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Clergy and members of St. Aidan’s, St. John the Evangelist, and St.
Gregory of Nyssa, San Francisco, made a joint mission trip to El
Salvador September 28–October 2. The trip was organized by the Rev.
Tommy Dillon, Rector of St. Aidan’s, San Francisco; and Sarah Lawton
and the Rev. John Kirkley, Rector, St. John the Evangelist, San
Francisco. The Rev. Daniel Simons, Executive Director of All Saints’
Company (the foundation that supports liturgical development in
partnership with St. Gregory’s), joined as interpreter. In a very short
time, the group had an amazing opportunity to observe, absorb, see how
they might offer support and solidarity, and initiate a relationship
with the Diocese of El Salvador.
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An 11-member team representing three congregations
gathers in front of Mission San Lucas in San Miguel, El Salvador. The
group is joined by San Lucas’ Missioner, the Rev. Elizabeth Evans
(pictured far right), and her associate Elvira (sixth from right).
Overhead (not visible here) concertina wire prevents access to the
complex in this city with widespread gang violence. The center is a
home, chapel, and classroom, where Elizabeth teaches English to
neighborhood children; she and Elvira also provide transitional housing
for women released from prison.
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The group spent two days in San Miguel, where they were hosted by
the Rev. Elizabeth Evans of Centro San Lucas, a mission project of
Cristosal, a foundation to expand the Episcopal Church in eastern El
Salvador. Evans led the group to several institutions included in her
mission work: an orphanage, an elementary school, the women’s sector of
the San Miguel prison, and a hospital. For the next two days, they were
hosted by the Most Rev. Martin Barahona, Bishop of El Salvador and
Primate of the Anglican Church of the Region of Central America
(IARCA). The group returned home deeply affected by their time in this
beautiful country and by the spirit of its people.
Other churches in the diocese are welcome to partner with this
mission project; Holy Innocents, San Francisco, plans to join next
year’s trip, which is planned for October 4–8, 2007. For more
information, contact Rev. Tommy Dillon at 415.285.9540 /
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.
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On their first day in San Miguel, the group visited the
women's prison. Women in the prison work together baking bread. They
are able to sell the bread, as well as a variety of crafts, while
building job skills in preparation for release.
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The Rev. Daniel Simons celebrated mass in Spanish at the women's prison. |
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Children surround Simons on the playground of Fe y Alegria, a school in Milagra de la Paz. Gang violence is common in this area, so this public school is enclosed by a gated wall. Mission San Lucas built a new kitchen for the school, but finishing the floor will require additional funding. |
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Patrick Hall of St. Aidan’s presents a bag of bed and bath linens for Aldea Infantil San Antonio, an orphanage for 100 children run by Roman Catholic Franciscan sisters and supported by Mission San Lucas. The California congregations also collected baby clothes for mothers at the hospital. |
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Bishop Barahona talks with two of his colleagues before Sunday mass. The Rev. Julio Rivera (at right), a Roman Catholic priest, was received October 14 as a deacon in the Anglican Episcopal Church of El Salvador.
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Bishop Martin Barahona loves his new San Francisco Giants shirt and hat. Barahona and his family hosted a luncheon for the travelers at his home. He took this opportunity to tell his visitors about the diocese’s work for human rights and dignity, the civil war and its legacy, and ecumenical relations. |
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Kathy Veit (St. John’s) and Patrick Hall (St. Aidan’s) visit the Romero Center. On their final day in San Salvador, the group went on the martyrs’ tour, visiting the chapel where Archbishop Oscar Romero was murdered on March 24, 1980; the cathedral where an estimated 150,000 people gathered for his funeral; and the University of Central America, where six Jesuit priests and two women were killed November 16, 1989. |
text: Cynthia Clifford
photos: the Rev. Tommy Dillon
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Dio News 
