The Central Baptist Church El Salvador Partners Mission Group, aka "Salvador Partners," facilitates ongoing relationships between members and friends of CBC and persons, congregations, and groups in El Salvador with the intention of mutual learning and sharing of fellowship, resources, and experiences.
Recognizing our differences and our commonalities, we are committed to accompanying one another and our Salvadoran partners in our respective journeys to build a just and sustainable society.
To learn more about Salvadoran Pastors Ruth and Alex Orantes, and for information about contributing to support their ministries in El Salvador, please visit www.CieloAzulFund.blogspot.com. asdfjkalsjd;f
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
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 newAmerican 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.
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.
******************************************* 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
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
2006 Shekina Delegation meeting with Alliance of Baptists in Washington DC
Clara Luz teaches CBC youth to make pupusas
2004 Youth Delegation lunch at Shalom
2004 Presidential Elections in Atiquzaya
2002 Rutilio Grande Delegation
A brief history of CBC's relationships with El Salvador
Central Baptist Church has a long history of commitment to building relationships in Central America, beginning with the congregation's vote in 1984 to participate in the Sanctuary Movement during the war in El Salvador. Mauricio, our first sanctuary refugee, arrived at CBC in February 1985.
Delegations of congregation members have traveled to El Salvador on numerous occasions. We have participated in emergency rebuilding efforts after hurricanes and floods, worked on building a worship space in Santa Elena, represented Philadelphia area congregations with our sister city program in Las Anonas, provided financial support for many projects, supported work at the Baptist Seminary in Santa Ana, participated in official anniversary events honoring Archbishop Oscar Romero and others, worked as official observers during elections, and established enduring personal friendships with our partner congregations.
In addition, we regularly host visitors from El Salvador, both personal friends and also representatives from various Salvadoran organizations. On two occasions in the past, we have provided extended housing and hospitality to Salvadoran students enrolled in graduate programs in our area. Pastors from our partner churches in Santa Elena, Santa Ana, and Atiquizaya have visited our congregation, as well as delegations of members of those churches.
