On Thursday 3/19 we arrived in El Salvador. We drove from the airport to the Capital City, San Salvador, stopping on the way for some pupusas. After dropping things off at the hotel we made our way to San Juan, the main church of the Episcopal Diocese in El Salvador. We met Bishop David and Mother Irma, a married couple. Bishop David is the bishop of the diocese here and Mother Irma is the priest who leads San Juan.
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| San Juan altar, with Bishop David and Irma in the front |
At San Juan, we met several members of their congregation, who presented about the incredible work their church is doing locally and across the country. It is a small diocese but they are one of the only ones that is welcoming to and supportive of the LGBTQ+ community - this is true not only in El Salvador but across Latin America. They are also serving people with disabilities and running schools and planting churches in rural communities. At its roots, this church is a place that sees people who are facing oppression and exclusion in their society and responds.
We had dinner at a local chicken restaurant called Pollo Campero. It was like the Popeyes of El Salvador.
On Friday we began our journey of learning about Saint Oscar Romero, who was martyred early (1980) in the civil war here that last between the late 70s and early 90s. Saint Romero was initially hesitant to speak out but had a radical conversion after the death of a friend and fellow priest in which he was emboldened and became a voice for the poor in El Salvador who were being oppressed by the government and other structures in society and who increasingly were becoming victims of the brewing war. He loved the El Salvadoran people - his people - on all sides of the conflict and urged them to lay down arms and unite in love for one another. He preached against idols of self and money and country. Like many who engage with liberation theology he believed the gospel must be good news for the least of these and that it is a message not only for the afterlife but for this life and this world. God's Kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven. Being moved by the gospel must lead us to confront systems of injustice that lead to death in our society - because the gospel is abundant life. In 1978 Romero preached a sermon with the following words:
"A church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed, what gospel is that?"
We started our Friday journey at the chapel where Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980, shortly after preaching a message calling on soldiers in the government's military to listen to God and respond to their conscience and stop killing their fellow citizens.
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| This is the altar in the chapel, which San Oscar Romero was murdered in front of - the words behind translate to "At this altar Monsignor Romero offered his life to God for his people" |
The soldiers who murdered Romero and later several other priests, a housekeeper and her daughter at the UCA, the Catholic University in San Salvador, were trained in the United States by our military. Our country supported the government of El Salvador in the civil war even as it increasingly targeted civilians and religious leaders.
The chapel where Romero died is in a complex run by the Carmelite nuns where their is a hospice care facility that the nuns help operate. Instead of living in the housing for the Bishop when he was Bishop, Romero chose to live in a small home in the hospice complex. We saw the chapel and his home and listened to the nuns share more of his story.
We went to downtown San Salvador where he is buried under the cathedral and saw his crypt. We did a short liturgy there to honor him and reflect on how we can live in light of we learn from him. I did not take photos of the crypt out of respect but did take some in the Cathedral above, which was beautiful and full of people praying. There was an image of the Virgen of Guadalupe, who originated in Mexico but is also venerated in El Salvador.
From there we had lunch at a local steak place before going to the UCA. Suyapa, a theologian and professor there showed us the chapel on campus, which honors 6 Jesuit priests and their housekeeper and her daughter who were murdered there in 1989. We saw the chapel, the rooms where they were sleeping when attacked, and a rose garden that honors the martyrs. We asked Suyapa about the impact everything had on her and she told us that the people who died were her teachers. And she continues their legacy as a professor in the very place where they were murdered and she preserves their legacy by continuing to tell the truth about what happened. To see a woman who is so intellectual - she is a leading liberation theologian in Latin America - making her way and leading in the midst of a patriarchal culture and institutions was inspiring. Although she is a practicing Catholic who teaches at the Catholic seminary, she does a lot of work with the Episcopal church and teaches Anglican seminarians as well. Woman of valor! (A few friends who know of Rachel Held Evans may know what I mean)
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| The chapel of martyrs at the UCA |
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| At the back of the chapel of martyrs is the 12 stations of the cross, presented via pencil drawings of victims who were tortured and murdered during the war |
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| The gardener was the husband of the housekeeper and father of the teenager who were murdered alongside the Jesuit priests. He planted a rose garden with yellow roses for his daughter and wife. |
On Friday evening, after a really heavy day, we had time to do dinner on our own. A large group of us ate together in the hotel restaurant.
