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Sunday Worship
7:30, 8:30,
&
11:00 a.m.
Education Hour:
9:45-10:45 a.m.
Office phone:
414-774-0441
Partnerships: El Salvador
Central America Flooding
The Suituation:
Torrential downpours have been affecting the countries of Central America, from southern Mexico to northern Panama. The heaviest hit countries have been El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The heavy rains have brought a higher risk of flash, urban and river flooding. Added with the steep terrain and mainly dirt roads in the region there has been a heightened risk and occurrence of mudslides and completely impassible roadways. The situation has led to over 100 people killed in mudslides and hundreds of thousands displaced by flooding.
Another aspect of this disaster is timing, with its arrival coming right before crops were to be harvested. The rains have either killed much of the crops or made their harvesting impossible. With such a high rate of crop loss, aid agencies are preparing for the potential food crisis that will follow the immediate needs of this disaster. Also, many of the crops are used to gather seed for next years planting; so the loss of this year’s crop will mean a severe shortage in the next season’s seed supply.
ELCA Response:
The ELCA has been kept abreast of the situation through our missionary personnel in the area, companion churches in the affected countries and our membership in the Lutheran World Federation, who works in the region. The ELCA is supporting the responses being made in the four most affected countries through the LWF and the local churches in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
For more information on the response of the ELCA through our companions and partners please read the following situation report:
- Central America Floods Situation Report #1, October 19, 2011
- Central Amerca Floods Situation Report #2, November 4, 2011
What you can do:
Pray:
In the face raging storms and flooding waters we see the awesome and at times destructive power of creation and people need our prayers. As they move beyond these times of disaster and into the work of rebuilding life and livelihood they continue to need our prayers. As we carry on our lives as Christian sisters and brothers and as we gather as the body of Christ let us remember those who have been affected in the region of Central America.
Study and share:
As you follow the situation in the secular media, please check out these other resources for stories of how the ELCA and its companions are engaging in the situation.
- Disaster Response Blog
- ACT Alliance Reports
- Tim's El Salvador Blog (information about El Salvador from ELCA Companion Synod member)
Give:
Your donations for the ELCA Disaster response can be made through St. Matthew's. Mark your donation for the "El Salvador Flooding". Thank you!
El Salvador Partnership now on Facebook
Visit the El Salvador Partnership Facebook page and keep up to date on our Synod Partnership! Many photos (including those from the St. Matt's Mission Trips) are inclluded. Click here: www.facebook.com/partnerswithelsalvador
El Salvador Matching Fund goal met!
Thank You, Thank You!
The El Salvador Matching Fund program has met and exceeded its $20,000 goal. With the matching pledge,
$40,000 has been designated for three El Salvador initiatives described in the last issue of the VOICE. We
have already requested the next container of food be sent through Feed My Starving Children, and soon to
begin are several sustainability initiatives at Casa Esperanza, the ministry we partner with in El Salvador.
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"Photo book" of the January 2011 Mission Trip to El Salvador is online [here] |
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Iris Duran of Fundacion Exodo visits St. Matt's May 15, 2011
We were blessed at St. Matthew’s to have a special visitor from El Salvador on May 15. Iris Duran,
director of Fundacion Exodo (the orphanage that St. Matthew’s helps support) was at St. Matt's to talk about the ways that Fundacion Exodo brings hope, nurturing, and opportunity to children whose future might otherwise be bleak.
Fundacion Exodo is one of several ministries that we support in El Salvador, including Feed My Starving Children, and our partner ministry, Casa Esperanza (a homeless shelter in San Salvador). Iris will share her story as well as the mission of Fundacion Exodo during our worship services and the adult forum on May 15. Please plan on attending.
The Fundacion Exodo website is [here].
Video of Iris Duran's Adult Forum is online [here]
Iris Duran, Director of Fundación Exodo, St. Matthew’s partner, responds to her visit in May
“I had a great time in Milwaukee and enjoyed the company of everyone. You were all really kind to me. ... I talked to all the children when I came back and told them about the whole experience. I had never been in a [church] so beautiful and I was impressed by the organ -- it is so big. I told them I heard the sweetest voices from the chorus and about the [people] at your church and how they all were so interested in knowing about them. They were happy you all could read their messages, too. It was a very hot day, so they were amazed when I told them about how cold it was. Finally I told them we are very far apart, but still our Lord touches your hearts for you to think about them and ways to help us to take care of them.
We have five new kids living with us at Exodo, two girls and three boys with severe problems, so please pray for them.
Thank you again for your help. I hope we can see you soon. God bless you.”
--Iris J. Duran,
Fundación Exodo
Read more about St. Matthew's El Salvador Parnership -- download, print or view [here]
El Salvador trip, Jan. 2011
In January, a group of 22 from St. Matthew’s traveled to El Salvador. While there, they visitied various congregations, gathered information on the bridge project, and worked on some repair projects at Casa Esperanza, the homeless shelter that we have supported in the past.
Photos of the 2011 El Salvador Mission Trip are [here].
La Fiesta esta Aqui!
