Tuesday, June 27, 2017

National Retreat for Christian Formation

Once every two years, all the Sunday School teachers and educators in IELCO get together for a retreat. Keeping with the celebration theme of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the theme this year was "A Reformation that Transforms Our Way of Thinking". The retreat, June 17-19, was a very full weekend. 

There was so much energy, learning, laughter and renewal that happened, all focusing on the Reformation ways we live our identity as Lutherans. Pictured above was one of the opening sessions led by Pastor Carlos Negron from Puerto Rico. He led all the musical parts. 


Pastor Angelica is leading the part 'Liberating Education', teaching the group what Luther had to say about education (a lot) and the importance of the way we teach. We also studied the 3 'solas' (Word Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone [sometimes Christ Alone is included, but for this retreat we did not have a separate study]). Each topic was led by a different member of the Christian Formation team, Pastor Angelica has been (and will continue to be) the pastoral adviser.


Sunday evening  puppets was led by Jose Arturo Vega from Peru. The group had a great time relaxing a bit after two intense days of workshops and learning. Pictured here, left to right: Cristina Pineros, Carlos Negron, Betty Castelblanco, Carolina Castellanos, Edilberto Chaparro, and Pilar Gonzalez. As you can see, everyone enjoyed making puppets and every puppet was very creative.

At the closing of the retreat Monday afternoon we had cake, again to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Pictured above are the certificates all the participants received, some gift bags for various activities, an umbrella with the Christian Formation logo, a folder of the material for the retreat, and a package of material for each congregation - which was brought from Mt Olive in Rochester, MN when they visited Colombia in March. 

Left to right, Zulma Ojeda, national coordinator of Christian Formation, Ana Maria Jara, came from the Peruvian Lutheran Church for the retreat, she is the Christian Formation coordinator in Peru, Pastor Carlos Negron who led the musical part from Puerto Rico, Jose Arturo Vega from Peru, and Obispo of IELCO, Pastor Atahualpa Hernandez. Photo by Jorge Diaz, communications of IELCO


Here is the team that made the whole thing happen! Christian Formation is made up by a regional coordinator from each of the four regions of IELCO. During the weekend there were also elections for the new coordinators. Above is the picture of the new team (and a few editions for the weekend). Left to right, Mauricio Chala, newly elected to be one of the coordinators in the central region, Pastor Atahualpa Hernandez, Pastor Angelica Bernate - pastoral adviser, Belky Hernandez, coordinator for eastern region, Sara Lara - coordinator of Human Rights (lead a session about the rights of children), Carolina Varon - coordinator for southern central region, Stella Gonzale - coordinator for nothern central region, Judith Leon - coordinator for plains (llanos) region, me, Zulma Ojeda - national coordinator, and Miguel Parada newly elected coordinator for the Boyaca region. Photo by Jorge Diaz.


And the whole group! A great weekend was had by all, friendships made, a lot of learning, and a renewed calling to teach! Photo by Jorge Diaz.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Workshop: Contributions to understanding the armed conflict in Colombia

The Emmaus Lutheran Church in the city of Medellin and its ministry of the “House of Reconciliation and Peace Education” has finished its first module of the certificate program “Conflict, Justice, and Reconciliation”. It has been a process of engaging in sometimes difficult conversations about issues related to peace and justice in Colombia. Every other Saturday, over 20 people (from the church as well as from other churches or other organizations) have been participating in the certificate program, as well as invited leaders from civil society, universities or government agencies to help explain and explore certain themes in the Colombian conflict and the peace-building process.
Logo for the House of Reconciliation and Peace Education, designed by Pastor John Hernández and Daniel Padierna.
To wrap up the first module of the program, I traveled to Medellin and we held an all-day workshop last Saturday the 17th of June. The workshop was titled “Contributions to understanding the armed conflict in Colombia”. We touched on topics such as the centrality of land ownership to the causes of the conflict and the role of the media in producing distrust and biases in the country. While difficult, these conversations are crucial to peace-building and reconciliation in the country.

Members of the certificate program, broken up into small groups to discuss what had been most challenging to them up to now during the certificate program. Photo by Curtis Kline. 
The next module will start at the beginning of July, and will be focused on conflict resolution. From the national to the local to the inter-personal levels, those participating in the certificate program will explore and strengthen their abilities to resolve conflicts in peaceful manners.

On the left, Ady and Maily, on the right, Oscar and Jorge, continuing to discuss the topics of the workshop during a break. Photo by Curtis Kline.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Teaching English

One of the projects I started this year was a more formal English class. In the past, once a week those interested in practicing English all had lunch together and had an informal English class. This year, the request was to have a more formal class, divided into two, more basic and more advanced. So now, I dedicate the better part of my Wednesdays to teaching English. This post is a glimpse into a normal weekday for me.

This is the beginner group (depends on the week who comes to the class, this was a smaller group). During this class I was teaching adjectives. The activity they are working on is drawing 4 images: a self-portrait, a monster, a fruit, and a park. I told them it didn't mater how they drew any of the images, but they needed to use adjectives that corresponded to their drawing. Left to right in the photo: Olga, Yolanda, Claudia, Jorge, and Diana. 

Here is Jorge describing is drawings. We laughed so much this day with everyone's drawings. This has been a very fun project for me to be leading this year. 

