Walking With El Salvador

It was not really in the plans, but for a little while we ended up inviting a Salvadoran mom and a couple of kids to live with us in a place where we were staying.  It was somewhat of an urgent situation, and one for which none of us was quite prepared. Most people who know me also know that I am a tidy housekeeper.  OK, my kids might say I am a little obsessive.  It is true that as a Boy Scout leader I had the cleanest tent in camp, even with a dirt floor.  One of my secrets:  the throw rug.  No matter where I am staying, tent included, I put a throw rug at the door and that is where the shoes come off.  At home I actually keep a basket of guest slippers by the door (a custom borrowed from my daughter who spent some time living in messy Siberia). So, back to El Salvador, where, of course, shoes come off at the door.  I have observed that this is a pretty strange custom for most Salvadorans.  It certainly was something new for the mom and her little ones who came to us from the mos

At our home church we gather on Monday through Thursday at 11:00 AM in the sanctuary to pray for peace.  We sing a little.  We read the assigned scripture texts for the day.  We read a reflection from the Book of Common Prayer.  We pray.  We pray corporately, we pray silently, we offer petitions and we conclude with the Lord's Prayer.  We pray about many things, but we especially call for prayers for peace. This practice began a little less than a year ago, when yet another act of gun violence touched our city and our faith community.  As the church, we focus on prayer, on care for the victim's family and on advocacy to change a system which perpetuates injustice.  We look to the wisdom and action of faith heroes like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Archbishop Oscar Romero as we speak, as we march, as we call for action, as we work for change. Several years ago, March 24th -- the date on which we remember the death and the life of Monseñor Oscar Romero -- fell on Pa