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

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

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

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

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

More about micro-lending

Nicholas Kristof wrote about micro-enterprise in his March 27th New York Times op-ed column. He says small loans to entrepreneurs in poor countries are now widely recognized as an important tool against poverty. Kristoff tells about his personal experience making several small loans through the www.kiva.org website that allows people to make direct loans to entrepreneurs in poor countries.

Read the full text of Kristof's March 27th column You, Too, Can Be a Banker to the Poor in which he tells about visiting a baker in Kabul to whom he had made a loan of $25. Watch a brief video clip about Kristof's encounter with the Afghan baker at D.I.Y. Foreign Aid.

Thanks to Ron for sharing this information.

Death of Maria Julia Hernandez, Salvadoran Human Rights Advocate

Almost immediately following our wonderful visit with Maria Silvia Guillen to learn about her work as a human rights attorney in El Salvador, we received news of the death of her friend and another leading Salvadoran figure in human rights advocacy -- Maria Julia Hernandez. As director of Tutela Legal, a human rights group sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church, Maria Julia Hernandez gathered evidence of massacres, interviewed survivors, and exposed abuses and atrocities committed by wartime death squads. She died this morning, Friday, March 30th, of a heart attack.

We received the following email this afternoon from Tara at SHARE:

I'm sorry to have to share the news with you today that Maria Julia Hernandez passed away early this morning. I don't know if CBC had ever met with Maria Julia, but I'm sure you know her story. And I'm thinking that Ron and Maria Julia may have been fellow SHARE board members in the late 1990's.

Tara also forwarded Maria Silvia's personal reflections about Maria Julia Hernandez:

Aqui estoy compartiendo con ustedes mi profundo sentimento de tristeza y de esperanza, pues nuestra querida MARIA JUILA HERNANDEZ, esa mujer ejemplar, tan cercana a Monsenor Romero, tan en el comino que el nos senalo, tan cercana al dolor y la pobreza de nuestra poblacion, fallecio hace unas horas; como era de esperarse, hasta en el momenta de su muerte, fue tan cercana a lo que ella creia, a lo que amaba; muere en el mes de Monsenor Romero, de Rutilio, de Rufina, de tantos y tantos acontecimientos fundamentals para la vida de las y los salvadorenos que creemos en la justicia, en la paz, en la reconciliacion. Ahora lo que nos queda, es sequir su ejemplo, tenerla siempre entre nosotras/os como la foraleza, la sabiduria y la nobleza que siempre fue; lo gue nos queda es seguir en nuestra lucha, con la tenacidad y la esperanza con la que ella trabajaba. (Maria Silvia Guillen / Directora de FESPAD)

For more, read the L.A. Times obituary, which quotes Maria Silvia Guillen as saying: "[Maria Julia's] death is a huge loss for those of us who work in human rights and it leaves us with the continuing responsibility."

Important News from Shekina

We received the following email from Susy Fuentes on behalf of our friends at Shekina in Santa Ana.

Dearest Friends,

We hope our Good God has kept you all safe, healthy and happy. Wherever you are at this time, please receive warm greetings from your friends at Shekina.

Pastor Ruth asked to share with you some good news and some bad ones. The good one is that our Fifteen Anniversary is right behind the corner and we would love to celebrate it with all our friends and family. So you know that if you could make arrangements to physically join us, we will be very happy to have you here. We know that our hearts and minds are always together, but it will be nice to have you here, at your other home. You will receive an official invitation soon.

Now, Not all is happiness and celebration in our lives. We just experienced a terrible situation last weekend. Early on Saturday morning, some thieves broke into our church and stole our sound system. As you may recall and maybe some of you had seen it, we had to put some internal defenses on the windows because of this situation. Well, somehow this people found another way to get into the church building through the main entrance. Remember the "vitrales" (color glasses) on the main door. They broke them, cut the door and entered. Once there, they cut the locks and open the church. The security at the neighborhood called a lady that lives almost in front of the church and this lady called one of our members. So by 5.30am on Saturday, Pastor Ruth got there with the police but they could not find anything. We think it must have been a team working together because of all the things that they did to enter. Apparently they climbed the wall at the back and jumped into the church using a small water pump that we have there.

We felt so sad and frustrated for this because you all know our dreams. We do not have extra funds, all we are saving is to continue with our project. The equipment was a donation from two our members that are in the United State, working hard to support the church. Pastor Ruth talked to all of us on Sunday and tried to raise our spirits. She was right when she said that we should not feel anger for this people because it is the evil that is using them to put us down. We are not willing to let that happen. However, we must do something to protect our church. This is why, we would like to inform you that in order to do that we will need to use some of the funds that we already have for the community center to build a higher wall around the church with an electric fence on top. It does not sound right, because we want people to see us and feel welcome but we can not afford to keep loosing the gifts that our sisters and brothers provide us with their hard work. Some of these funds came from you, as you share our dreams and want to be part of it. Therefore, we consider that it is necessary that you know about this.