On Saturday, we traveled several hours to San Miguel, where there are several small churches. We were hosted by San Lucas, a church that members of St. Luke's and others in Baton Rouge helped support the founding of after the civil war. At that time there were no Anglican congregations in the Western part of the country after a bridge blown up during the war prevented most people from crossing a river to that side of the country. San Lucas has a small structure they built on land in a rural area to worship.
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| Members of St. Margaret's and the churches in San Miguel in front of the San Lucas mission church |
Most members live locally and walk to church. Their dream is to raise funds for a building - 80k - to replace the current structure, which isn't permanent and doesn't have air conditioning. Although they do not have significant resources, they have already helped start two additional churches meeting in people's homes in nearby places. All three communities came together to host us for a service commemorating San Romero. We also took time to share about what each of our churches is doing in our communities and our visions for the future. I had the opportunity to share in Spanish about our La Mesa ESL program.
After the service we had cold drinks and sandwiches and they gifted us with some books - a theological essay and advent devotionals written by their leader, Roberto, who is a seminarian preparing for ordination. They sell the devotionals to raise money for their building. We will be bringing some extra books home and hoping to reciprocate their generosity by selling them and sending the funds back.
I met Ravi, a local teenager who loves basketball and drawing. His favorite player is Lebron. We had a great conversation in Spanish. I also met Genesis, who presented in English for her church. We asked her how she learned English and she shared that she has taught herself using YouTube! I would really love to invite Genesis along with some friends we made here who served as our translators - Odra and Cynthia and Catherine - to visit in Louisiana and serve alongside us in our community! Catherine especially became a good friend as she traveled with us the entire week from night 1 at San Juan through the final airport drop off.
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| Catherine and Cinthia, two of our wonderful translators who became friends |
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| Odra, doing the difficult work of translating Suyapa's PhD-level lecture covering the art and history in the chapel of martyrs at the UCA |
It was worth the 3-4 hour (one way) bus trip to have the opportunity to connect with churches in San Miguel and we hope we can continue to partner in the future and spend more time together. Our heart is that the partnership will be reciprocal and we will learn from and share with one another. This journey has been a pilgrimage, not a mission trip. We did not come with an agenda to bring something from the US or to serve in some kind of project. Instead, we came with a posture of humility to learn and spend time building relationships with local people and leaders.
On Sunday we worshipped with San Juan in San Salvador, with Mother Irma presiding and Father Tommy assisting. Some members of our group offered a song as a gift during the service.
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| Father Tommy reading the Gospel on Sunday at San Juan on |
After church we attended a meeting with leaders of the Sexual Diversity Group that is hosted by San Juan church. Many of the members of this group are involved in the church and one of them will become the first LGBTQ+ person ordained in the church in this country.
We invited them to join us on a trip to a historic town called Suchitoto. There, we went on a boat ride and then spent some time in the central square, where there was live music. We came back to eat at a pupusa restaurant on a mountain above San Salvador, where there is a night time view of the city.
On Monday, we visited a volcano, Bocheron, and did a short hike to see into the crater.
We went to a restaurant where there was a slide down a mountain.
Afterwards, we had some time to rest before visiting the memorial that commemorates 75000 people who were killed or disappeared during the civil war. While I didn't take photos, I found some online. Notably, the portrait of Romero being held by people in this mural has been defaced and is now blank. Possibly by the current government, although this is unclear. There are many in power who still do not like Romero's message of liberation or the strength and inspiration those in the resistance draw from him.
Over 35k names are engraved on the wall of the memorial but there are many more unnamed victims. We had dinner with Sonja, who runs a local guesthouse and is an incredible example of entrepreneurship and hospitality. During the dinner we had the chance to hear from a leader of an organization that serves LGBTQ+ youth and that is working for broader human rights in El Salvador and beyond. They are doing this work at great risk.
