Living Amazon, Safe Humanity

The Amazon basin is shared by many countries in South America: Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, and Suriname). Within all of these countries, the Amazon basin is home to a number of Indigenous Peoples. Due to the increasing pressures from diverse mega-projects like highway construction, mining, mono-culture plantations, and more, these Indigenous Peoples are being pushed out of their homes. Most of these projects take place without previously consulting or gaining consent from the Indigenous communities that will be affected.

Indigenous demonstrators setting up around the offices of the Ministry of the Environment, Photo by Curtis Kline.

Last Friday, September 22, COICA – Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin), declared an International Mobilization in those countries. They also decided that every September 22 will be a day of international mobilization to protect the Amazon basin and the peoples who live there.

David Kawooq, member of the Colombian rock band Doctor Krapula, leading the demonstrators in some songs. Photo by Curtis Kline

In Bogota, I observed a demonstration held outside of the National Government’s Ministry of the Environment (which recently gave a green light to the practice of fracking in these territories). OPIAC (Indigenous Peoples’ Organization of the Colombian Amazon) presented a list of demands, such as inviting international human rights observers to verify the damage caused by those megaprojects, titling the traditional territories to the peoples who live there, and supporting the traditional livelihoods of the Indigenous Peoples who depend on the Amazon environment. They also connected the issues to the recent peace accords between the Government and the FARC, and the current negotiations with the ELN; stating the necessity of effective participation for all in order to guarantee a peace in the differing territories of Colombia.

The slogan of the demonstration was Amazonia Viva, Humanidad Segura (Living Amazon, Safe Humanity). 

Indigenous leaders of OPIAC, announcing their demands. They are facing the office building oft he Ministry of the Environment. Photo by Curtis Kline.

Lutheran Schools in Colombia

In Colombia, there are 4 Lutheran schools. Two of the schools (El Cocuy and Paz de Ariporo) are elementary schools, and the other two are elementary through high school (Bogota - San Lucas and Sogamoso). One of the goals of the last couple of years has been strengthening how the four schools work together - sharing experiences, knowledge, and resources. This past Friday, the teachers from all the schools had a retreat, for the first time ever!

All the teachers!

It was very exciting to bring in 75 teachers from all over the country, for them to meet each other and share a day together.

Teachers from San Lucas - Bogota

We divided the group into 7 small groups so the teachers would get a chance to meet teachers from other schools. We had seven stations, each with a different activity that the groups rotated through. My station was "demostrando talentos" - showing talents! Each group had to discover the talents of the others in their group and figure out a way they could show the talents to the rest of the groups in a talent show of sorts at the end of the day. Some of the groups created little dramas, one did a group dance, one sang, and one even created a pyramid.

One of the groups at my station - making a pyramid to show their talents.

Some of the other stations were deeper - talking about the difficulties of being a teacher, or how to better communicate.

Teachers from El Cocuy

 At the end of the day there was a small gift exchange (exchanging candy bars, desserts, nail polish, and other small gifts).

Teachers from Sogamoso

The teachers all left with a renewed sense of calling to teach young people and a renewed energy to do so.  This was the first of what we are hoping becomes an annual activity.

Teachers from Paz de Ariporo (I love that they wore matching shirts!)

Transformative Communities

Last Saturday, the 10^th of September, we held our final workshop of this year with the congregation of the Divine Redeemer in the city of Bucaramanga. We planned a series of three workshops: the first focused on local peace-building and small daily acts; the second was putting that local peace-building into action as we spent a day at the Sustainable Farm of Rehabilitation of Antipersonnel Land Mine Victims, planting trees, learning about the work of the farm, and discussing the need to protect the vulnerable as a way of building peace.

Here is Pastor Sergio Talero, pastor of the Divine Redeemer congregation in Bucaramanga, introducing the workshop and summarizing a little of what was learned in the workshops leading up to this one. Photo by Guillermo Gil.

For this third and final workshop in the process with this congregation, we focused on how to be a transformative community. The congregation along with landmine survivors who live at the Sustainable Farm of Rehabilitation of Antipersonnel Land Mine Victims discussed the need for the local congregation to be involved in building peace in its surrounding community and city, as well as different ways to do that. We finished the workshop with a liturgy for peace-building.

During the peace-building liturgy we used the offering time for the participants to offer symbols of peace. They ranged from food and water to rubber boots (as a gift to those who live and work on the Farm for Landmine Victims). Photo by Guillermo Gil.

From Conflict to Communion

This last Saturday, August 26th, the “House of Reconciliation and Peace Education” of the Emmaus Lutheran Church in Medellin held a workshop to close its second module in its yearlong certificate program called “Conflict, Justice and Reconciliation”. The main theme of the workshop was about what has been the role of churches in confronting conflicts of the society in which they exist.

We focused on the experiences of the Lutheran Church in the struggle for independence in Namibia, the role of the recently arrived Lutheran Church after the Rwandan genocide, as well as the current role of the ELCA regarding immigration in the USA, though its initiatives such as AMMPARO and its Guardian Angels program, as well as local congregations’ involvement in the New Sanctuary Movement. All three of these examples were discussed as models for church involvement in their society’s conflicts.

