Death Squads” or right-wing military groups organized by the military and ARENA. He is also former deputy director of the National Police.

	Jul. 2008	Jun. 2008	Apr. 2008
Mauricio Funes (FMLN)	31.1%	28.4%	33.6%
Rodrigo Ávila (ARENA)	24.8%	22.1%	24.7%
Other / Undecided	44.1%	49.5%	41.7%

Data Source: LPG Datos / La Prensa Gráfica
Methodology: Interviews to 1,500 Salvadoran adults, conducted from Jul. 19 to Jul. 22, 2008. Margin of error is 2.6 per cent.

A new experience with accompaniment

2008-08-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

On this third anniversary of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, we want to share an article about the spirit of accompaniment and Central Baptist Church's emerging experience as a member of the national "Churches Supporting Churches" network and as a partner congregation with the St. John Baptist Church in New Orleans.

In a thoughtful reflection entitled "Walking Together in New Orleans," CBC member Jan Corbett writes about the impact and influence of the congregation's experiences in El Salvador over a span of more than two decades. The article includes stories about Central Baptist hosting a Salvadoran refugee as a part of the Sanctuary Movement, sending delegations to visit Salvadoran war refugees in camps in Honduras, and walking with refugees returning to their villages after the war, all of which have informed the congregation's current understanding of accompaniment.

As she says, "Being present, sharing stories, walking together, being part of someone else’s solution, transformation, mutuality—these are all a part of the term “accompaniment” as we have come to understand it. ... The term “accompaniment” has taken on a new significance for us as we use it in a new context and we are still discovering the full implications of this. But, for us, it seems to be the best way to respond to [the crisis in New Orleans and] our mission in Churches Supporting Churches."

Read the entire article about accompaniment in El Salvador and New Orleans
Learn more about "Churches Supporting Churches" and the experience in New Orleans with St. John Baptist at the St. John Partners blog

March 2009 Election Observer Delegation to El Salvador

2008-08-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

Are you interested in joining a delegation to El Salvador? The El Salvador Partners Mission Group is considering a delegation to El Salvador at the time of their presidential elections in 2009. We want to know who might be interested in going.

The dates would be March 10 - 17 for the presidential elections. This might be an observers group going with SHARE or an unofficial "observers" delegation that might be in Atiquizaya with Shalom during the elections.

We have 5 people potentially interested in taking part in the March delegation. Please contact Andy Smith if you are interested.

(Note -- There is also an opportunity to join a SHARE official observers delegation for the mayoral/legislative elections Jan 12 -19.)

SHARE Delegation Mission: Delegates will join other international elections observers to ensure free and fair participation and reporting of the election results, and will meet with members of SHARE partner communities who are advocating for social and economic justice through women's empowerment, leadership development and citizen participation.

More information about El Salvador's 2009 elections and the SHARE election observer delegations is available on the SHARE website.

September series on CBC's Central America Heritage

2008-08-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

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.

News from Ruth about Shekina

2008-08-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

EN CUANTO A LA IGLESIA, TODO BIEN, GRACIAS A DIOS...
* RECIBIMOS UNA DELEGACIÓN DE 12 HERMANOS DE CEDAR HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH, PORTLAND, OREGON EN LA ULTIMA SEMANA DE JULIO. FUE UNA BENDICIÓN COMPARTIR CON ELLOS.
* JAVIER MILLA, HNA ANNA HERNÁNDEZ (mamá de Annita y José Luis) Y LA HNA CARMENCITA SE ENFERMARON Y FUERON OPERADOS PERO YA ESTAN BIEN DE SALUD
* BAUTIZAMOS A KAREN Y KATY EL DOMINGO 20 DE JULIO.
* HEMOS COMENZADO LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE LOS TAPIALES (MUROS EXTERNOS) DEL TERRENO DONDE SOÑAMOS CONSTRUIR EL CENTRO DE DESARROLLO INTEGRAL SHEKINA.
* ESTE DOMINGO PASADO FUI A PREDICAR Y CELEBRAR LA SANTA CENA EN LA IGLESIA BAUTISTA EMMANUEL, EN SAN SALVADOR.... Y POR LA TARDE CELEBRE LA SANTA CENA EN SHEKINA

Plans for August potluck dinner meeting

2008-08-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Conversations continue at our next meeting on Monday, August 11th, at 6pm for another potluck dinner at Caroline's house. Hope you'll join us!

We'll be following up on our discussions about potential delegations to El Salvador in 2009, plans for various education and awareness events at CBC during the new church year, and more.

July potluck dinner and planning meeting

2008-06-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

El Salvador Partners and Friends,

Please join us for a potluck dinner and planning meeting with the pastors!

Where and When -- At Caroline's house on Tuesday, July 8th, at 6pm.

At the last official meeting of the year on Sunday June 8th, a small group of us listed out possible projects/plans for 2008/2009. Since then, a couple of additional ideas have been added. See the list below. You may have other ideas that we need to hear about, too.

There are a lot of directions we could take with our El Salvador relationships this coming year, and all of that needs to be prioritized and discussed in relation to other things going on in other mission groups, CSC, and the wider congregation! So come ready to hear about the possibilities and bring your thoughts about where our energy should be directed.

Brainstorming list of ideas from the June meeting:

Nora is interested in getting together a CBC youth delegation to El Salvador next year / summer
Tessa is working on a dream to do a high school exchange at the Baptist school in Santa Ana next summer (she has the go ahead from the Kimberton Waldorf School to pursue this)
Possiblity for CBC adults and young adults to participate in official election observer delegations in Jan and Mar 2009
Ken Sehested's invitation for Ruth to attend the global peace conference in Rome in Feb 2009 and possibility of CBC funding that trip
SHARE's new "Seeds of Hope" agricultural micro-lending fund, maybe "Empty Bowls" fundraising event
SOA Watch events in Nov 2008, more education and advocacy re: SOA this fall using some of the resources brought back last year from that trip
New Sanctuary Movement, film THE VISITOR proposed by Landi, Catholic Worker connections, etc.

Shekina Celebrates 16th Anniversary on May 4th

2008-05-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

from Ruth Orantes, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Shekina:

Queridos hermanos y hermanas... solo para compratirles que el próximo domingo 4 de Mayo celebraremos nuestro 16 aniversario de fundación como Iglesia.

Queremos que sepan que aunque lejos físicamente... siempre les sentimos cerca de nosotros. Sabemos que contaremos con sus oraciones y su presencia espiritual en nuestra celebración.

Les amamos, les recordamos siempre y siempre estan en nuestras oraciones.

Cuidense y que dios les bendiga

Por la Iglesia

Ruth Eunice de Orantes

Annual Report for April 07 to March 08

2008-04-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

This has been another busy year for the El Salvador Partners Mission Group as we continued to deepen our understanding of economic, political, and social justice issues in El Salvador, and as we continued to nurture our CBC relationships with Shalom Baptist Church in Atiquizaya and Shekina Baptist Church in Santa Ana, our two partner congregations pastored by Alex and Ruth Orantes. The SHARE Foundation has once again supported our El Salvador relationships by providing advocacy resources and issues analysis, and most especially by facilitating our youth delegation and assisting with other "on the ground" networking with people and organizations in El Salvador. We celebrate the news that the Alliance of Baptists increased their mission support for Ruth and Alex Orantes funded through the 2008 "Bridges of Hope" annual mission offering. And financial support from CBC for our El Salvador relationships also continues to be strong, with 2007 Outreach budget providing funds for Shekina's "Open Doors" community outreach program and for Shalom's project for constructing a pastoral center in Atiquizaya. We were honored to receive a Philadelphia Baptist Association Award at the annual PBA Mission Banquet in September '07.