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

By Faith and Grace: The Word

Pastor John Hernandez at the Mission Emmaus Lutheran Church in the city of Medellin, Colombia has been doing a lot to prepare for the celebration this year of the 500th year of the reformation.  One way he has been doing this is through a short weekly radio program discussing principles of Lutheran theology. These programs are called “By Faith and Grace”. I have translated the first one below as well as included the link to the radio program in Spanish (even if you don't speak Spanish, it is worth listening to, it is done so well!).

To listen to the program
Click the image to listen to the  audio. 

The Word, by Pastor John Hernandez

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… 
The Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1: 1, 14).

One of the most important features of the Lutheran church is its appreciation for the word of God. In fact the Lutheran church is known as the church of the word. But what do we mean when we say ‘the word’?

Some Christians identify ‘the word’ with scripture. Lutherans, however, understand that those are two different things. For us ‘the word’ is not a book but a person. For Lutherans, all of Scripture (the Old and the New Testament), bears witness to ‘the Word’. Thus, scripture is God's word to us insofar as it reveals Christ to us.

At one time Luther, speaking of his adversaries, said that they “cast down the scripture against Christ”, he nevertheless “stood firm in Christ even against scripture”. Luther could affirm without any difficulty that Christ was the canon within the canon, that is, the norm through which all scripture should be interpreted. Any biblical interpretation that distances us from the love of God in Christ ceases to be for us the word of God.

That is why scripture is not absolute because the only absolute is God. The proper interpretation of the scripture is one that places Christ in the center and expresses the transforming action of the love of God. That is why we must be careful not to make scripture a god, not to fall into bibliolatry. Because any interpretation in which Jesus Christ ceases to be the center, ceases to be for us ‘the word of God’, and becomes an oppressive idol.

Let us pray: God of love, in your mercy come to us and speak to us, help us to listen clearly and keep us firm in your word. Through your son, your word made flesh. Amen.

Here is the link to the program (it's worth the listen).

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Liberated by God’s Grace

From the 10th to the 16th of May, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) held its 12th Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia in southern Africa. The theme of the Twelfth Assembly is “Liberated by God’s Grace,” with three sub-themes:

·         Salvation – Not for Sale
·         Human Beings – Not for Sale
·         Creation – Not for Sale

Decisions were made during the assembly regarding theological education, an affirmation of continuing the LWF's humanitarian response on behalf of those affected by war in Syria, the inclusion of gender justice in the LWF Constitution, advocacy regarding climate change, the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, the commercialization and commodification of God's creation, the right to education, unfair distribution of the world's wealth, and more.

Liria Andrea Suárez Preciado, a young adult of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia and theology student, was able to attend the assembly and present the book of workshops to strengthen Lutheran identity (blogged about before) of the youth of Colombia. The book was on of two youth projects from the Latin American region chosen to be presented at the assembly. We asked Liria a few questions about her experience at the assembly.

Liria at the assembly in Namibia. Photo submitted by Liria Andrea Suárez Preciado. 
Why did you go to the Lutheran World Federation Assembly in Namibia? How were you able to go?

I went to the Assembly through a call for volunteers from the Lutheran World Federation. This call was made by “the youth secretary”, which opened the call for all young people, mainly those who had participated in the 2015 Young Reformers Network in Germany, to apply to be “stewards” in the Assembly.

They opened the call from April to May, and those selected to participate were informed in September of last year. As it was a volunteer opportunity we had to send in our resume, our relationship with the Church and the work we do in it, finally selecting the area we most preferred to work at the assembly.

What were your responsibilities at the Assembly?

As a “Steward” my responsibility was to help as much as possible in anything that concerned the logistics of the Assembly, so we were told to be open to any task that might come up, even if it was different from our own specific jobs. Specifically, I was part of the “devotionals and worship” working group. This group was coordinated by two group leaders and different professionals in liturgy and music, as well as three other “stewards” and two volunteers.

Our responsibility was to make sure that everything with respect to the devotionals and worship services went smoothly. We helped the people in their rehearsals (through our assistance and accompaniment), we also did the cleaning, the decorations, the organization of communion stations and chairs, everything that had to do with the Eucharist (wine, wafers or bread, chalices and dishes), cleaning them and attending to anything that came up unexpectedly.

Liria at the assembly in Namibia. Photo from the LWF website.
What did you learn about the Lutheran world communion during your experience at the assembly?

I was specifically moved by all that had to do with the liturgy at the Assembly. I was enriched by the diversity of the ways of expressing the liturgy without leaving aside its order and essence, showing the diversity of cultures that in itself enriches the Church.

The different expressions to praise God are also what unite us. They promote unity within the diversity of cultures. That diversity helps us to know ourselves as churches, to support our calling by the Word of God, and also in our answer to that call we are committed to continue working in accordance with the gospel.

How was your Lutheran Identity changed by attending the Assembly?

My Lutheran identity is strengthened rather than changed. This experience has reinforced my Lutheran identity as an equal in baptism with the other members of the Lutheran World Federation, showing that we are truly a communion that has Christ as its center, with its immense love and surrender, has given us the gift of being sons and daughters of the Father through the Son; So now as a Lutheran I do not see myself as one more of a historical denomination, but I am part of a family that is strongly committed to the mission of Christ.

Nigerian Archbishop Musa Panti Filibus was elected as the LWF President at the assembly. Photo from LWF assembly website.