The Fragile Church

Greetings friends, family, supporters!

There is no snow on the ground here, it is summer. Street performers, like the one in this photo, (often teenagers and children off from their classes for summer vacation), are out in full force, trying to earn a little something. But this juggler dropped his bowling pins, unfortunately, a few seconds after this picture was snapped by a visiting friend a few weeks ago.

This image is perhaps a helpful one when talking about serving in the church. It can often feel like a juggling act between ministry needs, priorities, budgets, and the ever-changing realities of society. While our ELCIC is a changing and transitioning church, it is ILEP (the Iglesia Luterana Evangelica Peruana) or the Lutheran Church in Peru where I witness, more profoundly, the juggling act between transitions, changing finances, discussions of priorities and sustainability, its needs and those of its congregations, as well as managing the relationships with partner and companion churches, synods and congregations. In its juggling act, we recognize that ILEP is a fragile church. 

Pictured with Peggy Hahn, Assistant to the Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, during a recent mission exposure trip to Peru. TLGC is a partner synod with ILEP!

When ILEP's President, Pastor Armando Capcha, addresses a group of visitors to Peru,  he  first describes his church with these first words: we are a fragile church. He goes on to describe ILEP's many faces: we are a church of youth, children, and women; our congregations are in the periphery of Lima and in the poorest provinces; we work with the humble and vulnerable; we are a social justice church; we have 13 congregations, 10 in Lima, 3 in provinces, with 7 communities of faith; we have few pastors; we do not have our own funding to support the ministries of our church; but work together in cooperation, collaboration, and in companion relationships churches from Germany, Canada, and the United States. We are a fragile church.

When I receive a gift from family in Canada, the package inevitably reads "Fragile-Handle with Care". Good thing it is the same word in Spanish! The dictionary describes something fragile as easily broken, frail, or britle. But we need to take care of this definition, because fragile does not mean weak. Indeed, in my two years and two months here, amid changes in church polity (a consitutional change to accept a lay person as President of ILEP, and another change to separate the institutional functions of the President and National Church Council from that of the Pastoral Ministry), interpersonal conflicts, economic crises in the Northern Hemisphere that drastically altered ILEP's support and subsequent budgets, the election of a new President and church council, as well as a change in office locations, and the position of the office secretary, two pastors now on leaves of absences since mid-2010, and another missionary who left having served his term, ILEP has demonstrated that it is not weak. Rather, there is a strength and resilience that is impressive and can serve as a model for us in the global north. Fragile, not weak.

"Kindred" with Youth Encounter, visited San Juan Camino de Esperanza, my congregation. One of our missions is an outreach to neighbourhood children. ILEP is a church of children, youth and mothers as evidenced by our work in the community to help children with their homework, life skills, and faith in Christ, as well as our women's program to help them acquire sewing skills to help in finding consistent employment.

During the course of the last two weeks, there have been many meetings and consultations to discuss the future of the church, to resolve issues of sustainability, how to fill pastoral vacancies, and plan for several workshops supported by the LWF (Lutheran World Federation) to equip and strengthened the church. ILEP's strategic plan is applaudable but the challenges are great. Bishop's offices and congregations who have experienced pastoral vacancies understand this first challenge. But unlike back home, there are no retired pastors to help with interim ministries or fill in the vacancies. The first Peruvian pastors just last year celebrated their 10th Anniversary of their Ordinations. So, there are 7 local pastors and four missionaries serving all of the congregations of ILEP. The students who have been preparing to graduate could be ordained except that there are no funds to pay for new pastors, so they are working in other jobs. The needs are great, the resources few. We are a fragile church.

But ILEP is also a strong and resilient church, creative and hope-filled, too. Our ELCIC presence seems all the more necessary in these delicate times. Not only to assume a greater pastoral role in an interim position at another congregation (which will begin in March), but also to accompany and journey alongside the leaders and members of ILEP, to work together through these critical challenges. We missionaries do not only provide pastoral ministry, it is the support, listening, caring, conversation, reflecting, pastoral care and teaching that is and has been an integral part of the ELCIC's role and accompaniment of ILEP. We are here to assist and accompany the church in finding its own voice, its own Lutheran identity, in the midst of changing, challenging, and fragile times. We promote understanding and appreciation between our cultures, languages, churches, and Lutheran identities. We are building bridges that cross these boundaries in what is a joyous interchange of cultures, resources, ideas, and faith. Together we build up the body of Christ, not only in Peru but also to and with our sending churches.

President Pastor Armando Capcha receeives the gift of a guitar from Normandale Lutheran Chruch in Edina, Minnesota, as presented by Lorna Wolthoff the accompanist of the Youth Mission Choir, during their visit in December 2010.

An ILEP member last month told a visiting friend to our congregation that we are small in number but big in heart. This could not be MORE true! While a fragile church, Lutherans here are, indeed, big in heart as can be attested to by visitors to ILEP, in the hospitality and welcome, how present people are in these visits, the patient caring and in their fervent hope and trust in our God! Despite the trying times, we can learn something from Lutheran Peruvians who continue to be strong, persistent, trusting, patient and hopeful amist continuing changes, struggles, transitions and the fragility of their church. They do not give up, instead, grow in trust and faithfulness, believing this is God's call, God's process, God's church. And our God is a God of faithfulness, who knows the plans he has for each of us...

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you in exile."

Jeremiah 29: 11-14

Our hope is in the Lord, a message strongly lived by those I serve and one in which we can all learn and grown, as we journey in this season of Epiphany, of revelation. We may be a fragile church, a fragile people of God, but this simply means "handle with care", recognizing that it is God who continues to sustain, lead, guide, and empower her church through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the grace and love of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

In the peace, grace, and joy of the Lord,


Pastora Fran Schmidt.