Being Windows

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Dear friends,

When I last wrote about my visit to Peru in July with a U.S. youth delegation, we were with a Peruvian youth environmental team in the mountains of La Oroya. Together we planted trees of hope to bring light to the shadows caused by the contamination of the city by extractive industries.

After our mountaintop experience, we drove back down through the hairpin turns to the coast of Lima/Callao to visit more communities advocating and struggling for environmental justice. We first worshiped with Pastor Pedro Bullón and The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, which is a partner of the Peruvian Joining Hands Network. This congregation is small, mighty and mission focused. It is intentionally located in a marginalized community of Callao, so the church and its outreach are easily accessible to the community when needed. This congregation also accompanies communities in the Marquez District, where many of its members have lived for decades. After a beautiful service of bilingual hymns and an inspiring sermon by Pastor Bullón about caring for neighbors, we traveled a short distance to Marquez to learn first-hand about the congregation’s commitment to this area.

[ngg src="galleries" ids="1260" display="pro_horizontal_filmstrip" show_captions="1"]The border of the Ventanilla and Marquez Districts is where the Pacific Ocean meets the Chillón River, whose mouth is located on Marquez Beach in Marquez. Throughout our visit, we were led by María Chirinos Trinidad and Zulamita Cortez Calsina, committed leaders of the Good Shepherd congregation, and this advocacy effort in Marquez. Upon our arrival, after taking only a few steps out of the van, one could see the trash and waste that overwhelmed and contaminated the land and the Chillón River that runs through the community. We saw a river whose waters did not look suitable for irrigation of parks and gardens, as the municipality currently uses them, nor as the second source of water for Lima, the neighboring capital city.

Forty-five years ago, María and many in her community used this river mouth as drinking water. Time, climate change, an increase in industrial output, and the growing indifference of politicians have changed this scenario greatly. As we walked the dirt road to the beach, the river ran alongside us, filled with industrial waste of heavy metals through clandestine drainage, as well as human waste and pollution. When we reached the beach, covered in trash as far as the eye could see, there was no questioning the fact that 200g of plastic is poured into the sea every second without regulation, condemning the Chillón River to be one of the most contaminated rivers in South America.

Our delegation was not there to solve or fix the horrific situation in which this community lived. Rather, we were there to listen to them and hear their stories about the negative impacts on the health of the children and adults, as well as the ecosystem. We were there to see with our own eyes the vulnerability in which they lived, such as the lack of containing walls to hold back overflowing water, making them susceptible to natural disasters. We were there to use our feet to walk through parts of the beach and clean up as much waste as we could in the time that we had together. We were there to use our hands to paint a mural of solidarity, reminding this community that they are not alone in their struggle for environmental justice and encouraging them to continue to advocate and educate in public spaces, when possible, being God’s megaphone for Creation’s cry for healing.

While there, we met with Israel, the governor of Marquez, who told us that we “are the window to the world about what is happening here.” What a call for the return to the U.S.! We are the way in which others can learn about this injustice that is connected to a greater global system that goes well beyond the borders of Marquez or Peru. We are also responsible for letting others know about the faithful commitment and dedication of our partners in their ministry to confront this system through education that provides all with a deeper understanding of the situation, through advocacy for public policy that defends the environment, through activities of Creation care that work to mitigate high levels of contamination, and through a ministry that embodies God’s love to walk with neighbors in need.

As we move toward Advent and are led by the shining Star, I invite us to reflect on how we can be windows for people who need accompaniment of solidarity, who need their voices to be heard, or who need to know that they are God’s beloved.

Isaiah 58: 8-9

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

    and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness[a] will go before you,

    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

    you will cry for help, and the Lord will say: Here am I.

Throughout this Advent and Christmas season and beyond, let us remember Israel’s call to us in Marquez: that we may be windows through which to see situations of injustice, violence, inequality, and more, allowing God’s Light to shine through and to let all know that the God of love and justice is here.

God’s Light and Peace be with you,

Chenoa