Page 4 - Welcome to Colombia!
By Rev. Jack and Virginia Miller.

Welcomed we were, as the eight members of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod group that toured churches and projects of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (IELCO).

The welcome was often overwhelming. In the central Colombian city of Tunja, a little chapel was packed with about a hundred people, and a wonderful program with prayer, music, theater, and gifts began – of course – with food. They brought the food to us – a big bowl of thick chicken stew (think Minnesota hotdish) – and as we started warily to eat, we wondered: “Are we going to be the only ones served?”

Not a chance. More bowls came, first for the adults, then for the dozens of children, right down to the last little boy who, even with help, spilled about half of his on the floor (No problem. A couple of smiling moms came and cleaned it up and an older girl helped him continue eating.) When Christians gather for a meal, here or in Colombia, everyone eats.

Such hospitality was the norm throughout our ten-day stay (Oct. 11-21) in this conflicted but beautiful country. Coordinated by the staff of IELCO, our main activity was to visit a few of the small but amazingly active local congregations.

One of our first impressions was of size – the great size of Bogotá, estimated at six to eight million people, and the small size and large impact of the congregations we visited. One impoverished neighborhood in Bogotá has an estimated one and a half million people! This neighborhood has been the dumping ground for displaced people during the approximately 50 years of civil war, still a reality in Colombia.

Poverty is pervasive in Colombia. We were told that two thirds of the 40 million people live in poverty. This in a country with superb natural resources of land, forests, water and minerals. No one should be poor. But it is precisely the fighting over these resources that has helped to impoverish the masses.

Violent fighting between the military, the guerrillas and the paramilitaries, though lessening, is still a part of life in Colombia. Many places in the country still are not safe, but security has increased in much of the country, thanks to the presence of soldiers and federal police. We felt completely safe, both in Bogotá and in the outlying cities we visited.

Last year was the first such visit from our synod to Colombia following ten years of conditions too unsafe to visit. Now the Lutherans there are urging us to come and to strengthen the ties we have as sisters and brothers in Christ.

As a body, IELCO has undertaken an amazing array of projects for the benefit not only of their members but of all Colombia. For example, they are involved in:

• Helping children and young people attend school (some through graduate level)
  

• Feeding and teaching children and families in off-school hours (sports, music, computers and marketable skills such as handcrafts)
  

• Supporting private Lutheran schools
  

• Advocating for human rights, including programs to combat HIV and AIDS and to get rid of land mines (Colombia is the country with the most land mines in the world)

We were especially impressed with what is being done by Only by Faith, the little Lutheran congregation in Bogotá with which our congregation, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Granger, Minn., has recently become a partner. They run a school and community center called The True Vine, that was filled with children on Saturday morning when we visited.

Some of these beautiful children don’t go to school, lacking even the family motivation or the little money it takes to buy supplies for public school. But what a great time they were having! And when it came time for lunch, they ate the big meal with gusto, and we saw very little left.

How can a little congregation like Only by Faith run a program like this? They’re small, with approximately fifty people in worship on the Sunday we visited. The secret is that they get help from the scholarship and social project fund Leadership and Development LIZWAN, coordinated in the United States by Pastor Natanael Lizarazo of First Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, SD.

Pastor Natanael, whose presence with us on most of the trip was a great help and a delight, showed and told us about many of the LIZWAN projects, including help for some people to buy homes.

And yet, the Lutherans we encountered are not one-sided social activists. Their spirituality shines with the love of Jesus, in their singing and praying and overflowing love for one another, a love they poured out on us. And if anyone exemplified this love in the Lord, it was their bishop, Rev. Sigifredo Buitrago, who welcomed us, hugged us¸ accompanied us, and drove the last of us to the airport for the flight home, waiting for an hour till we passed security!

We had the benefit of a talented and Colombia-connected group from Minnesota, several of whom spoke excellent Spanish. Our companions were Kathy Bolin and Katie Livingood from the synod; Marilyn Bunge, member at Christ Lutheran, Preston, Minn.; Pastor Norman (ret.) and Anita Omodt of Chatfield, returning to Colombia for only the second time since ending their time as missionaries there 37 years ago and serving as a wonderful resource of previous knowledge of the country and the language for the group; and Mary Duvall, Midwest Grassroots Advocacy Organizer, Lutheran World Relief, Minneapolis, Minn., also a great asset with her Spanish-speaking ability.