Youth Participation: Looking back on the past year, we are especially pleased with the participation and leadership of youth from both sides of the border who are involved in shaping the visions for our partnerships and who continue to deepen their personal relationships. We regularly have youth participants in our monthly mission group meetings who bring news from their Salvadoran counterparts. Many CBC youth who are high school seniors this year wrote about their experiences in El Salvador in their college application essays. Upon returning from January meetings with youth leaders at Shalom and Shekina in El Salvador, Nora P. inspired the CBC youth group to organize a work-a-thon fundraising event to support the Salvadoran youth group's trip to a sister congregation in Costa Rica. We are excited that Tessa B. is working on a proposal to be a high school exchange student at the Baptist school in Santa Ana. These are all sure signs that CBC's commitment to the people of El Salvador, begun more than 20 years ago, will continue into the future.

Technology: We are making good use of the wonders of computer technology to support our El Salvador connections. Our CBC youth stay in contact on a daily basis with Salvadoran friends through "Hi5," a social networking site similar to Facebook. We have been using Skype for free internet-based phone calls with Ruth and Alex. There are plans to schedule a video conference via Skype with the Shalom pastoral council in Atiquizaya. And our mission group blog provides a central location for telling stories, reporting news, and sharing photos and videos about our El Salvador relationships. For all the latest updates, visit the blog frequently at www.salvadorpartners.blogspot.com.

Highlights of Activities at CBC: We cooperated with the CBC Peacemakers around awareness regarding the School of the Americas in Georgia and non-violent protests at Ft. Benning and showed a documentary video about the SOA military training program. We worked with the CSC/St John Baptist task force for New Orleans in discussions of the nature of partnership relationships. We provided several educational events for youth and adults at CBC, including a speaker about microcredit and microlending models of economic development in Central America and an opportunity to assemble and decorate wooden crosses to send to the SOA protests in Georgia.

Travels to El Salvador, Georgia, and New Orleans: In addition to the June '07 Youth Delegation to El Salvador, there have been several significant opportunities for travel this year which are all highlighted in more detail below.

June '07 -- Youth Delegation to El Salvador: Following months of preparation, a group of seven youth and five adults from CBC spent eight days in El Salvador in June '07. The experience was supported by very generous financial contributions from the CBC congregation responding to the delegation's fundraising activities and the Communion Offering. Youth participants in the delegation were Nora P, Kelsey P, Tessa B, Lucy P, Adam B, Matt S, and Zach T. For Nora, Lucy, and Adam, this was their second CBC youth delegation to El Salvador, and they renewed friendships from their previous experience in 2004. Adults were Jocelyn Emerson, Ron Morgan, Kathleen Bailey, Caroline Cargo, and Bernie Peterson. Alex Orantes and six Salvadoran young people from Shekina Baptist Church and Shalom Baptist Church also traveled with the CBC delegation throughout the week. For the beginning of the trip, the delegation members were hosted by families from Shekina Baptist Church in Santa Ana. Other meetings and events during the week were coordinated by the SHARE Foundation. The itinerary included visits to women's cooperatives, a base Christian community and urban youth program in Mexicanos, various sites in San Salvador, and the community of Nueva Esperanza.

November '07 -- School of the Americas Protests in Georgia: In November '07, Kathy Stayton, Gwenyth Lewis, and Caroline Cargo traveled to Ft. Benning in Georgia for the annual School of the Americas protests. The theme of the weekend was "A Convergence of Hope and Resistance" and it provided an excellent opportunity to network with human rights organizations and other groups focused on Central American justice work in a busy schedule of workshops, plenary sessions, and the culminating procession at the gates of Ft. Benning. In preparation for the events, the Salvador Partners showed a documentary video at CBC about the School of the Americas and provided materials for youth and adults to make wooden crosses to carry in the SOA protest procession marked with names sent by Ruth and Alex Orantes of Salvadoran friends and family members who died in the war.

January '08 -- Meetings with Shalom and Shekina Pastoral Councils and Youth Leaders in El Salvador: Marcus Pomeroy, Ron Morgan, and Nora P spent several days in Santa Ana in January '08 to meet with members of Shalom and Shekina to discuss dreams and priorities for our partnerships with the two congregations. Nora's presence was especially important for focusing on youth concerns. An on-going goal in our partnerships is to develop better communications directly with the pastoral council leaders as we work together in the future.

March '08 -- Meetings in New Orleans with St. John Baptist / CSC and the Alliance of Baptists Convocation: The Salvador Partners coordinated plans to host Ruth Orantes for a trip to New Orleans for a solidarity visit with Rev. Boutte and St. John Baptist and a networking visit with the Alliance of Baptists. We solicited the support of both the Alliance and the Baptist Peace Fellowship in sending letters to the US Embassy in San Salvador to advocate for the approval of Ruth's travel visa. Ruth welcomed the opportunity to be part of the CBC delegation participating in work projects in the Lower Ninth Ward and other Churches Supporting Churches activities. She brought encouragement and a message of hope to the St. John congregation. At the Alliance of Baptists Convocation, Ruth provided leadership at the main plenary session and presented a workshop on Baptist work in El Salvador. On behalf of Salvadoran Baptist leaders, Ruth invited the Alliance to participate in a gathering of Baptists in El Salvador in 2011. We will continue to build on connections made at the Alliance meetings for the future.

Shekina Youth Group Trip to Costa Rica

2008-03-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Dear friends

As most of you know, God made last week the dream of SHEKINA become true: to travel to Costa Rica with ALL our jovenes. We were invited from our sister church Iglesia Bautista Santa Tomas. It was wonderful. By clicking on the photowebsite you can take part (a little bit!). A short video is included in the first service picture series.

Shekina Youth Photo Album from Costa Rica

Bendiciones!

Eglantina y Bernardo
Iglesia Bautista Shekina
Santa Ana, El Salvador

Rutilio Grande anniversary March 12th

2008-03-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

This week marks the 31st anniversary of the martyrdom of Fr. Rutilio Grande on March 12, 1977. The assassination of this Jesuit priest who was speaking out against the injustices of an oppressive government was a turning point for El Salvador and a catalytic event in the live of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Read a brief biography and reflection on the legacy of Rutilio Grande on the SHARE Foundation website, including this excerpt from William J. O’Malley, SJ, The Voice of Blood: Five Christian Martyrs of Our Time (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1980):

Increasingly, Grande began to exemplify a new church in El Salvador , committed to awakening in the poor a sense of their dignity and rights as children of God. This was s time when the social contradictions in El Salvador were building to a violent crisis. In this atmosphere, Grande acquired a reputation as a “radical” priest, an enemy of the system. With the bishops facing pressure to “do something” about this troublesome influence, Grande resigned from his position in the seminary and took up an assignment as pastor of Aguilares, a small town near his birthplace. There he established a vigorous pastoral ministry, training lay catechists to insert the gospel message throughout the community. In base communities, peasants studied the word of God and in that light raised critical questions about the sources of their oppression. Grande’s sermons on social justice were infamous among the town’s elite, and once again the pressure mounted on him to have him silenced.