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| Sonja's home, where she hosts visitors and provides breakfast and dinner for each guest |
On Tuesday we attended a mass at 7:30am to commemorate San Romero. It was the 46th anniversary to the day of his assassination and his feast day as a Saint in the Catholic and Anglican/Episcopal churches. The mass was held in the chapel where he was assassinated. I have never seen a church service so centered on social justice and liberation. Instead of a traditional homily the priest invited people to share the stage to voice memories and speak out for various causes. Father Tommy had the opportunity to join in this shared homily.
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| Tuesday morning mass at the chapel where San Romero was murdered; in front of the altar are offerings from community members |
People who were friends of Romero shared powerful memories. Many others shared about the ongoing battle for justice in El Salvador, such as bearing witness to the current incarceration of so many people without due process. Everyday people in the wrong place at the wrong time are being swept up and disappeared into the prison system alongside many political dissidents. After the mass there was a large procession for Romero and for social justice.
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| The procession preparing to leave after mass |
Afterwards, we all went to a pottery shop that features the work of a local blind artist. We got to see him work the wheel.
We shopped at a local artisan market. I bought earrings and a dress and a cross and nativity. I also found some small Romero mementos.
Then some of us went to an art museum and workshop that honors Fernando Llort, whose art can be seen everywhere in the city. Some of it is on a wall at the hospice complex where Romero lived and died. Some of it was on the front of the cathedral before being destroyed in 2012 by an archbishop who we were told thought aspects of the imagery were not Christian - there is an eye and a sun that are perhaps reminiscent of indigenous symbolism but appear in a lot of his work and that Llort intended to represent God's all seeing eye and the twelve apostles and tribes of Israel.
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| Fernando Llort's mural which is across the street from San Romero's some at the hospice complex |
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| Some fun tiles in the shop at Llort's museum |
Llort's son met us at the museum and shared some of the symbolism behind his dad's work and we were able to see pictures of the mural that was destroyed and fragments of it that they took as mementos. I bought a tile that is a replica of some of Llort's work, an image of Mary and Jesus in the garden after his resurrection.
In the evening we had a large group dinner at a Mexican restaurant (ironic, I know). Great food and drinks plus a mariachi band. It was a fun way to finish our time in San Salvador. Peter and I shared a platter for four!
We got up on Wednesday morning and drove to the beach in an area called El Tunco. On the way out we stopped at Rosario, a modern church that is truly a work of art but has a haunting story. It is a place where some protesters in the late 1970s before the civil war broke out were massacred; when they fled to the church for refuge from the soldiers, the military held a multi day siege and murdered the people in the church while letting the wounded slowly die.
We had an afternoon to hang out on the beach, some really good food, and an evening mass to finish our journey.
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| At our closing Eucharist we celebrated with shared pieces of white bread and a glass of wine |
On Thursday we flew home. On the way to the airport, we got an incredible surprise. E., one of the people who we met at the Sexual Diversity Group on Sunday wanted to give us a gift and met us at the airport. His dad drove him an hour to be able to meet up with the bus so that we could have one final goodbye and receive gifts that he stayed up until 4am hand making. What a treasure. We also had the opportunity to celebrate E. in front of his dad, which is meaningful as so many of our LGBTQ+ friends (worldwide) have complicated relationships with family members.
I have a lot of thinking and reflecting to do, but right now, a few thoughts are rising:
*Understanding the difference between a mission trip and a pilgrimage is important. On this journey we have learned a lot and exchanged gifts of presence and story. There is love and reciprocity - centering the concepts of neighborliness and partnership and humility - in ways that I have found absent in some short term mission trips I have been on (and even those I have led). We were not preaching or evangelizing. We were open instead to being evangelized and to the work of God's spirit in our midst as we asked how this experience might lead to deeper partnership in the future.
*The United States is in a difficult political moment now at home. What we have learned from Romero and others on this pilgrimage calls us to be brave (or braver) in our time. It also calls us to tell the truth about the past and the present in ways that makes space for a better future.
*Historically we (the US) have continuously been on the wrong side of things abroad, with our support for the government of El Salvador during their civil war only one example. We have contributed heavily to a global context in which many people are exploited and suffering. We acknowledge very little of the horrors in our own history, let alone our role in creating and maintaining oppressive global structures.
*I have really loved the people I have met and intend to return. I am grateful for the Spanish I have learned and the ways it opened doors for me to connect and make friends. I want to continue learning and moving towards fluency.
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