A week ago I was in Guatemala City for a visit to the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (ILAG), one of our global companions. I was accompanied by Pastor Justin Grimm, assistant to the bishop, and joined by Bishop Kevin Strickland and Pastor Justin Eller from the Southeastern Synod. These few days together offered an opportunity to encourage our common work in the Gospel and to deepen the historic ties that bind us together.
In a time of prayer, this question came into focus for me as the generative purpose for the visit: How is God invested in this companion church body and how can I learn from the richness of God’s presence with these siblings in Christ? During our time together, God provided me eyes to see and understand just that.
Our hosts at the Lutheran Center, particularly Pastor Karen Castillo, the president of ILAG, saw that we were comfortably housed, well fed, and shared so generously from their knowledge and faith commitments. Like wise leaders in every church, Pastor Karen and other members of the pastoral team shared stories of the evolving work of ILAG. One thing that impressed me was the decision for the pastoral team to travel out to the remote communities rather than asking the community leaders to travel 10-12 hours by bus to come into Guatemala City for training events.
The four of us from ELCA synods reaffirmed our concrete commitments to ILAG. Our engagement in Guatemala is most well known by those in a congregation-to-congregation partnership but I invite all of us in the Saint Paul Area Synod to step more deeply into this global partnership. How might you do that? Every congregation can pray for our global partners in Guatemala (and in Tanzania) each week in worship. Secondly, sign up for the partner newsletter here, which highlights our common work, or attend an event or the fall gala, sponsored by the synod’s Guatemala Committee. Know that it is not too late to become a partnership congregation, a process you can start by talking to me.
At the end of the journey, what sticks with me most is the incredible joy I felt in the presence of those who love and lead the church, as I do in this place. It was my privilege to preach during Sunday worship, exploring the words of Psalm 16 – Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’ These days that’s the kind of promise we all need to cling to. Then, like families everywhere, I sat at the table with my fellow travelers and hosts for lunch. Long after the dishes were cleared, we lingered, telling stories and laughing together with a trust that goes to the heart of all we do.
I hope each of you has opportunities to linger at the lunch table with such partners in the work of Jesus Christ – whether in this synod or somewhere across the globe.
Yours in Christ’s service,
Bishop Patricia Lull