In March 2002, a group from CBC took part in a SHARE delegation to El Salvador for the 25th anniversary commemorations of Fr. Rutilio Grande.

In addition to participating in the march along the road where Rutilio Grande was assassinated and celebration events in the town of Aguilares, we visited with our friends in Santa Ana and Atiquizaya and traveled to the Lower Lempa to learn about a women's shrimp cooperative and other successful rural cooperatives.

Thank you to Andy Smith for sharing these images from the 2002 delegation and the march from El Paisnal to Aguilares. To see more of Andy's images from the 2002 delegation, visit these links:

CBC in El Salvador 2002

Images of El Salvador

Agenda for meeting on March 9th

2008-03-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

Plan to stay for our regular Salvador Partners meeting tomorrow after worship. We have several items to discuss:

* Details for Ruth Orantes' visit in New Orleans, plans for her participation in the Alliance Convocation, decisions about funds for the trip

* Report on Shalom's plans for organizing events for the Romero Anniversary in Atiquizaya

* Potential video conference meeting with the Shalom pastoral council

* Proposal from Alex re: trip to Sweden and the Congo -- Yes, you did read that correctly!

* Updates and Celebrations -- Suchitoto 13, Shekina Youth Bike-a-Thon

* Info about the "New Sanctuary Movement"

Agenda for Salvador Partners Meeting on February 10th

2008-02-06T14:37:00.000-08:00

Our regular monthly meeting of the El Salvador Partners Mission Group will be this Sunday, February 10, following worship. Plan to join us for a full meeting! We'll provide a few healthy lunchtime snacks, and you can bring a sandwich if you'll be extra hungry. There are a number of important topics for discussion....

* Ideas and plans for Ruth and/or Alex Orantes to come to New Orleans after Easter to be part of the Alliance of Baptists convocation and to meet Rev. Boutte and folks at St. John Baptist. Be thinking about whether you might want to make the trip to New Orleans, too!

* Proposal for some changes in our financial support for Shekina and Shalom based on the January conversations with their pastoral teams.

* Options for some ways to remember the Romero Anniversary (March 24th) at CBC, including a resource packet from SHARE that highlights Romero's legacy and contemporary issues of environmental stewardship in El Salvador and the world.

Important reminders:

1) Don't forget to take part in the fundraising efforts our CBC youth are doing to support the Shekina and Shalom youth trip to Costa Rica. Thank you to Nora and others for organizing this! See the poster in King Commons to sign up. See more information.

2) If you plan to contribute to the 2008 Orantes Fund, it would be great if you could fill out a pledge form. It will help our planning to know what the level of giving will be. Pick up one of the brochures available in King Commons for more information.

3) SHARE is organizing a young adult delegation to El Salvador -- July 9 to 16. If you are entering your junior or senior year in high school or are enrolled in college, you are eligible to participate in SHARE's 2008 youth delegation. This year's theme is Una Gota de Agua or "one drop of water" and will focus on environmental issues. In keeping with SHARE's philosophy of accompaniment and inter-personal exchange, the youth of El Salvador will be the primary teachers and guides as we explore this subject. Read more at
Una Gota de Agua: 2008 SHARE Youth Delegation Let Caroline know if you want more information.

Photos from CBC Visits with Shekina and Shalom / January 2008

2008-01-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

Dates for upcoming Salvador Partners meetings at CBC

2008-01-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

These dates have been added to the CBC office calendar. Please add to your calendars at home.

Sun Feb 10th 2nd Sun

Sun Mar 9th 2nd Sun

Sun Ap 20th 3rd Sun

no mtg in May

Sun June 8th 2nd Sun (potential conflict with the church annual picnic, so this may be changed)

Invitation to give input on Sunday, Jan 20th

2008-01-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we had an opportunity at CBC to hear a report from Ron, Nora, and Marcus about their meetings with Shekina and Shalom. Now it's time for some conversations about "next steps." Here's what we envision as a beginning process....

Your input would be welcome as we work towards some specific recommendations! If you are free this Sunday, Jan 20th, after worship, Salvador Partners folks can join Caroline and Ron to help sort through ideas and figure out some starting points for options for future proposals. We'll get together in one of the downstairs classrooms.

Caroline and Ron, plus Katy from Outreach, will meet w/ pastors next week to share those ideas and get their input. We'll circulate more info to the Salvador Partners for further comment after the meeting w/ pastors.

Shekina Youth Bike-A-Thon and Report from Nora

2008-01-18T05:37:00.000-08:00

Hola! I'm Nora and I recently got back from a delegation to Santa Ana, El Salvador, to visit Iglesia Bautista Shekina and to continue to develop the relationship between the congregation there and Central Baptist Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania. The youth there asked me if I would send you all, as friends and partners in their ministry, an email to update you on what they're up to these days.

As always, the youth have been actively involved in the inner workings of the church. There are youth representatives on many of the boards, some of whom report on behalf of those boards to the pastoral committee; they also play the music in the service. As far as community efforts go, the youth have been integral in the church's outreach workshops and have held events for the neighborhood children as well.

The main focus of their efforts, though, is a trip to Costa Rica. After unsuccessful attempts to take a delegation to the United States, they've decided to focus their aims more locally. Over Holy Week in mid-March, 25 youth from Shekina are hoping to travel to visit a sister church in Costa Rica. Their friends there are willing to pay any expenses that will be necessary during the trip, such as housing and food, so the youth group is now working towards bus fare to make their dream a reality.

In order to do this, Shekina is holding a bike-a-thon to raise the remaining funds. At $90/person the total needed is $2,250. They have already raised $400 through fruit sales, and one $90 ticket was donated. Through the bike-a-thon they are hoping to raise the remaining $1,760, and hopefully more to cover any fees at the national borders or any unforseen expenses.

The bike-a-thon will be held on February 17th after church. For each dollar donated, a member of Shekina will complete one lap. Though this is an event meant specifically to benefit the youth, all of the members of the church get involved; those who can't bike walk. While we are unsure of the exact length of the laps, I am told it takes about 10 minutes to complete one walking.

If you are interested in sponsoring the youth in their efforts, the information about donating is at the end of this email. I also have a directory of the youth with their current pictures and email addresses for those of you who would like to see the faces of those you are helping or be able to contact them directly. If you have any questions you can email me or José Luis, the newly elected president of the youth group (he speaks English, for those of you who may be a little rusty with your Spanish).

The youth of Shekina want you to know that you are always in their prayers and they thank you for your continued support.

With love from the south,

Nora P. and the youth of Shekina

* For specific details about how to make financial contributions for the Shekina Bike-A-Thon, send an email to salvadorpartners@gmail.com.

