Americas: LWF’s involvement in church and society of Colombia

Participants of the Pre-Assembly of the Americas gained insights into the work of the LWF member church and country program in Colombia. This included a panel on the country’s peace process, field visits to diaconal projects, and a presentation on the life and structure of the church.

Member church and World Service program building hope, justice and peace  

Women are pillars of church and society in Colombia. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (IELCO) has several women in the ordained ministry and leading ministries and projects.  Women also play a vital role promoting peace and reconciliation in the strife-torn country. The Lutheran World Federation’s (LWF) Colombia-Venezuela country program is led by a predominantly female team.

Participants of the Pre-Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean and North America had the opportunity to learn more about these aspects of the host country.

Striving for healing, peace, and reconciliation

Participating on a panel on the ongoing peace process after about 60 years of armed conflict in Colombia, four women shared their experiences and perspectives. Laura Chacón, Communications and Advocacy Coordinator of the LWF Colombia and Venezuela country program, moderated the panel.

Nidiria Ruiz Medina has contributed to peacebuilding through founding the AINI women’s association and engaging in the victims' association Communities Building Peace in Colombia (CONPAZCOL). “We want to exchange tears for smiles,” she said. As is the case in many instances, family members and relatives of hers have “been forcibly disappeared.” Now, she leads a process with relatives of the disappeared and searching for truth. Coming to terms with the pain caused by these losses and finding a path of reconciliation between victims and perpetrators is a process that needs to be accompanied by the church, she said. “Being with our communities and providing the touch of a hand reduces the pain.”

Representing 34 indigenous communities, Blanca Ligia Bailarín, is the leader and spokesperson of the Mesa Interétnica por la Paz and manages the Mother House (Casa Madre). It provides a space for these communities that feel abandoned by the government and are now striving to build peace at a grassroots level and strengthen their indigenous identities. That includes reconnecting to indigenous spiritual practices:  as young people often opt to join armed groups out of desperation, elders would “do a spiritual ritual to prevent young people from joining an illegal armed group and harmonize the community.”

Luz Mary Cartagena Ceballos is an ex-combatant who laid down arms and signed the Peace Accord six years ago. However, following the path of peace is not easy, as numerous ex-combatants have been murdered, and many are disillusioned because “the government abandoned them.” Nevertheless, Luz Marie currently is the vice-president of the Jacobo Arango Territorial Training and Reincorporation Space. And “the Lutheran church did not forget us, and this accompaniment must continue - hope must be kept alive,” she said.  

Adding the perspective of an international body was Montserrat Solano Carboni, Deputy Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia. She reiterated the UN’s commitment to peace and accompaniment in Colombia. However, “structural causes for the conflict need to be addressed,” she said. Human rights defenders were murdered, people confined or displaced, and some armed groups replaced the government in the areas they control, subduing the people living there.

Solano commended the churches’ involvement in defending human rights, saying that “protection through presence from church representatives” had been effective in reducing violence. Also, spirituality could help “to resist conflict.” Nevertheless, “reconciliation and forgiveness take place on a personal level,” Solano said, and could be supported by spirituality.” On another level, churches could provide spaces for “safe, open, non-discriminatory participation of victims in the peace process.”

The Colombia-Venezuela country program 

Carmen Garcia, Country Representative of the LWF’s country program in Colombia-Venezuela, introduced the program to the Pre-Assembly participants. LWF has been running the program in Colombia for more than twenty years.

Women leaders in the church 

Rev. Liria Consuelo Preciado, the first woman to be ordained in her church 25 years ago, is currently the IELCO’s pastoral coordinator. There are three women and five men serving as pastors in the 21 congregations and missions of the church. “We are encouraged to see people whose lives are transformed on a personal and family level. They have an impact on their communities and a gift to the church,” said Preciado.

The diaconal work of the church is coordinated by Olga Gualteros. The programs range from peacebuilding to education, accompanying migrants to providing safe spaces for the marginalized, elderly, and disabled.

Field visits

Participants of the Pre-Assembly had the opportunity to visit one of four projects or ministries of the IELCO in the Colombian capital city, getting to know their motivated staff and the people they serve.

A long-standing institution of the IELCO is the San Lucas Evangelical Lutheran College of Colombia (Colegio Evangélico Luterano de Colombia - San Lucas, CELCO), a school serving Colombian society for the past decades. The school ranks among the top ten percent in the country. Through its project “Educate for Life” it aims to “form people who pass on Christian values in our Colombian society in a democratic, analytical, creative and autonomous way.”

For the past four years, pastoral care for migrants (Pastoral Migrantes) has been one of IELCO’s areas of work, standing with the poorest, and opting for reconciliation, inclusion, equity and life. The ministry comprehensively cares for people who transit or settle in the country. It aims to integrate migrants into Colombian society, providing a space for sharing their experiences and difficulties, and their pain and suffering. Also, it helps migrants identify their skills and capacities, and creates connections on a cultural basis.

The Good Shepherd Center for the Elderly (El Buen Pastor) provides a space for persons older than 60 years. In many cases, they live alone or have no support from their families. The center provides food, recreation, occupational therapy and spiritual accompaniment by IELCO pastors for about 60 participants throughout the year.

The True Vine Integral Training Centre (La Vid Verdadera) was founded in 2006. Today, it provides a space for persons with mental disabilities and the hearing-impaired. It offers psycho-social support, courses in sign language, and trains people in skills such as leather- and needlework. The items crafted by participants are sold in a shop at the center.

LWF/A. Weyermüller