Caring for God’s Creation in Peru

I was blessed, along with others from the La Crosse Area Synod, to have been chosen to accompany our Bishop and a delegation to visit our Companion Synod in Peru, the IL-P (Iglesia Luterana de Peru) this past summer. This trip was in part, a celebration of our 20 years of companionship with the IL-P. To say that this trip was incredible is an understatement. Many are familiar with the concept of a mission trip, when a team of volunteers go to a location and spend time doing. This trip was focused on being. Being with and walking alongside our Companion partners to listen, see, and understand the blessings and challenges of their lives and ministries. We wanted to better understand what we can learn from one another and how to support each other.

The IL-P has 14 churches in the entire country, most of them in the Lima area. There are not enough pastors for all the churches, so some pastors have more than one congregation. This is not a novel idea, or something we are unused to here; however, a large difference is that pastors in the IL-P receive a small stipend for their work as Ordained Ministers which does not provide enough income for daily life. All the pastors have full time jobs in addition to serving their churches and congregations. Despite this, they are dedicated to their parishioners and the work of the church.

Churches themselves are poor in resources, the buildings are mostly quite small, some may have a roof only over the worship space but not the education area. The weekly offerings may total $4.00 a week or may be nothing. Again, despite this, the churches are invested in ministering to their members, neighbors, and particularly the children in their neighborhoods.

Our activities included a large children’s festival on our first Saturday there, spending time with the pastors, attending church in the different congregations, learning, and listening to their stories.

We also had some time as a team to learn more about the history of Peru and the indigenous population by traveling to Cusco and Machu Pichu, working with a tour guide to understand the rich history of the country.

I want to share about a particular church congregation, their environmental advocacy and a woman named Maria. This congregation is located near the Pacific Ocean north of Lima and a river- El Rio Chillon, that runs past the community and into the Pacific. The “beach” is littered with garbage- not just scattered here and there, like we might see on our beaches, but piles of garbage. You actually cannot even see the beach- when you walk, you are walking on layers of garbage for miles. This garbage consists of items being thrown off of ships, industries dumping factory waste both in the ocean as well as into the river that feeds the ocean. The waste from the river then arrives in the ocean and is washed up on the beach. There are also industries which dump other industrial waste and pollutants into the river and the ocean. It is devastating to see. Despite the magnitude of the pollution, a woman named Maria from the congregation El Buen Pastor (Good Shepherd) and others from the community are spreading the word regarding the pollution in hopes of it being known more widely, demonstrating what can be done, and hoping to make a change. Caring for God’s creation is their message and their passion. Their faith keeps them moving forward despite the odds against them. They have worked on cleaning the beach, repurposing some of the trash, and making green spaces and gardens, along with educational murals and signs in the community. Maria remembers growing up, when she could swim in the river and enjoy the beach. I cannot help but be humbled when I see all that they are working to accomplish with so much working against them. Their work is a testament to their faith and what they believe they can do with God’s help.

The congregation of Buen Pastor also is very passionate about the environment. They live in an area of severely polluted waters, both in the Río (River) Chillón and the Pacific Coast that the Chillón River flows into. They have worked to beautify their space by planting vegetation, upcycling items that have washed ashore to create fences and art, as well as painting a mural that highlights the importance of taking care of God’s earth with messages for creation care. 

Bishop Mike (Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod), Pastor Ana Maria, and Nancy Solberg during a meet-and-greet when we first arrived in Peru. Along with getting to know each other, we were also working together to plan the Children’s Festival, occurring for the first time since before COVID.

The parish of Buen Pastor performed traditional dances that highlighted the three regions of Peru: Coastal, Andean, and Rain Forest.

2024 LaCrosse Area Synod Peru Delegation: Back Row, Left to Right: Nancy Solberg, Bishop Felix Malpica, Laura Cunliffe, Barbara Oettel, Gregg Attleson, Jennifer Carr, Sharon Pfaff

Front Row, Left to Right: Missy Erickson, Irene TenEyck, Drew Shonka, Lynn Joholski