2008-01-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

January Meetings in El Salvador with Shekina and Shalom

2008-01-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

Marcus, Ron, and Nora are traveling to El Salvador from Jan 3 to 7 for meetings with Ruth and Alex Orantes and other members of Shekina and Shalom, our sister congregations in Santa Ana and Atiquizaya. They will be talking about future plans and ways to strengthen our relationships.

Join us to hear the report from their meetings on Sunday, January 13th, following worship. Bring your lunch and we'll gather in a downstairs classroom at 12:15pm.

Reflections on the School of the Americas protest weekend

2007-12-28T06:43:00.001-08:00

Thank you to Kathy Stayton for this report on our experience in Georgia at the School of the Americas protests in Georgia. See earlier post for photos from the SOA weekend.....

It is SO quiet, I realized, though I, Gwyneth Lewis and Caroline Cargo were surrounded by about15,000 other people for the procession organized by School of Americas Watch. We were there to remember the thousands of Central and South American people who have been killed or tortured by men who had training at the U.S. Military’s School of Americas at Ft. Benning, in Columbus, GA. These were testimonies to the brutality that is exported from this training center. We were saying with our bodies,“No more!” The U.S. should not be in the extreme interrogation technique export business!

After a name of one who was killed or disappeared was called from the stage, we lifted our handmade wooden crosses with names of individuals or whole villages who had died and shouted “Presente”. That meant that named person was present with us in remembrance. They will not be forgotten. It took one hour and 45 minutes for names to be called about every 5 seconds before all of us had finally passed by the chain link fence across the road to the School, and erected by the School for this weekend, to place our crosses in it. All this in respectful quiet of thousands.

Respectful, yes, even spiritual, like a procession in a cathedral to honor a loved one, the solidarity among us was palpable. Police and military cameras were focused on us from outside the fences or police tapes that defined our area. Thirteen people chose direct action by either walking around the fence on to Ft. Benning property, or going over the fence. Why? To bring attention of the media of why they are there, to have a chance to give their case in a courtroom, and to express their outrage and their deep commitment to peace in a nonviolent manner. They ranged in age from mid20’s to late 70’s. Hundreds or thousands of Catholic high school and college students were there as were Jesuit priests and Sisters of Mercy and other orders. So was Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America!

This event was the end of a weekend of events—the Convergence of Hope & Resistance. Workshops, plenary sessions, and concerts were offered at the Columbus Trade Center and a nearby Holiday Inn, several miles from the School, now called Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. (WHINSEC) Nonviolence training, from minimal to extensive was offered. Criminal Justice issues, Indigenous values, Struggle for Civil Liberties in El Salvador, Torture Survivors speak, Film screenings, Free Trade, Immigration & US Foreign Policy, Network of Spiritual Progressives, a Theater of the Oppressed – just a taste of the choices of workshops for all of us.

An exciting presentation for us all was one by Rabbi Michael Lerner who, with Sister Joan Chittister, and Cornel West of Princeton, started Network of Spiritual Progressives, a project of the Tikkun Community. With a packed room, he challenged us all to consider their alternative to the status quo which “judges institutions and social practices as efficient, rational and productive to the extent that they maximize money and power. The New Bottom Line, which they advocate, is that institutions and social practices should be judged rational, efficient and productive not only to the extent that they maximize money and power, but also to the extent that they maximize love and caring, ethical and ecological sensitivity and behavior, kindness and generosity, nonviolence and peace.” He then spun out scenarios of the possible.

“A Theater of the Oppressed” caught the attention of Caroline and me. Hector Aristizabal, a psychologist, and a victim of torture in Colombia, acted out his life in a 45 minute drama. Then he took us through some activities that led to express through body motion what torturing would be like and then what we would feel if we were tortured— heavy stuff done effectively.

Plenaries, concerts, southern foods and networking rounded out our time. Our dream is that we could have a van or busload from CBC and other nearby churches to attend next year. Hopefully it will be closed by then; only 6 more votes were needed to curtail the function of SOA in 2006. Your call to your congress people will help. Below are a number of peace organizations their websites that you can check out as you wish. I visited their tables. Check out the Columbus, GA newspaper coverage of SOAW in the church narthex. It was fair and the pictures give a sense of the street theater and the crowd.

Thanks to Caroline, whose parents live about an hour from Birmingham, she met me at the airport there and took me to the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham. On the way back to Birmingham she took Gwenyth and me to Montgomery and we visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and museum at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

What a privilege for us! We knew we had many supporters back at CBC for this, our first SOAW event. For this I give thanks for us all.

Kathy Stayton

Websites of some peace and justice organizations that participated in the SOA weekend

SOA Watch www.soaw.org

Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA: www.ghrcusa.org

The SHARE Foundation: Building a New El Salvador Today: www.share-elsalvador.org

Veterans for Peace: www.veteransforpeace.org

Witness For Peace: www.witnessforpeace.org

Network of Spiritual Progressives: www.spiritualprogressives.org

Just Faith: www.justfaith.org

Center on Conscience & War: www.centeronconscience.org

War Resisters League: www.warresisters.org

The Indypendent - a free paper for free people: www.us.indymedia.org and www.indypendent.org

Latin America Solidarity Coalition: www.Lasolidarity.org

Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America: www.bpfna.org

Conversations on Dec. 9th about El Salvador partnerships

2007-12-08T06:14:00.000-08:00

Remember to plan to stay after worship on Dec. 9th for conversations about our El Salvador relationships. We'll plan to gather from 12:15 - 2pm. A simple lunch will be provided.

The main focus will be to get input for Ron, Marcus, and Nora to take to El Salvador in January for meetings with leaders from Shekina and Shalom. We're especially interested in hearing from any CBC youth who have been talking with Salvadoran youth over these past months.

There are a number of background reports to share with you to help shape our conversations:

Report from Alex re: land purchase for Shalom, architect plans
Report from Ruth re: "Open Doors" program at Shekina, successful medical delegation to Atiquizaya
Ideas about Ruth and Alex attending Alliance of Baptists mtgs in New Orleans
Delegation opportunities for CBC adults and young adults -- SHARE delegations in March and SHARE Youth/Young adults in June
Orantes Fund updates and other finances
January meetings with Ruth and Alex about future partnership plans, youth connections, and more

If there is time, we can also do a brief report from SOA events in Georgia and think about possibilities for sharing resources we brought back for CBC.

Photos from Nov 2007 SOA protests

2007-11-21T10:08:00.001-08:00

Kathy, Gwenyth, and Caroline returned on Monday night from the weekend events at the SOA in Columbus, GA. We were inspired by lots of great music (Holly Near and Indigo Girls, for starters), great speakers (Rabbi Michael Lerner, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, others), workshops on non-violence, theater performances. On Sunday, we carried the set of crosses made at CBC and shared several of them with others in the crowd as we all took part in the solemn procession. We'll be writing up some reflections from the experience, and we brought home resources to share at CBC.

