DON WILLMER Port Perry United Church
SCUGOG: For most Canadians, being able to go about our daily activities with a sense of safety and security is something we take for granted. Not so for the people of El Salvador, the Central American country of six million. “Today we have a peace accord, but no peace,” says Pastor Miguel Tomas Castro, of Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel (Emmanuel Baptist Church) in the capital city of San Salvador.
For 12 years, between a coup in 1979 and a peace accord brokered in 1992, Salvadorans lived through a brutal civil war, in which 75,000 were killed and another 8,000 simply disappeared. On suspicion of being a sympathizer, Pastor Miguel was abducted by death squads and tortured by his own government. Twenty-four members of his church were martyred: Pastor Miguel fled to Canada. Three years later, he returned, determined to bring peace to his hurting country.
Under the leadership of Pastor Miguel and with material and financial help from abroad, the people of Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel are working to promote a culture of peace.
Poverty, mistrust, and pain from the past are all barriers to healing and peace. The church people work so the Salvadoran people and their government might learn to trust one another again.
Pastor Miguel’s church focuses on youth, providing safe, affordable education and programs so youth will have options, other than joining the street gangs which proliferate in the city. The church gives them a safe place to belong and hope for tomorrow.
In 2017, 2018, and 2019, a total of 16 young adults and adults, from Port Perry United Church, travelled to El Salvador on a week-long mission awareness trip, to see the people of Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel in action. They returned home, changed by that experience.
If you are interested in learning more about the important work being done in El Salvador, Pastor Miguel will be visiting Port Perry this Friday, September 15th. A pot-luck supper in the auditorium of Port Perry United Church, 294 Queen Street, at Simcoe Street, begins at 6 p.m., with a presentation and discussion time to follow.