Faithfulness in Ministry Cross Award Response

The Beatitudes speak of the blessing or happiness in the face of suffering, hunger, persecution, for through hardships and pain all that remains is the sure foundation and hope that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is indeed a blessing to have everything that we build up around us striped away to reveal to us the center of our faith and life. This hope is the joy we have in the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala. Our members, and sometimes we as their pastors, have lived through threats on their lives, hunger and even persecution for being indigenous, for organizing and empowering the marginalized or for simply being Lutheran. We can call ourselves blessed because we have security in the promise of the Gospel for us.
In the ILAG, I have the privilege of living through the Reformation in modern times. The catechists who join our church do not know the 10 commandments, Lord’s Prayer, Creed, or the Bible until we begin to teach them. Communities come who have had the sacraments or prayer held from them by other churches because they cannot pay the price being asked for God’s gifts of grace to us. They have been raised to believe that the Bible is an impenetrable mystery. The learning curve has been steep, learning how to preach and teach in a multi-lingual, multi-cultural country of people who are only 12 years from a signed peace accord.
The joy is to proclaim God’s word and to have people who are suffering hear God’s word for them and see in their eyes that they have peace and hope. Hope not just for the future but hope for the present and God’s presence in their lives now.
I was surprised to be called to serve in Guatemala—a call that took awhile to be answered publically. Many people took part in the affirmation and realization of my call in the process leading up to my ordination. I was surprised that I was ordained in Spanish rather than English and into the ILAG rather than the ELCA. When I arrived in Guatemala, I expected to learn some Spanish, begin to learn about Latino ministry and return to the States after a year to be a pastor. From my first visit to an ILAG community, I understood this church and its call and to my surprise I wanted to be part of it. A church that accompanies the marginalized, the broken, the war torn with Christ always at our center, always as our true hope and from that center teaches our churches how to work together, how to plan and how to holistically improve their lives.
My advice… be patient, do not compromise on what is truly important—the Gospel-- but be willing to work with others when it does not mean losing your integrity. It is worth the wait to be called where you can be put to use, even if the wait is painful. In your call you will give all of yourself but remember that you are not called just to be a pastor, you also have other vocations to fulfill. For me, I am a pastor but I am also a wife and a mother and those vocations are part of who I am as a pastor.
Luther Seminary, most helpful/ meaningful:
Professors such as Jim Nestigen, Steven Paulson, Rolf Jacobson, Craig Koester, David Lose and Michael Rogness who taught us how to preach while we teach and how to convey the love we have of Christ and His word to others. The professors who helped us prepare because they were willing to talk about the real challenges of parish life, to struggle with the text with us or wrestle with the impact of current events on the church. They taught us how to confess our faith and to not confuse ourselves with the message we are called to deliver.
Hopes for the church in the 21st century:
The church has hope when it is being church—preaching the Word and administering the sacraments. Often churches forget what it means to be church. We need to not apologize for being Christians, for being sinners in need of forgiveness and salvation or for being Lutheran. What man builds can be destroyed—buildings, programs, church organizations can be closed or ended—but the church in which Christ is the head will continue. We need to have trust in our Lord to be true and to have the faith to speak Christ and him crucified because it is tempting to speak an easier word or water down the gospel. The Word kills and the Spirit gives life. I see many churches trying to downplay the offense of the gospel. After serving in Guatemala, I have learned again and again that when everything else is stripped away, and it will be, that what remains is the heart of why the church has a future, because of Christ not because of anything we have done or will do. In this respect, we have an easier call in Guatemala.