A few things to look for in the slide show above:

college and high school students, grandmothers and grandfathers, Salvadorans, families, friends from SHARE and the Baptist Peace Fellowship
"non-conforming" crosses from CBC being broken down to size as required by police before we could enter the vigil area
chain link and barbed wire fence lined with crosses and one Star of David
military police surveying the crowd from raised platforms and police helicopter circling the events
giant puppet of Rufina Amaya (sole survivor of the El Mozote massacre) with outstretched arms placed against the chain link fence at the very end of the day

The SOA Watch estimates that there were 25,000 - 30,000 people attending the protests. (The police estimate was 11,000.) Eleven people ranging in age from 25 to 76, including one man from Pennsylvania, were arrested on Sunday for acts of civil disobedience and are scheduled for federal criminal trial January 28, 2008 for trespass - punishable up to six months in federal prison. Three others were arrested at the entrance of the vigil site for refusing to relinquish crosses whose size exceeded Columbus police regulations. Read all of their stories and see photos and videos from the weekend at www.soaw.org.

Children of Atiquizaya - new video from Eduardo

2007-11-11T12:05:00.000-08:00

You can find a number of videos on line at YouTube posted by Eduardo, a young adult member of Shekina in Santa Ana. Eduardo has traveled with the CBC Youth Delegations and is a leader among the young people at Shekina. Click on the video above and the links below to see some videos of youth activities and projects at Shekina and Shalom. Look for familiar faces!

campamento juvenil bautista

amigos por siempre

festival del maiz

trabajando in el terreno de la iglesia Shekina

Presente! Crosses for Ft. Benning protests

2007-11-08T10:58:00.001-08:00

Tucumay Camones - Todas las más de 100 personas asesinadas en Tucumay Camones en 1980

Maria Christina Gomez - Salvadoran Baptist, community leader, friend of CBC.

Miguel Angel Portillo - Compañero de estudios en el Instituto Teológico Bautista de El Salvador, en el tiempo que nosotros eramos seminaristas. El fue desaparecido en noviembre de 1989.

Raphael Aguinada - asesinado el 26 de septiembre de 1975 al salir de una reunión sindical, fungía como secretario general de la Fundación Unitaria Sindical (FUSS) diputado del Partido Unión Democrática Nacionalista (UDN), ante la Asamble Legislativa.

Salvador Rodriguez - pastor bautista, asesinado a principio de los años 80 en Chapeltique, San Miguel. Pastor joven que mostró en vida su conciencia social y política a través de su practica y de su predica.

Raphael Aguinada Deras - asesinado el 26 de septiembre de 1975 al salir de una reunión sindical, fungía como secretario general de la Fundación Unitaria Sindical (FUSS) diputado del Partido Unión Democrática Nacionalista (UDN), ante la Asamble Legislativa.

Salvador Sanchez - joven periodista quien trabajaba con YSUCA, Maya Visión y Radio cadena Mi Gente. Identificado con el Movimiento Social y con la Verdad. Asesinado

Miguel Angel Orantes - fue asesinado en 1974 por la Guardia Nacional. Era maestro organizado en ANDES 21 de Junio y en la Unión Nacional Opositora (UNO). El es parte de la inmensa lista de personas anonimas que lucharon y por la vida y la justicia fueron asesinadas. Padre de Alex.

Galia Deras - hija también de Rafael Aguiñada, asesinada en enero de 1990 en Guazapa. Era combatiente. Ellos entregaron su vida por luchar por la justicia.

From the "Mothers in Arms" book project:

Sonia / Hermano de Marisol Galindo / Mujeres del Frente / Samuel / La Quesera - 600 to 800 innocent people, mostly women, children, and elders / Companeros de Claudia / El Mozote

Transforming Community: Using Theater to Restore Historic Memory with Survivors of La Quesera Massacre in El Salvador

2007-11-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

La Quesera was a brutal attack in October 1981 by the Salvadoran Army which took the lives of 600 to 800 people, mostly women, children, and elders.

Two groups from Central Baptist have met with survivors of the massacre to learn about their journey toward healing. In May 2006, several women from CBC visited the site of the massacre with Julia, one of the survivors and a leader of the survivors group. And in June 2007, the CBC youth delegation met with three young people whose families were among the survivors of the massacre to learn about ways that the people are organizing activities to remember and to honor loved ones who died, and also transforming the community with a vision of hope.

Aryeh Shell spent time in the La Quesera survivors community as an Art Corps volunteer. She writes about a powerful experience of using theater to restore historic memory...

I came to El Salvador as a volunteer with Art Corps, an organization that places artists in residence with Central American communities. Art Corps’ mission is to share art as a tool to engage participation and raise awareness of social and environmental issues. Using theater to restore historic memory affirms the dignity of personal experience, enables people to view their lives in new ways, demonstrates compassion and social nurturing, and draws people closer as they witness their common humanity. It is a model for building empathy and peace in a fractured world. For the survivors at Quesera, their families, and their supporters, popular theater opened a space for the community to remember together, to heal and commit to creating a world where this would never happen again.

Read her full on-line article entitled "Popular Theater takes on La Quesera Massacre in El Salvador" to learn more about her experience and the transformative power of theater and the arts in community.

Updates about SOA and meeting plans for December 9th

2007-11-07T05:26:00.001-08:00

We had well over 34 people attend the video presentation about the School of the Americas last Sunday. Let me know if there is interest in continuing some of the education about the SOA. We have two other brief videos that could be used at some point in time.

After the video, several youth and adults stayed to make two sets of crosses with names of friends and family members of Alex and Ruth who died in the El Salvador war. Another group met on Monday afternoon to prepare additional crosses with names of communities and individuals, especially women and children, that we learned about through the interviews with women in El Salvador that several of us participated in back in May 2006. One set of crosses will travel to Georgia for the procession and protests at Ft. Benning (Nov 16 - 18). We'll plan to take photos to share from the Georgia events. This Sunday, Nov 11, the duplicate set will be presented in worship at the time of Celebrations and Concerns. After worship, maybe some of us will place the crosses around the Peace Pole on Lancaster Avenue as a witness to the Wayne community?

Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, Dec 9th, following worship. (Note - This is a revised date.) The congregation is invited to join us for conversations to help shape the agenda for a meeting in El Salvador in January with our partners at Shekina and Shalom. More information to follow.

"The New Patriots" Video and Lunch on Sunday, Nov 4th

2007-10-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

All are invited next Sunday, Nov 4th, from 12:30pm to 1pm. Come enjoy lunch provided by the CBC Peacemakers and Salvador Partners while we watch "The New Patriots," a brief documentary about the School of the Americas.

After the 9/11 tragedy the U.S. government called for the eradication of terrorist training camps. Not mentioned by officials was the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA), located at Ft. Benning, GA, described by the veterans as a school for terrorism. "The New Patriots" is an 18-minute video that includes footage of the civil disobedience actions at the military base in Ft. Benning, Georgia, and highlights on-going efforts to shut down the military training school for Latin American death squad leaders and military dictators.

Newsprint leaflets about the School of the Americas and the annual protests at Ft. Benning, Georgia, are available in King Commons. Kathy S, Caroline C, and Gwenyth L will be representing CBC this year at the gates of Ft. Benning as part of an anticipated crowd of over 20,000 protesters!

