Tuesday, January 29, 2019

A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Atahualpa

Happy New Year! Things slow down around the office here between Christmas and New Year, so we haven't written in awhile. Work is back into full swing, so we will go back to our blogging every Tuesday. It would have been more fun to start the new year on a different note than I am going to, however, reality here calls for a different focus.

On January 17 a bomb went off in Bogota. Bishop Ata wrote a letter on behalf of IELCO condemning the violence of that day as well as the ongoing violence perpetrated against human rights defenders in Colombia. The once hopeful future we felt is not the feeling anymore. The general climate has changed and fear is permeable. Please read the letter below and join us in prayers for deep peace and healing in this country. He writes:

"The work of righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. 
Isaiah 32:17

To our dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia - IELCO, advocates for the joy of human rights and peace in our country and rejects any act of violence which sows fear and threatens the dignity of people.

We are united in solidarity and commitment with the families of the victims of the car bomb on January 17 in "La Escuela de Policia General Santander", which left 21 people dead and 68 injured in Bogota, among whom were young cadets. We also reject the violent actions that have taken place during recent months towards social leaders and human rights defenders, especially in the most forgotten regions of our country.

We call for truth and justice in the face of the serious upsurge of violence, in the regression of the negotiated solution to the armed conflict, and in the proven facts of corruption that permeate the State. Before the militarization of the territory, the restriction of democratic liberties and the escalation of the war, we pray that the negotiations between the national government and the ELN guerrilla will be resumed. We pray for peace, insisting that it s a constitutional right for all and should correspond to everyone. We especially pray for the government to ensure that this peace can become a reality in our country.

Your Brother in Christ,

Rev. Atahualpa Hernandez
Bishop-President of the IELCO"

A copy of the letter from Bishop Atahualpa (as written above)