The title of the workshop “From Conflict to Communion” is an exploration of the stages of overcoming conflict. The process is a pilgrimage. In the current reality of Colombia, regarding the Final Agreement between the Government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), as well as the current negotiations between the Government and the ELN (National Liberation Army), there are great challenges to be confronted in implementation and overcoming. The role of churches will be crucial.

The closing act of the workshop was an activity discussing community strength, demonstrating that if somebody falls the community can hold them up. Photo by John Hernandez. 

Economically Studying the Bible

This August, we started a process in the congregation Vida Nueva (New Life) Lutheran Church in Bogota, about economically studying the Bible. The community has expressed great interest in the theme, including last year when we held a workshop to look into Solidarity Economy: a grassroots and bottom-up method of creating the economy wanted for and by the community, grounded in principles of solidarity, mutualism, cooperation and equity.

It was after that workshop that the congregation began looking for ways to delve deeper and work on figuring out its opportunities and possibilities. For the next two months, every Sunday the congregation will be studying the economy from the Bible. We started the first study with a general defining of the term economy and an overview of economic themes found in the Bible, starting with the formative event of liberation from slavery in Egypt, the economy of manna in the desert, the jubilee laws of forgiving debts, redistributing land, releasing the captives, and more. In the weeks ahead, we will go deeper into these stories, and many others, looking at the opportunities for the congregation to involve itself locally in creating the economy according to those principles being identified in these studies.

Here I am going over the definition of 'economy'. 

Freed to Lead - National Women's Retreat

Monday I came back to Bogota completely filled, renewed, and exhausted from the weekend I spent as a participant at the National Women's Retreat.

Group photo with everyone wearing our brand new Katalina Von Bora shirts (Martin Luther's wife) who was a very important woman in the history of the Reformation. There were also participants from Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, and from the Southeastern Synod of Minnesota. Photo credit: Jorge Diaz, communications IELCO

128 women from all around Colombia came together to celebrate the anniversary of the 500 years since the Reformation, to renew relationships and to learn. The theme for the weekend was "Freed to Lead". The whole weekend was focused around the 4 questions: Freed through what?, Freed from what?, Freed by whom?, and Freed for what? The retreat included a time for the business of the women, where there were elections for the new leadership. We also worshiped, had devotions together (including a devotion led by our sisters from SE MN Synod - which they led in Spanish), laughed together, ate together, had a talent show, and even a craft project. Here a few of the many pictures I took.

Pastora Angelica leading the session "Freed from what?" and Pastor Consuelo (on the right) showing how we are enslaved and need to be set free. 

The newly elected council of the women (on the far left is also Pastor Consuelo who is the coordinator, her face is a little cut out). 

The women from Vida Nueva, the church where we attend in Bogota when we are not traveling. You will also notice a few men in the photo, the music team from Vida Nueva led all the music all weekend, these men are part of the music team. Photo credit: Jorge Diaz, Communications IELCO

This is Kathy Chatelaine, the Coordinator for Global Mission Relationships for the Southeastern Minnesota Synod and Pastor Stephanie Wood, also Southeastern MN synod. They came to participate and learn from and about the women of IELCO in true accompaniment spirit. It was a blessing to have them at the retreat.  This was a photo station for the talent show night. 

 

The sending blessings to all the participants was a few drops of perfume to always remember that we are called to service, and to remember the promise of Jesus to the woman who washed his feet with perfume - 'you will be remembered for your service'. It was a powerful closing worship service. 

One of the decorations showing our transformation as women. I can't thank the women who organized this and participated in this enough. What a blessing I feel to have participated. Thank you IELCO women - well done! 

Planting Trees and Reconciliation

The Lutheran congregation in the city of Bucaramanga, The Divine Redeemer, has been working on strengthening its relationship with the Sustainable Farm of Rehabilitation of Antipersonnel Land Mine Victims. They invited the Justice and Life project of IELCO to accompany them in this process. So far this year we have completed two workshops. The first one at the church building with members of the farm invited to participate, and the second workshop was done July 15^th at the farm.

On the left is Pastor Sergio, beginning the day with a devotional about the churches 'ministry of reconciliation' with church members and members of the farm. Photo by Curtis Kline.

At the farm we talked about reconciliation and the protection of life and the work for peace. At the request of the farm, we then planted 30 trees. The trees were chosen by the members of the farm to help block out the sound and smell of a nearby sugar factory. The Justice and Life project has accompanied the church and the members of the farm in conversations about conflict resolution and peace-building in the day-to-day, as well as how the church can better accompany the farm.

Planting trees at the farm. Photo by Curtis Kline.

Apolinar Ramirez Ayala, member of the farm of rehabilitation. With the support of the farm he has graduated from high school and is studying diesel motor maintenance. Photo by Alexis Aubin (communications director for the campaign Colombia Contra Minas - Colombia Against Mines)

In September at the third workshop, also to be held at the farm, where we will monitor the growth of the trees, and plan the continuation of the accompaniment between the church and the farm.

Planting more trees. Photo by Curtis Kline.