Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Dreaming of the World As it Should Be


This last weekend, 19th and 20th of May, the Human Rights program of IELCO invited members from all around the country to come together and dream of how they want the future of the church's defense of human rights to look. We were pastors, coordinators of national ministries, project leaders, and lay people, all interested in living out the call to protect the vulnerable and liberate the oppressed. Gathering at a retreat center just outside of Bogota, we dreamt of the world as it should be. 

The group working on some team-building activities. Photo by Pastor Nelson Celis. 
Identifying the realities of the difficult conditions in many communities in Colombia, we identified how the Human Rights program can help IELCO face those challenges. We dreamt together of a country without violence, of vibrant communities that seek to protect the most vulnerable in their midst, and a national church that advocates for peace and justice.

We left the retreat having formed a national advising committee to help offer direction to the Human Rights program, to make sure that the program responds to the needs of the local communities as well as the vision that we have identified during the retreat. The committee is an equal number of men and women from every region of IELCO in the country and will now take the vision developed in this retreat and put into action.

Angelica Oquendo and Carlos Parra, two young leaders in IELCO, sharing with the group some of their experience in Palestine, where they participated in the Lutheran World Federation's program called "Peace Messengers". Photo by Curtis

Sara Lara (coordinator of the Human Rights program) leading a conversation about the current state of the Human Rights program. Photo by Pastor Nelson Celis.