What would YOU do?
Posted on 14. Dec, 2009 by Lutheran World Relief in Uncategorized
Mother, Maria Doris Gallego, 46; and Daughter, Anna Maria Hernandez, 24 (with some of the children from the congregation of Pastor Gonzalez).
What would you REALLY be willing to do for your congregation?
Can you imagine being displaced and being “forced” to live with your entire congregation?
Let me first say this: I love my congregation — Augustana Lutheran Church in Washington, DC. That said, I can’t imagine what it would be like to seek shelter (for two months or more) in a cramped, unairconditioned school with my husband, our Pastor (no offense Pastor Kidd) and every other member of my congregation. I love my congregation — but — I can’t imagine being with all of them, in a cramped, hot space full of children, chickens, dogs and people.
I joined Lutheran World Relief Staff and our partner, CORSOC, in a visit to a Colombian congregation and community (they are one in the same for this group) that had been caught in the crossfire between two warring paramilitary groups. With no time to organize or gather their belongings, they were forced from their homes and had to find somewhere to stay. Another church, Cristo del Rey, helped these 60 families find a temporary home in a school. That was two months ago and all 60 families, their chickens, and a few pets are sharing three small classrooms and a courtyard. LWR and our partner, CORSOC, are working to help this community find more permanent, suitable housing and a way to make a living. Until an alternative is found, this school is their joint home.
As we talked to the community members and toured their cramped quarters I was struck by the immaculate state of the “living” spaces and the outdoor areas. I also noticed signs that listed a leader and members for each of the committees that the community had formed to manage their lives together. They had committees for security, cooking, cleaning, laundry, worship, child care, recreation, and exercise.
I asked their Pastor, Pastor Panfilo Gonzalez, if these committees and the systems they had put in place really worked. He said, “Yes, you might find it hard to believe, but everyone has been doing their work and we haven’t once had someone say that they weren’t going to contribute or do their job.” He must have noticed my skeptical tone and disbelief, he said, “Why do you find what I say so hard to believe?” I laughed and told him that at my congregation in Washington, DC, and in many congregations across the U.S., we sometimes find it hard to get people to show up for a committee meeting let alone do the work. That we sometimes have a very difficult time getting what seem to be very simple tasks — especially when compared with what Pastor Gonzalez’s congregation has faced together — done. And, in many cases, the same few people show up and do the work of the congregation.
Pastor Gonzalez laughed and said, “Well, I hope that your congregation never faces what we’ve had to face in order to bring you closer as a community. But, if you think it would help, we would gladly allow your congregation to live and work with us for a while. We could probably teach them a thing or two.”
What would you REALLY be willing to do for your congregation?
Lutheran World Relief is a nonprofit organization that works with Lutherans and partners around the world to end poverty, injustice, and human suffering.