There is a tradition that people at the protests bring crosses with names of Salvadorans who were killed in the war written on them, and the crosses are placed by protestors at the fence that surrounds Fort Benning.

We will have materials ready to make simple wooden crosses that Kathy, Caroline, and Gwenyth will take to Georgia. Ruth and Alex Orantes and other friends from Shekina and Shalom in El Salvador are giving us a list of a few names for us to add to the crosses -- friends and family members who were killed in the war. So after the video, if you want to stay and make a cross, you can do that, too.

November plans - video about SOA and protests at Ft. Benning, GA

2007-10-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

A few updates about plans for November...

Mark your calendars for Sunday, Nov 4th 12:30pm - 1pm for a video about the SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS. "School of Assassins" is a hard hitting documentary about the United States Army School of the Americas, the human rights abuses carried out by some of its graduates, and continuing efforts by human rights activists to shut it down. (This is different from the one the youth delegation watched at the "Boot Camp") We'll begin PROMPTLY at 12:30pm with the video because some of us have to leave at 1pm to attend other meetings. Peacemakers Mission Group is co-sponsoring the video presentation, and we're publicizing this for anyone interested to come and learn about the SOA. For more information about the award-winning documentary video, see "School of Assassins."

Speaking of the protests in Georgia -- Kathy and Caroline have bought their plane tickets and will be representing CBC at the gates of Ft Benning this year! (Gwenyth may be going, too.) We'll be attending a number of workshops on Saturday, Nov 18th, and participating in the huge procession, memorial service, and "festival of resistance" on Sunday, Nov 18th. (see the schedule of events ) We would love to have a CBC banner to take with us to carry in the big procession! We can talk on Nov 4th about that and see if anyone has creative ideas to share. Anyone interested in making the banner? Designing a banner? Also, it is customary for folks in the procession to carry wooden crosses with names of people. You might remember that back in 2000 we made crosses with the names of people from Las Anonas who had died in the war, and those were sent to Ft. Benning for the procession. Is there any interest in making a few crosses this year for Kathy and Caroline to take? Maybe we could ask Ruth and Alex to suggest names of friends of theirs who were killed, and we could certainly carry a cross with Maria Christina Gomez. Anyone interested in thinking about that?

Our friend Tara Carr-Lemke (SHARE Director in Washington) will be visiting CBC in worship on Sunday, Nov 4th. Say hello and be friendly to her and husband Kevin.

"Faces of Fair Trade" Event

2007-10-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Katy F-N and Kathleen B for sending this info!

Farmers from Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Georgia, along with local farmers from New England will tell their stories.

Date: Tuesday, October 30th
Time: 6:00 pm - Local food tasting provided by the Fair Food Project
6:30 pm - Panel Discussion with farmers and our own Ann Karlen, founding director of the Fair Food Project
Place: Tabernacle United Church, 3700 Chestnut St., Philadelphia
Cost: Free. Food will be provided by Fair Food. Fair Trade Coffee and chocolate fondue courtesy of Equal Exchange
Please RSVP : (215) 386-5211 x101, ann@whitedog.com
More info: www.equalexchange.coop/faces-of-fair-trade

Suchitoto 13 facing charges of terrorism -- Report from SHARE Emergency Delegation

2007-09-25T04:18:00.000-07:00

The constitution gives me the right to express myself freely! I am not a terrorist!

Photos from the SHARE Delegation visits with the "Suchitoto 13" who were arrested on charges of terrorism during peaceful protests in July 2007. Patricio (left, with Marina Pena who is the director of SHARE's office in El Salvador) was tortured during the police detention. Rosa, Facundo, and Lorena (right) were among those protesters detained for 20 days.

Watch this YouTube video of some of the detentions.

Claudia Rodriguez recently returned from El Salvador where she was a member of SHARE's emergency delegation in response to the July 2nd arrests of 13 protesters in Suchitoto who are facing charges of terrorism. The delegation met with several of the defendants, the Salvadoran Human Rights Ombudsman Humberto Luna, representatives from CRIPDES, and others. Thank you to Claudia for sharing her personal report and photos from the experience.

Dear Friends,

I am back from El Salvador. My time as part of the SHARE emergency delegation was great and very intense. Below this message there are some pictures that I want to share with you. We visited Suchitoto and the Guillermo Ungo community outside of Suchitoto that was repressed by police and military forces on July 2, 2007. The Guillermo Ungo community started in 1992 as a settlement for peasants communities that were in refugee camps and for ex-combatants of the FMLN that has just demobilized. I visited this community in 1992 as a high school student doing research for my sociology class. Back then I remember being moved by the spirit of this community. People had just settled, were extremely poor and had only a few belongings (the UN had given some people small kitchens and basic furniture). But people were happy and eager to start a new life without the horrors of war.

Going back was special for me. I was impressed on how the community had progressed. I was glad to see the corn fields, the women's organizations and the school, that unlike most rural schools offers from kindergarten to high school. I was not surprised though. I knew of the amazing social capital that characterized this community. For example, they have installed 19 water systems to supply the community (made up of about 7 villages). People contributed their labor and CRIPDES (Christian Communities for the Development of El Salvador), CORDES and the European Union provided the funding. A woman told me, "I got splinters in my hands digging the holes for the wells". But the community's self determination is not a characteristic that the government appreciates, on the contrary, it is seen as a threat, particularly because the town is considered a supporter of the FMLN.

This is why when President Saca chose Suchitoto to announce his "water decentralization program" the community got very suspicious. They do not want the government to take away their water system to give it to private corporations. They wanted to participate in the presidential event but they were not invited. For this reason they decided to hold a forum in Suchitoto at the same time as the presidential event as a way to protest. In their forum they were going to explain how they manage their water supply. But little did they know that they were going to be attacked by the police and anti-riot units before they could even start the forum.

My heart ached when I heard the testimonies of people beaten up and being chased back to their communities by military forces who were spraying tear and pepper gases even inside the houses without caring about the children and the elderly. The school also had to be evacuated. The police and army forces basically took over the community and stayed there over 8 hours. About 25 people were also injured by rubber bullets. This situation: the military presence and repression, and the helipcoters flying over the community brought to the Guillermo Ungo Community bitter memories of the civil war.

We talked to 5 of the people who were detained. Patricio Valladares talked about his head injuries from the beating he received during detention. He spent three days in the hospital until the judge ordered him back to jail. He still suffers dizziness and headaches. The testimony of the women was heartbreaking, the way they were treated, the inhumane conditions in prison and the arbitrariness of the whole process. These women are so amazing that they also became advocates for the other inmates, denouncing the barbaric conditions that all the women prisoners face.

The thirteen people that were detained were released on bail but are still facing charges of terrorism. The judicial system is so corrupt that the chances on them being sentenced are quite high. This is a political case, and the government's message is clear: any protest critical of government policies will be prosecuted as terrorism. The anti-terrorist law establishes convictions of 40 to 60 years in jail. There is a great concern among people and community organizations that the new policies represent a return to State terror. The accused people and their supporters are afraid that the government will sentence them in order to get its message across. They have a great hope that the international community can help change the direction of this crazy situation.