Next year a similar trip is planned, and we hope that others from the synod will have the opportunity to go. We recommend that they be sure to bring an open heart and a good appetite. They will be filled.

Sal y Luz
The Sal y Luz project of Lutheran World Relief partners communities of faith in the United States with Colombia 's courageous Peace Sanctuary Churches.

"Sal y Luz" means "salt and light." This is what the Peace Sanctuary Churches aspire to be: places of refuge and hope in a country ravaged by five decades of violence. Thousands of individuals have been killed and millions have been displaced from their homes in Colombia 's civil war. More than 40 Protestant pastors were murdered in 2003 alone. In the midst of this violence, many congregations have declared themselves Peace Sanctuary Churches. These congregations boldly pursue peace, feed the hungry, shelter the displaced, establish new economies, and open dialogues to reconcile relationships.

The Southeastern Minnesota Synod Women of the ELCA have been a Sal y Luz partner community for the last several years. The synod Global Mission/Companion Synod Committee is currently evaluating the future of a Sal y Luz community in the synod.

Get it Online
This and more information about Sal y Luz and Lutheran World Relief’s work in Colombia at www.lwr.org/colombia/salyluz

As Christians we talk a lot about our “callings” – where God wants us to be and what God wants us to be doing. This year’s Southeastern Minnesota Synod Fall Theological Conference – an annual continuing education event for rostered leaders, lay staff, spouses, and anyone else interested in worship, fellowship, and learning – was all about where we are and what we should be doing.

Times of Transition
Part of the calling to ministry includes dealing with change and transition. This year’s speaker, Dr. Craig Satterlee, associate professor at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, spoke on this part of the calling. Specifically, he spoke on understanding change and transition, preparing sermons in times of congregational transition, and how we listen in times of congregational transition. Based on the assertion that all change is neutral and that how we respond to it determines whether it is good or bad, he spoke on the difficult task of accompanying a congregation through a transition in a way that manifests God’s unconditional love and justice for all. The pastor or other leader starts by trying to understand the many layers of the transition, including any possible underlying transitions in addition to the obvious one and expectations of how to deal with the transition based on how transitions were handled in the past. Through understanding, pastors can move forward boldly into preaching effectively during the time of transition. He emphasized the importance of careful sermon preparation, but also being flexible and aware in order to change based on the rapidly changing details of the situation. Satterlee wrapped up his time at the Theological Conference with a session on listening, which is important throughout the process of transition, giving special attention to all the many layers and details to be aware of and that everyone needs to be listened to, not just the loudest or the one saying the best things.

Those who were not able to attend this year’s Theological conference can read more from Satterlee on times of congregational change in his book When God Speaks Through Change: Preaching in Times of Congregational Transition.

Worship
A central part of every Theological Conference is the worship. Especially for pastors and other worship leaders, worship at Theological Conference is a time for them to simply worship without having to plan, prepare, or lead.

Rev. Linda Gunderson was initiated into her new role as synod minister by preaching at worship on Sunday evening and through her installation Tuesday morning. In her sermon, she spoke of the moments in life and in ministry when God steps in, the moments we get stuck in and can’t get out on our own.

Dr. Craig Satterlee complimented his presentations with his sermon on Monday morning, preaching on our inheritance in Christ. This inheritance, he preached, includes the ones who came before us in “the ways God speaks and acts and works through them” as well as the ones who come after us, “the ones who hear about the word from us.” With us always “at the crossroads…thanking God for ones who have gone before and asking blessing for those who come after,” the present is always inherently a transition and we are always in the midst of it.

Worship concluded the conference on Tuesday as synod staff and conference deans assisted with the service. The service began with Rev. Linda Gunderson’s installation and the celebration of renewing of ordination and commissioning vows. In Bishop Harold Usgaard’s sermon, he clarified what exactly it meant to be called as a leader in the church. Those calls are about, “Responsibility, commitment, caring for those in one’s charge.” Despite many challenges in trying to live out that call, hope comes in the Old Testament reading, “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep…says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 34:15). We are “partners in ministry” and have the promise that, just as leaders are called to “Responsibility, commitment, caring for those in one’s charge,” so has God promised to do the same for us.

Mark Your Calendar
Next year’s Theological Conference will be November 2-4. The speaker will be Rev. Susan Briehl, Affiliative Distinguished Professor for the Art of Ministry at Wartburg Seminary. Location is yet to be announced.