If we are able to protect the church, we could then concentrate in the other project. We thank our Lord for your constant support and care. We would like you to know that we have faith that this just a bump in the road that will not stop us. We will continue working hard toward the completion of the project.

God bless you all, please send our regards to your family and church members.

With all our love, in Jesus Christ...

Susy Fuentes
Shekina Baptist Church
Santa Ana, El Salvador

Salvadoran Guest and Remembering Archbishop Romero

On the 27th anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero's martyrdom this past weekend, we were privileged to host Maria Silvia Guillen, a Salvadoran human rights attorney (more) , and Tara Carr-Lemke, director of SHARE's office in Washington DC, for a gathering of about 30 old and new friends from the Philadelphia area.

The evening was a great opportunity for networking with others who share a commitment to solidarity with the Salvadoran community. After sharing a meal, Maria Silvia offered reflections on Romero's enduring legacy and the continuing work for justice in El Salvador. She also told us about her busy schedule during this visit coordinated by the SHARE Foundation which included participation in the "Christian Peace Witness for Iraq" that took place in Washington last week, visits in congressional offices, meetings with Salvadoran community members in DC and New York, an appointment with Bob Edgar of the National Council of Churches, a meeting at the United Nations, and more. In Philadelphia, Maria Silvia spoke with several groups -- Latino/a law students at Villanova, students at the Lutheran Seminary, and a regional gathering of Franciscan sisters.

On Sunday morning at Central Baptist Church, three members of the upcoming youth delegation to El Salvador led the congregation in a litany of remembrance for Romero and a call to commitment to work for peace in our world. We also honored the memory of Rufina Amaya and celebrated her persistence in speaking truth and seeking justice.

Oscar Romero: A litany of remembrance and a call to commitment
(based on resources from the SHARE Foundation)

Leader: Oscar Romero looked into the faces of suffering people living in pervasive, extreme poverty in El Salvador and said, “In these faces we ought to recognize the suffering features of Christ, who questions us and challenges us.”

ALL: For the times we have closed our eyes to the faces of those who are suffering, for the times we refused to recognize the presence of the divine there calling to us, for our resistance to the challenges and questions they pose to us, we ask for mercy.

Leader: Romero has reminded us that we have “not always given full importance to what was really going on in the world.”

ALL: For the times that we have not given full importance to the conditions of our world, to injustice, to violence and its causes, for the times we have been distracted, too busy, indifferent, or uncaring, we ask for mercy.

Leader: Romero calls us to work for peace and justice. As he said, “Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.”

ALL: For the times we prefer war to peace, for our failure to identify with the innocent victims on all sides of conflict, for the fear that keeps us from fully living peaceful lives in the face of the world’s many conflicts, we ask the mercy of our God.

Leader: Today, as in Archbishop Romero’s time, we are challenged to bear witness to peace in our world, ending the violence of wars that destroy lives, degrade the human person, and fuel hatred.

ALL: Loving Creator, look with mercy upon your people, for we are human and overwhelmed by the many difficult challenges we now face in our world. Help us to become instruments of peace in our world, to confront political violence and its causes, and to root out injustice and hatred. AMEN.

God's Politics: Evangelicals and the El Mozote Massacre

Ryan Beiler, web editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal, has posted his reflections about Rufina Amaya and the El Mozote massacre. Here's an excerpt:

One detail that has always struck me about El Mozote is that the villagers had been told that because they were evangelicals - generally perceived as apolitical, and not liberation theology-inspired "subversivos" - they would be spared. That they were massacred anyway is a stark reminder that apolitical piety is no protection from the principalities and powers. Though innocent farmers, they were, in Guillermoprieto's words, "simply fodder in one of the last battles of the Cold War."

The lesson for Christians seeking to love our neighbors as ourselves is that we are inextricably linked to the policies and actions of our government, and are vulnerable to their consequences whether we choose to engage them or not. So, whether the issue is military aid to Latin America, the war in Iraq, or violence in our own neighborhoods, let us engage those powers, with Christ as our model of sacrificial love; rejecting both the violence of Zealots and the superficial public piety of Pharisees.

For the entire article, go to God's Politics, a blog by Jim Wallis and others. The site is sponsored by Beliefnet and Sojourners.

Thank you to Kristy for sharing this with us.

Sad News of Rufina Amaya's Death

Rufina Amaya, sole survivor of the infamous massacre at El Mozote in December 1981 and a woman who dared to speak about the atrocities committed against her people, died this week on March 6th.

The five Central Baptist women who traveled to El Salvador in May 2006 were privileged to meet Rufina and interview her in El Mozote. Photo by Linda Panetta 5/06.

There are numerous sources to learn more about her life, her courage, and her witness. See Mark Danner's 1993 article in the New Yorker magazine on-line at The Truth of El Mozote.