Greater Milwaukee Synod El Salvador event held at St. Matthew’s Nov. 13
Every other year, the Greater Milwaukee Synod El Salvador
Committee holds an event to share information about El Salvador and our partnership with the Salvadoran Lutheran Church, and this year, St. Matthew’s hosted the event.
Photos of the event are online [here].
El Salvador mission trip 2010
Our mission trip to El Salvador took place Jan. 7-15, 2010. This was a very meaningful trip where we got to know the people and the needs of El Salvador. Activities included cultural visits as well as various service activities, such as teacher training events and a possible remodeling project at Casa Esperanza [more].
Video slideshow of the El Salvador Mission Trip, 2010
On Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010 our Worship and Adult Ed focused on the El Salvador Mission Trip. During the Worship Service, the following slideshow was shown -- a summary of the trip. (This is a YouTube video which can be seen here or on YouTube.)
Photos and Videos of the 2010 El Salvador Mission Trip are [here].
Photos: El Salvador Global Mission Forum Dec. 6, 2010
A combined adult and youth forum was held Dec. 6, 2010 when we welcomed Dan Beirne, who has spent the past two years interpreting for partnership delegations visiting El Salvador. Dan was placed in El Salvador for a two-year term as part of the ELCA’s Global Mission Program.
While there, Dan worked closely with the pastor in charge of the partnership program for the Salvadoran Lutheran Church. He became immersed in the culture and was a gift to all of the delegations with whom he worked. We are fortunate to have had Dan joining our group traveling to El Salvador this January.
Photos of the Youth-Adult Forum with Dan Beirne are below.
(Click image to enlarge)
Videos of the 2009 Mission Trip [here]
Giving Hope to Casa Esperanza
Can you donate medicines or tools? Casa Esperanza is a homeless shelter in one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Salvador. It addition to providing a daily meal to homeless men, it provides basic medical treatment on a limited basis, and it offers limited job training. Casa Esperanza is run by Trinidad, who also runs the synod guest house, Casa Concordia, where St. Matthew’s members stay on their El Salvador visits. Trini is a compassionate woman, who has dedicated her life and her passion to serving the poor of San Salvador.
St. Matthew’s has given monetary support to Casa Esperanza, and we continue to discern how we can best support this important ministry. One way that you can support Trini’s work is to donate medicines or simple tools that our delegation will deliver to Trini when we visit El Salvador in January. Please see the list of needed supplies below. All supplies can be brought to the collection box in the Commons. Thanks for helping Trini bring hope to those she serves!
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The El Salvador partnership
• El Salvador continually struggles with trying to feed the many poor. A full container of food through Feed My Starving Children has been distributed thanks to work and generous giving here at St. Matthew’s. The project has come full circle - from our packing 100,000 meals to providing the financial help for the transportation to our partnership city. The St. Matthew’s delegation that traveled in January of this year were able to see the result of the meals. The joy on the faces of people who got food to feed their family was heartwarming.
• Twenty-two youth in El Salvador are able to attend school thanks to St. Matthew’s families who have pledged to support them with scholarship money for school fees, supplies, and gym clothing.
• January 2010 another delegation of college students and adults will be traveling to El Salvador [see more below].
FMSC in El Salvador
[View photos and read more information about FMSC in El Salvador program here.]
El Salvador is a Central American country nestled between Guatemala and Honduras, which borders the Pacific Ocean. With a population of 6.9 million, it is the most densely populated nation of the American mainland. El Salvador's economy is primarily agricultural, with farming employing about 40% of the workforce and accounting for a quarter of the gross national product. The country has endured significant destruction from natural disasters including frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. El Salvador is a developing country and is one of the 10 poorest countries in Latin America.
About our Synod Partnership with El Salvador
As part of the Companion Synod Program of the ELCA, the Greater Milwaukee Synod has been in partnership with the Iglesia Luterana Salvadoreña since June 1988. Through the SHARE Foundation, the Greater Milwaukee Synod helped to sponsor a group of Salvadoran refugees who returned from Nicaragua and founded Comunidad Rutilio Grande in March, 1991.
The Greater Milwaukee Synod El Salvador Committee works with the Sister Parish office of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church, encouraging the growth of relationships between congregations and individuals in Milwaukee and El Salvador. The committee offers assistance with congregational visits in El Salvador and Salvadoran visits in the United States, and typically coordinates one or more synod delegation visits to El Salvador each year.
The committee hosts educational events, provides resources and guest speakers to congregations, manages the allocation of donated funds, promotes development initiatives of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church and Comunidad Rutilio Grande, and encourages advocacy. In every aspect, the committee promotes the use of the accompaniment model as Milwaukeeans and Salvadorans work together on issues of importance to us as people of faith and advocacy.
The new Greater Milwaukee Synod El Salvador Committee Brochure (links are located both on the Synod Who We Are page and El Salvador Committee pages) is [here].
Endowment Fund Resources are located [here].
Resources for partners with El Salvador are located [here].
More information about our Synod and congregational El Salvador Partnership and many details [here].
St. Matthew's Groups and Ministries
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