Over the course of the past five years or so, the parish I serve has been developing a relationship of accompaniment with the Anglican Church in El Salvador. That word, like the word "solidarity," is meant to suggest mutuality, not paternalism. Those who have traveled from my parish to El Salvador have come back feeling that they have received far more than they have given, and while we have shared some of our own financial resources for various projects in El Salvador, our goal since the very beginning has been to focus on relationships over "charity." The new Executive Director of Cristosal, Noah Bullock, has spent time at St. Francis and is someone we consider a friend in Christ. Noah's letter to The Episcopal Church can be found here.
This Thursday, March 24, marks the thirty-first anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. For me this whole week is a time to reflect on the meaning of Romero's life, from which we might find inspiration to work and pray for a more just El Salvador. At our mid-week liturgy this Wednesday night, we will remember Romero and the martyrs of El Salvador.
I didn't know you knew Noah and were involved with Cristosal! Are you coming to the retreat in May?
ReplyDeleteMaybe someday we'll get to run a trip down there together!
Ha, it's a VERY small Church, Mike! ;-) My younger son and I are hoping to head down in November with a group from St. Francis; my older son went when he was a junior in high school. I don't know about any retreat in May, though...
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