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Pilgrimage to El Salvador: walking alongside our

companions in Christ

By Mike Angell, Gillian Barr, Eddie Gibbs and Edward Vizcarra

For spring break, most students head to beaches and warm weather for good times and relaxation. But a group of ten unique students traveled to El Salvador to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in our companion diocese. These are some of their stories.

Gillian Barr, seminarian

“We arrived in El Salvador mid-day on March 20 and departed near dawn eight days later. Four of us were from Virginia Theological Seminary and six were from UCSD. We went primarily as an act of pilgrimage to experience the commemorations of the 30th anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero’s martyrdom, and to learn about the witness of the other Salvadoran martyrs of the 1980s. We also got to meet leaders and members of the Iglesia Anglicana de El Salvador (with whom the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is in a companion relationship) and witness their ministry in several different places, as well as simply experience a developing but

“. . . even though they have so little, they are very happy and hospitable people.”

impoverished country and the challenges people face. We got to meet and work alongside Salvadorans at two different villages built by Episcopal Relief & Development, the relief and development

Pilgrimage for Peace: Students from UCSD and Virginia Theological Seminary traveled to El Salvador together to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, peace activist and Anglican primate. As they walked alongside the people of our companion diocese, their lives were forever changed.

agency of The Episcopal Church.”

Mike Angell, seminarian

“We spent a few days in a small village, built by Episcopal Relief & Development. We were there to help with the construction of a cistern. The community is cut off from the local water supply for all but a couple of days a month.

We spent much of our time hauling water uphill to mix cement. We sat down to talk with the people of San Marcos. We listened as they described their community as struggling yet hopeful. A number in our group remarked that it seemed fitting to spend the anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero’s death among the people for whom he died.” X

PILGRIMAGE Continued on Page 6

Episcopal Refugee Network: the Spirit at work

T

he Spirit is at work in our diocesan refugee network, bringing a new member

to the support staff of the Episcopal Refugee Network and 20 new families from Bhutan.

In March, the Network hired Deborah Dorn, a curriculum coordinator who is a specialist in English as a Second Language. She assists Marilyn Nahas, a licensed social worker, in tutoring the refugee children on Tuesdays and Thursdays at St. Mark’s in City Heights.

Founded just 15 years ago, the refugee network has grown from the parish of St. Luke’s to become a diocesan-wide ministry in 2008. It helps 80 children every week with tutoring -- something more valuable than most of us think. The children speak no English when they arrive and many cannot make sense of their classes without help. Tutoring provides them with the skills and confidence they need to comprehend their school work.

The Network provides weekly meals for 65 families at St. Alban’s in El Cajon and St. Mark’s in City Heights. Toiletries, school supplies, shoes, band-aids are all provided by Episcopalians throughout the diocese in addition to the food. Different speakers lead classes about life in North America as well.

“Food stamps don’t buy underclothes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.,” said the Network’s executive director, Dr. John McLevie.

“We provide for the people who fall by the wayside; there’s just not enough money for refugees from the government.”

Dr. McLevie also reported that there are 20 new refugee families from the Himalayan mountain kingdom of Bhutan. Six of their children are enrolled in the tutoring program.

Compassion and Comprehension: Deborah Dorn (left), the new curriculum coordinator for the Episcopal Refugee Network, tutors a young student from Burma who is in 9th grade at the local public high school and speaks almost no English.

sessions from 3:45 p.m. until 5:15 p.m. It also seeks assistance from those who can give legal counsel on domestic violence issues.

“After being evicted from their homeland of countless generations, they lived for about 10 years in refugee camps in Nepal and now they have been brought to San Diego.”

Currently the Network seeks tutors to assist with the Tuesday and Thursday tutoring

“Often the refugee families have disputes and need help navigating the court systems,” said Dr. McLevie.

If you would like to provide assistance, please contact Dr. John McLevie: jmclevie@aol.com or 760-492-4813. X Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8