For the above reasons we need to activate local and international solidarity once again until the charges are dropped. The SHARE Foundation is planning to hold a congressional hearing to speak about this situation. If possible they want to bring Human Rights Ombudsman, Humberto Luna to give his testimony. Political pressure might be the only way to free these social leaders. After being there, listening to the testimonies and looking up the people's eyes, I feel very committed and motivated. One more time, I really appreciate your support on this cause!

Claudia Rodriguez

Plans and Dreams for the Coming Year (minutes from September meeting)

2007-09-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday (Sept 9th) was our first scheduled meeting of the year -- but also a very busy Sunday and weekend for lots of folks at CBC! See below for a number of updates and other info that we want to share at the start of this new church year.

Remember -- you can always check the Salvador Partners blog (www.salvadorpartners.blogspot.com ) to find announcements, meeting dates, and other information.

UPCOMING MEETINGS FOR THE FALL -- Our next official meeting will be on Sunday, Oct 14th. This will be an open forum after worship with a panel presentation by Salvador Partners and New Orleans Task Force about these two partnerships in the life of the CBC congregation. Also mark your calendars for Nov 4th and Dec 2nd.

ORANTES FUND -- Thank you to all of you who faithfully contribute to the Orantes Fund! Ron and I have talked about sending out a "Salvador Partners Newsletter" mailing to contributers from CBC and to all the other individuals, congregations, and organizations who contribute to give some updates as we move into the end of the year.

POSSIBLE TRIP TO GEORGIA FOR SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS PROTESTS IN NOV -- The plan had been to combine with Peacemakers (also meeting) to talk about possibilities for some of us attending the November protests at Ft. Benning, GA. Ron and I did get together with Stephanie to share some information and ideas. I have put together some basic info for the CBC bulletin and newsletter inviting folks who want to think more about that to let me know. Caroline and Kathy are on board to go. I know some of the youth who went on the delegation in June were interested in thinking about this as a follow-up experience. The Romero Interfaith Center folks in Philly are beginning to get organized to do another trip down this year, so we could possibly join up with them. They have sent adults and teenagers several times. Speak up if you want to be included in doing this!

LEARNING ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS -- Whether we get a trip together for Georgia or not, several of us are interested in doing some education at CBC re: School of the Americas. The plan is to work with Peacemakers to organize some of this -- probably starting with showing a video about the SOA. Watch for more info -- and if you have ideas to share or if you want to help, let me know.

SALVADORAN GUEST IN PHILLY IN MID-OCTOBER -- We will have opportunities (week of Oct 14) to connect with a Salvadoran guest coming to Philly to give updates about the status of the situation with the human rights violations and trials of the 13 people who were arrested in Suchitoto in July, right after the youth delegation. This will be a fundraising tour to help with the legal expenses for the upcoming trials. More info to follow.

PLANNING A WORKING MEETING WITH ALEX AND RUTH IN JANUARY -- We've had conversations about a very brief, very focused working meeting in El Salvador to talk with Alex and Ruth and representatives from Shekina and Shalom about future plans. Probably will happen in January.

2008 ADULT / YOUNG ADULT DELEGATION TO EL SALVADOR -- We're hoping a group of interested CBC folks will want to think about participating in SHARE's springtime delegations. Our last two CBC delegations have been for youth, and there have been a number of college young adults and others who have expressed interest in a trip to El Salvador.

2008 INVITATION FOR ALEX AND RUTH -- We're talking and dreaming about inviting Alex and/or Ruth to join CBC in attending the Alliance of Baptists convocation that will be held in New Orleans in 2008! This would be a great opportunity to build on the Alliance connections for Ruth and Alex, and also a great chance to interact with our New Orleans partners at St. John Baptist. If that doesn't work, then maybe we could work on inviting them for the Baptist Peace Fellowship "Peace Camp" in summertime 2008.

NEWS FROM SHEKINA AND SHALOM -- We heard from the church folks in Madison, Indiana, that they are helping to purchase land for Shalom (Alex) to begin constructing a permanent church / community center in Atiquizaya. Ron has written to Alex and Ruth to find out more about that and to see about a meeting in January for future planning session. Caroline heard from Susy Fuentes in San Francisco Bay Area that their family is getting settled but the church they are attending is not the same as Shekina and they miss their church friends!

PROPOSAL FOR 2008 CBC BUDGET -- We submitted a request for $300 for mission group expenses (phone cards, mailings, books/video resources, food for special events) and recommended a 5% increase for a total of $10,500 in the Outreach budget for El Salvador Partnerships (that's the money for SHARE and for Shekina/Shalom).

Annual School of the Americas protests in November

2007-09-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

CBC's Salvador Partners and CBC's Peacemakers invite you to consider taking a stand for justice!

On the weekend of November 16-18, 2007, thousands will gather at the gates of Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia, for the Vigil and the Nonviolent Direct Action to Close the School of the Americas. The weekend will include a massive rally, nonviolent direct action training, workshops, benefit concerts, puppet shows, teach-ins and more! You can find out specific details on the SOAWatch website.

Some of us have been considering making the trip to Georgia this year to participate in the Ft. Benning events, possibly joining with others from the Romero Interfaith Center of Philadelphia. Adults and teenagers from St. Vincents, Tabernacle United Church, and the Builders Delegation (which includes Mishkan Shalom and others) have participated in previous years. Here's what Joanie Brooks had to say about her past experiences on the trip:

It is an overwhelming experience of solidarity, to be certain. One year we had two people from El Salvador with us. One of the two, Alberto, who had been through the war, lost a leg, and stood in the bitter and damp cold for an entire day demonstrating, said that day was the best day of his life. He was so moved by so many people standing in solidarity with him and his people.

Let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in thinking about taking part so that we can get folks together to work out logistics.

Salvador Partners celebrates mission award

2007-08-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

CBC’s El Salvador Partners Mission Group will be recognized with a Philadelphia Baptist Association Award at this year’s PBA Mission Outreach Banquet! The celebration will be part of the 300th Anniversary of the PBA and will take place on September 8th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Drexelbrook, 4700 Drexelbrook Drive, Drexel Hill, PA. Tony Campolo will be the banquet speaker. Tickets are $29 and the Board of Outreach will subsidize the first 10 tickets at the cost of $15. Please RSVP to the church office by Tuesday, August 14th.

Advocacy on behalf of Salvadoran political prisoners

2007-07-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

On July 2, 2007, during protests in Suchitoto against the imminent announcement by President Elias Antonio Saca of a national policy of decentralization including water and other services, the demonstrators were repressed by the police with rubber bullets and tear gas.

According to reports, around 30 protestors were arrested, including four members of the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES) while traveling toward the location of the demonstration. Later, several of those arrested reported being subject to physical and psychological abuse during the arrest and transfer to police barracks.

A report by the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, asserted that these detainees have experienced severe abuse. The victims of this abuse were beaten during interrogation, isolated in remote places for questioning, and threatened that they would be thrown from a helicopter during a transfer between detention centers. In addition, one of the men arrested, Patricio Valladares, was hospitalized after the beating he received during his arrest. His injuries, however, have not been acknowledged to their full extent by the prosecutor's office, reportedly in an attempt to protect those who carried out this attack. (excerpt from Amnesty International report and SHARE Foundation reports on the SHARE website)

Numerous efforts are being made within El Salvador and in the international community. We encourage you to act to call for justice for the political prisoners.

