ROCKY MOUNTAIN SYNOD COUNCIL AND STAFF: FALL MEETING IN EL PASO
By Susan Mitchell, Rocky Mountain Synod Council Member
On November 2,
weeks of planning resulted in twenty members of the Rocky Mountain Synod
Council and members of the Synod Staff driving from Denver to El Paso in two church vans. The journey brought
them to
the Border for their fall business meeting. The vans took time to make stops along the way at several of our synod
congregations. We were greeted with warm
hospitality, snacks, hugs and restrooms! This was a great way to connect with members across the state lines from
Colorado to New Mexico to Texas. We were welcomed at King of
Kings in Pueblo, CO, St. Timothy’s in Albuquerque, NM, Desert Springs in Truth
or Consequences, NM, and finally at Cristo Rey in El Paso. Valley Lutheran of Los Lunas, NM and Zion of
Trinidad, CO gave hospitality on the way home. We spread out for our three-night stay. Staff and council members spread out between hosts from Peace and Mount Hope, bunk beds at Cristo Rey, and a nearby hotel. Our meeting, though important for carrying
out the business of the Synod, only took one afternoon.
 |
| Conversation with Border Patrol on the banks of the Rio Grande |
The rest of our
time was spent participating in a mini-border immersion, led by Pastor Rose
Mary -Guzman and her husband Fernando of Iglesia Luterana Cristo
Rey. We went to the banks of the Rio Grande
and engaged in conversation with 2 Border Patrol agents to learn about the many
refugees and asylum seekers who come across the US/Mexico border in and near El
Paso. There is a detention center where
people are housed and fed while awaiting their asylum hearing. Many are able to go to relatives in the US
pending their court dates. We visited
Annunciation House, which houses refugees when the detention center is
full. The stories are an important part of learning first-hand about the people who are desperate to leave violence and
economic hardship in their own countries. Pastor Rose Mary led us to one of the colonias in eastern El Paso, one
of many poor, rural areas that often have very limited services like
electricity and water. When you hear families speak of their struggles, it becomes very real. That evening we sat in the home of a family and ate tamales together as they shared their story.
Saturday, we
boarded two Cristo Rey vans and drove across the bridge from El Paso into Mexico. We went to a
Mexican colonias--Anapra--just at the edge of the city of Juarez. We went to a library, which was donated to
that community by a church in Kansas City. The two women who volunteer
there gave amazing
testimonies to the positive changes they are able to make in the lives of
children and parents--education is not free in Mexico, and scholarships
are an important part of the work of these women. We also visited a health clinic and had wonderful
conversations with two medical doctors there. The vans stopped at the wall built along the Rio Grande so we could look
through it towards Texas.
Our weekend ended with a worship service Saturday evening at Cristo Rey. We each shared one important moment and concluded with holy communion. On Sunday, synod council and staff joined the other 4 ELCA congregations in El Paso before heading back north. In total, we made visits to 10 congregations in 4 day- Christ's Church, Better Together indeed!
We hope this trip gave everyone a deeper
awareness of life at the border and how we can work together to proclaim and embody God's unconditional love for the sake of the world!
 |
| Synod Council members with Pastor Andrea and members of Zions, Trinidad |
Comments
Post a Comment