Shekina Celebrates 16th Anniversary on May 4th

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dates for upcoming Salvador Partners meetings at CBC

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

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

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.