For continuing updates on the status of the political prisoners, see the SHARE website. Follow news of advocacy efforts on behalf of the detainees and get the latest reports by visiting the SHARE Foundation website action alerts
Read Amnesty International's report
Read Rep. Jim McGovern's letter to Pres. Saca
Call to ask your member of Congress to sign on to a letter, sponsored by Rep. Capuano of Massachusetts and addressed to President Saca of El Salvador. (Click here to see the revised version of the letter.) Remember, the deadline for new signatures is Thursday, Aug. 2!

Youth Delegation reports from June trip to El Salvador

2007-07-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

A group of seven youth and five adults from CBC spent a week in El Salvador at the end of June. Six Salvadoran young people from Shekina Baptist Church and Shalom Baptist Church traveled with the CBC youth to visit important sites around the country. and to participate in meetings to learn about the current political and economic realities of the people of El Salvador. Read reports and see photos from their visits by clicking here.

For the beginning of the trip, the delegation members were hosted by families from Shekina Baptist Church in Santa Ana. Other meetings and events during the week were coordinated by the SHARE Foundation. The itinerary included visits to women's cooperatives in Chalchuapa and the Bajo Lempa, a base Christian community and urban youth program in Mejicanos, various sites in San Salvador including Divina Providencia (where Oscar Romero was assassinated) and the UCA (where the Jesuits were martyred), and the community of Nueva Esperanza.

Prior to the trip, our CBC youth set up a blog to record some of their year-long program of learning activities and fundraising efforts at www.youthdelegation.blogspot.com.

This most recent youth delegation builds on the foundation of our first youth-focused delegation in 2004 and represents a new era in our history when a new generation of young people receives the legacy of our justice commitments and make them their own.

Microlending Consultant to meet with Salvador Partners on May 20th

2007-05-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

We have an excellent opportunity coming up at our next Salvador Partners meeting on Sunday, May 20th, to continue our conversations about microlending as a model of economic development.

Dan Wilkins (colleague of Van Weigel's) will be joining us for worship at CBC and then will meet with the Salvador Partners Mission Group for some informal discussion about his work as a microfinance consultant. Dan graduated from Eastern with an MBA in Economic Development. He then served for 12 years with Opportunity International -- a pioneer organization in microfinance -- and was responsible for setting up microlending projects in Nicaragua, Montenegro, and Mexico.

For more information, take a look at the Latin America section of the Opportunity International website at www.opportunity.org.

We'll plan to share lunch with Dan after worship. All are welcome.

The Spirit of Accompaniment -- Multiple greetings from El Salvador friends

2007-04-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

I regularly receive emails from several of CBC’s friends in El Salvador. Everyone we hear from sends warm greetings to the entire CBC congregation, and the messages always say that they are very eager to welcome the Youth Delegation in June!

As I have recently read a stream of Easter greetings from Susy Fuentes, Clara Luz Magana, Ruth Orantes, Eduardo Bracamonte, and Julia Carranza at Shekina, as well as messages from Deysi Cheyne at IMU, I have again been so aware of the deepening relationships among us and so grateful for their expressions of genuine companionship toward all of us at CBC. I want to share some specific messages, reflections, and prayers with you so that you, too, can be surrounded by their love. This is what we mean when we talk about "accompaniment." And it is very real.

Susy responded with great joy to the news I shared with our Shekina friends about Ezra's baptism on Maundy Thursday. She remembers Ezra and Ken from her time at CBC in March 2006 and passed on the news to the others at Shekina who were part of that same delegation:

I am so happy for Ezra, his father and the whole CBC community. You are definitely a very special community. I am sure it was a very special ceremony. I told Julia about it and we were crying of happiness and gratitude to our loving Father. Please send our regards and good wishes to Ezra and his father.

Susy also sent encouragement to CBC for our own discernment process for new directions, responding to what I had told her about our progress at CBC towards the new Spirituality and Justice Center and the Churches Supporting Churches / New Orleans Task Force. She shared these thoughts about Shekina's prayerful process of reorganizing some of their committees and setting priorities earlier this year:

I think all churches needs to renovate and adapt to the changing world... I think it is just a matter of praying and asking God, what way should you go, based on your principles and beliefs. The important thing is that you keep working with the young kids as they need a lot of support to keep going on the right track. It is so sad when we hear of churches where there are no children, no youth, like in Europe. I am sure you will be able to come out with a beautiful plan to keep working hand in hand with the people in your community.

In an email from Clara Luz, she was also remembering the Shekina delegation's visit at CBC in March 2006: "We will always be grateful to God and to all of you." She sent word of some very sad news for Ruth Orantes whose cousin died unexpectedly in an accidental drowning in a lake. "This was very hard for them as a family and for us as a church." And Clara Luz expressed thanks for all the ways that we share Shekina's joys and also their sorrows, like the recent robbery of their sound equipment. "But there are beautiful things, too, like the 15th anniversary of our church in May, which remind us to be grateful to God and to CBC for all the ways you help us."

And finally, from Deysi, a message of hope from El Salvador in the wake of the tragedy in Virginia:

Today we are deeply affected by the news from Virginia. I have a friend there -- a professor of political science -- but he wrote me that he is fine. We do not lose hope that this world will be better than the one that we have today.

In that same spirit of hope,

CAROLINE

News and Events from Romero Interfaith in Philly

2007-04-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

These were sent to us from a couple of folks who are active with the Romero Interfaith group in Philly. FYI -- Tabernacle is organizing a delegation to Las Anonas in August.

FRIDAY April 20th-- Romero movie at Tabernacle United Church in Philly at 7:30 if anyone at CBC might be interested.

FRIDAY May 18th -- Movie night fundraiser at Tab on Friday, May 18th, for the RIC delegation. They will be showing Voces Inocentes - the autobiographical movie dealing with child soldiers in El Salvador that came out about two years ago. We will have fliers shortly with more information.

For information about Voces Inocentes, go to http://www.innocentvoicesmovie.com.

Push and Pull: Free Trade and the Immigration Debate

2007-04-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 3oth, 5:30pm at AFSC
1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia

The dramatic debate over immigration that played out in America's streets and the halls of Congress last year has returned to the national stage with increasing raids against immigrants and the introduction of the STRIVE Act legislation. David Bacon and Juan Manuel Sandoval,
two leading scholars and activists, one from each side of the border, will help us grapple with the complex and controversial issues surrounding free trade and immigration using photos and stories from their years of organizing.

Sponsored by:
SEIU District 1199P, American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, AFSCME District Council 47, Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women

Easter Greetings from our friends at Shekina

2007-04-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Please take a look at some of the latest events from our church. (Here's a link to the complete photo album.) Some are part of the Intercultural Bible Study that we had with a church in Holland. We also received a group from Costa Rica. And the last but not the least -- our celebration of Resurrection this Sunday, April 8.

God Bless you all.

Love,
Susy Fuentes
Shekina Baptist Church
Santa Ana, El Salvador