Participate in the 2009 El Salvador Prayer and Action Delegation!

Presented by the El Salvador Ministry at the Aquinas Newman Center

Where did the Prayer and Action Delegation Originate?
On March 24, 1980, Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero was assassinated while giving Mass in the small chapel of La Divina Providencia. Shortly before his death, he openly spoke out against the military and the increasing violence, which would eventually become a twelve-year civil war in the country of El Salvador. His courage to advocate for peace, knowing that it would endanger his life, was only part of a religious shift in the Latin American Catholic Church now known as .Liberation Theology.. Liberation Theology began as a process of returning to the scriptures and interpreting Jesus. messages in a more radical sense, and applying it to the economic injustices that exist in today.s world. The belief is that the poor should not be left to suffer until they reach a paradise in heaven after death, not if their suffering is a result of unfair socio-political and economic systems created by humans. We should all work together as people of faith, to create heaven on earth among each other and to not stay silent in the face of injustice.

Who is APRODEHNI?

For many years now, the El Salvador Ministry of the Aquinas Newman Center has sent down several small Prayer & Action Delegations to this tiny Central American country to work hand in hand with a Salvadoran non-profit called APRODEHNI (The Association for the Promotion of the Human Rights of the Children of El Salvador), our in-country host. APRODEHNI was formed after the civil war as a continued effort to provide some of the necessary social work that is still desperately needed in many small communities. Their work focuses on building strong communities through the: furthering the education of children, providing necessities such as latrines, community centers/school buildings, farming projects, and much more.

What is a Prayer and Action Delegation (P&A)?

A P&A is a group of chosen applicants that meet and prepare through the second half of the year to travel down to El Salvador in January. This preparation takes shape in three main ways. 1) First, each P&A meets at least once a month to form a close bond with fellow applicants and to become educated in Salvadoran history, economics, culture, and most importantly, in the principles of Liberation Theology. We hope that the group, of no more than 10 individuals, will form a supportive community in which we will all grow in our faith and calling to social justice. 2) Each P&A is responsible for fundraising for a particular project presented by APRODEHNI. In the past, projects have included: raising money for the building of a school, organic gardens in a community, providing latrines in a community, and many more. 3) And finally, each P&A travels down to El Salvador for a little more than a week in early January. During the trip, the delegation stays in a hotel in the capital of San Salvador and meets with APRODEHNI. We travel to different communities, and visit several sites that have been crucial to the Catholic Church.s participation in recent Salvadoran History. At the end of process, we hope that delegates have been inspired spiritually by the meeting of Salvadorans and by learning their history and the importance of pursuing a life in solidarity with the poor.a lesson that they will hopefully carry with them all of their lives.

Details


If you have any further questions, please contact any one of the three leaders: Michelle Trujillo (mish@unm.edu), Sarah Peceny (speceny@unm.edu) or Donna Bruzzese (donnabruzz@msn.com).
Application