Bishop from El Salvador will visit local congregations

Group 236

Submitted by members of the synod’s Global Mission Committee

Bishop Graham visited with Bishop Gomez (right) in 2011 when a delegation from the Metro D.C. Synod visited Lutheran church sites in El Salvador.

Bishop Graham visited with Bishop Gómez (right) in El Salvador during the 2011 visit of a Metro D.C. Synod delegation.

Bishop Medardo Gómez of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church* (SLC) will be visiting the Metro D.C. Synod January 17-27, 2014.

Bishop Gómez and the SLC provide a steadfast voice for social justice in El Salvador.  The church serves the poorest, most marginalized communities in the country.  The Metro D.C. Synod has been a companion synod of SLC since 2000.

During his visit, Bishop Gómez will share at several congregations.  Opportunities to see him include:

  • Saturday, January 18
    Commemoration of El Salvador Peace Accords (time to be finalized)
    Iglesia Episcopal San Mateo in Hyattsville, Md. (shared building with St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church)
  • Sunday, January 19
    Worship in English (10:30 a.m.), Community Forum (3 p.m.), Worship in Spanish (5 p.m.)
    Augustana Lutheran Church in D.C.
  • Saturday, January 25
    “By the Waters of Babylon: Remembrance, Solidarity, Commitment” – Faith & Wisdom Series congregational forum (9 a.m.-noon)
    Faith Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virg.
    Registration requested for event (free will offering, no registration fee): http://tinyurl.com/FLCFaithWisdom

“Bishop Medardo Gómez has been the bishop of the [Salvadoran Lutheran Church] for over 27 years… [proclaiming] what he calls a ‘theology of life.’ For his work during the Salvadoran Civil War, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize,” said material prepared for the event at Faith Lutheran. Program specifics from Faith Lutheran also give us more information about Bishop Gómez and the ministry of the SLC.

“Bishop Gómez will speak about the origins of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church, the effect on the church of the 1980 assassinations of Archbishop Oscar Romero and four American religious women, and the role of the church both in El Salvador and internationally during the Civil War and subsequent peace process, with which the Lutheran World Federation was heavily involved. [He] will also share his experience during the offensive of 1989 when six Jesuit priests and two women were assassinated, and his own life was threatened, forcing him into exile. Finally, Bishop Gómez will speak on the causes of migration today, the importance of immigration reform, and how the North American church can accompany the church of El Salvador to be a ‘welcoming community’ to our brothers and sisters from there.”

Whether or not you can hear Bishop Gómez in person, we look forward to Companion Synod Sunday on Jan. 26 when we in the Metro D.C. Synod will celebrate our connection with the vital ministry of the SLC.

*English reference to Iglesia Luterana Salvadoreña