From May 30 to June 7 I was in El Salvador for a week of mission work. My original plan was to offer a workshop on Evangelism and to attend the ordination of four seminarians who graduated from El Seminario Episcopal Anglicano de El Salvador’s first class on May 28, 2021, and who after two years of extensive pastoral experience were ordained to the Sacred Office of Transitional Deacons on June 2.
The Reverend Deacons are:
Vilma Landaverde
Esmeralda de Guzman
Jesus de Martell
Ernesto Velasco
Reflecting on the experience of these four new deacons, we can attest that they confronted numerous challenges ranging from allocating time to attend the classes that in most cases were online, to finding the funds required to support their studies. Three of the deacons were working and studying while taking care of their families. One of the women was taking care of her family needs.
The dedication of the four deacons is observed in the sacrifice that they underwent by traveling to the missions that in some cases were located around 8 hours round trip. In addition to this, these deacons were responsible for the spiritual and organizational life of their communities.
The deacons are following the steps of Jesus in teaching, preaching, evangelizing, and ministering to the spiritual needs of the people.
When there are special needs, the deacons find the resources necessary to make sure that those needs are fulfilled. For example, on August 29, 2021, the seminarian Ernesto Velasco organized, planned, and sought the funds to bring drinking water into the St. Lucas Mission in San Miguel. Holy Trinity, West Orange provided some funds for the water project to become a reality.
It is worth mentioning that these deacons performed their pastoral responsibilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The formation of the deacons was supported by professors from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, the United States, and El Salvador under the guidance of the Rev. Rosa Irma de Alvarado, Rector of El Seminario Episcopal Anglicano de El Salvador. I serve in the Seminary as Faculty and as an Academic Adviser.
These are the first four deacons who have been ordained by the Most Rev. David Alvarado, Primate for Central America.
While in El Salvador, I was informed that numerous religious and civic organizations were organizing an event named: XXIII Caminata Ecologica de El Salvador (Ecological Walk of El Salvador). This event was scheduled for June 6.
I offered to walk along with other members of the Episcopal Anglican Church in El Salvador. As I joined the walk, I met various religious leaders from the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, and other civic leaders.
There are numerous issues that are causing difficulties to vulnerable communities in El Salvador. Here are some of the most important examples that can be mentioned:
- the mega urbanistic project in Valle de El Angel in San Salvador that will affect the quality of the water to neighboring communities;
- the construction of a water dam in the Rio Sensunapan that will affect indigenous farming communities in Sonsonate;
- the threat of contamination of the rivers Lempa, Paz, and Goascoran due to mining projects in the boarders of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras;
- the arrest of community leaders of Santa Marta in Cabañas who protest against mining in order to protect the water from contamination.
It is important to mention that according to a statement made by the organizers of the Ecological Walk, 90% of the superficial water is already contaminated. The potential ecological catastrophe in El Salvador should be a call to action for all to stop development projects in areas where there are aquifers that support life.
