Walking With El Salvador

When I was growing up, our Lutheran church celebrated Maundy Thursday (or Holy Thursday) with a focus on the Last Supper, and fifth graders received their first communion. Our kids remember Maundy Thursday as the night when Pastor Dave closed the Bible with a loud slam. The altar was stripped and we walked out in silence. For several years, our Milwaukee Church did something we called Family Camp during Holy Week, which included worship, art and outdoor activities instead of traditional worship on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. A Holy Week tradition for families in the Lutheran Church in Los Héroes is to gather at the church on Holy Thursday for an informal devotional with singing, scripture reading and the lavatorio de pies - foot washing. Folks sit in a big circle, and the pastors wash everyone's feet in the same way that Jesus washed his disciples' feet during the Last Supper. In our relationship as sister churches, we have a catch-phrase: better together. One way in which w...

June is all about being ACTIVE! The 2021 Mission of Healing online theme for June is My Active Body is a Healthy Body. Moms having a big of fun after leading remote-learning gym class for their kids For many years as part of our annual Mission of Healing in El Salvador, we have included one or more mini-workshops featuring stretching, simple strengthening exercise, yoga, or chair yoga.  We usually have a member of our team who is especially good at encouraging older men and women (who are often a little shy) to practice movements which help with balance and mobility and can help decrease arthritis pain.  Nola is one of our experienced teachers, and she made a couple of simple exercise videos to share this year.  We invited families to submit photos or videos of themselves doing physical activities, thinking we could also use those to encourage people to get moving.  We took the photos and videos we received and created a fun mash-up movie with a little bit of instru...

It's summer in the US, and that means it's time for Vacation Bible School/Vacation Bible Camp!  This year, many Lutheran Churches in the  ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) have access to a free VBS/VBC curriculum from ELCA Word Hunger .  The 2021 theme is River of Life and features stories about water access and conservation from around the world.  On Day 2, the water story comes from El Salvador.   Our church is using the River of Life curriculum this year, as are many churches in the Greater Milwaukee Synod, which is a companion synod of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church.  Did I mention that Milwaukee is also featured in this curriculum? Yup, it's going to be a fun and familiar year for us! I noticed the Day 2 story does not include any photos from El Salvador.  Fortunately, I have some great photos of the Río San Antonio, which is featured in the story.  Our sister church pastor is also one of the community organizers for disaster...

As we discuss some of the challenges we are facing in partnering during a pandemic, travel seems like perhaps one of the lesser worries on our minds.  After all, most of us are still trying to figure out safe ways to see our kids or grandkids or parents who are across town.  Packing up, getting on a plane, and traveling to El Salvador is pretty far down the planning list. In the Salvadoran Lutheran Church solidarity network, the US summer is prime time for travel.  Many delegations visit during late July and early August to celebrate partnership anniversaries and to participate in the annual August festivities.  Of course, in 2020, these visits are all cancelled or postponed.  Throughout the year, delegations visit in coordination with different ministry programs which focus on Sunday School teacher training, health education, health and wellness in communities, sewing projects, potable water advocacy and projects, agricultural projects, community sanitation, re...

We left El Salvador.  It was a planned departure, and did not take place exactly as planned, but we made it home.  We are self-quarantined, by choice, because of encountering crowded conditions during travel.  So far, so good. If you are following the news from El Salvador, you might know that the President took very strong measures to protect the country before there was a single case of Covid-19 in the country.  If you have been to El Salvador, you can understand why he made this choice.  El Salvador is crowded - really crowded.  El Salvador's medical care system barely functions under normal circumstances.  Minimizing the impact of the virus by limiting the movement of people is the only hope.  Before we left, we received advice:  Drink warm beverages.  Don't drink anything cold.  You need lime juice.  (Salt and lime juice are used to clean things.)  Drink tea with ginger.  Eat garlic.  And - a funny one t...

We were crouching in the street, in the rain.  Wait... wait... wait... the student leader told us, then...RUN!!  As everyone ran, I thought, "Ooh, I need to share this idea with Pastor Steve."*  Strategies for keeping the energy alive during a long protest march or during a series of social action events over a period of time is a challenge.  Environmental groups, human rights groups, and churches in El Salvador have been fighting for a law to protect El Salvador's water resources from the clutches of polluters and money grabbers for 12 long years.  There have been small victories along the way, but every time the political parties which favor the interests of wealth and business increase the number of seats they have in the legislature, new threats arise.  It is incredibly disheartening. This is why it is critical for community organizers to invite, welcome, educate and encourage young leaders with new energy and new ideas into their social justice mov...

On January 16, 1992, under the supervision of the United Nations, representatives of the Salvadoran government and the FMLN forces came together and signed the Peace Accords, ending the 12-year civil conflict.  On January 14, 2018, a small congregation gathered for worship on a day dedicated to remembering the peace-work of the past and calling for the young and the old to be "artisans of peace" in the present.  The congregation and the community long for peace.  Gang boundaries run through the community and orders restrict residents from walking to church, visiting neighbors, and getting together with family who live on "the other side."  In the 1980's, members of this community lived and fought in the mountains, raised their families in hiding, traveled to the city when food ran out, worked, were politically active, and lost their sense of home.  After the Peace Accords were signed, those with weapons laid them down.  Political action replaced the act...

The word for mask  in Spanish is máscara.  This word is rooted in Arabic and relates to the idea of something false or hidden.  I recently learned that máscara is the word used for a mask that covers the entire face, and is made of plastic or paper maché.  There is a second Spanish word for mask , which is antifaz.   This word literally means "in front of the face" and is used for the kind of mask that covers the eyes.  Your favorite superhero or masquerade ball attendee might wear an antifaz . You can find inexpensive antifaz  masks at many craft stores or online for a very reasonable price, and if you happen to travel to El Salvador at Halloween, you might like to consider decorating these masks with little ones or adults.  Depending on the type of paper, you may need to use permanent markers.  Adults surely would enjoy adding sequins and feathers, so don't forget to pack the tacky glue.

Yes, "Part 1."  There is just so much to share about plastic bottle art.  Do you doubt me?  Read on... The plastic bottle art described in this piece, now known as "Part 1" was created in the hope of solving a small problem. Each morning at our home in El Salvador, we are awakened by an alarm provided by Mother Nature and a large flock of small parrots.  The birds spend the night roosting on one side of the valley, and shortly after sunrise, every single day, they relocate to the other side of the valley with great speed and an enthusiastic cacophony of squeaks and squawks.  The parrots navigate their morning migration in 4 or 5 groups, sometimes flying so close to our open window that we can hear the whirr of their wings.  As they swoop into the light, their feathers shine brightly green, and within a minute they all settle themselves into the shadows of fruit trees, gardens and forest.  They spend their days hiding and eating, and then just befor...

In honor of International Women's Day, this story is dedicated to all of the faithful women who provide for families with great wisdom and perseverance. One day, a young pastor and I decided to sit together and eat lunch and chat.  We know each other from time spent together at big church events and during Missions of Healing.  I asked her to tell me about the ministry in her community.  She shared a beautiful story with me, and afterwards sent me some photographs.  Since we were eating lunch, I did not take notes, but it is the kind of story that makes an impression, and so with or without notes, it got pasted into my memory. The church is in a small town in the mountain range that runs along El Salvador's southern coast.  The hills around the town are steep, some shaded green with coffee bushes clustered beneath large shade trees.  A patchwork of terraced milpas  dot the landscape, alternating brown or green depending on the growing season. ...