From March 4 to March 11 a group of parishioners from All Saints’ Anglican Church in Waterloo, Ontario travelled to El Salvador to attend Foundation Cristosal Global School and immerse themselves in the Salvadorian culture.

The purpose of the mission trip was to educate the participants about democracy and human rights in the Salvadorian context, the history of the church in the public square and how church participation in the public square can be activated back home in Canada.

In the midst of the trip, an opportunity presented itself for the group to put into action their learning and participate in the International Women’s Day march in San Salvador. All Saints’ joined approximately 5000 people in what can only be described as one of the liveliest marches the group participants have ever attended.

The march went down Alameda Franklin Delano Roosevelt and ended at Monumento al Divino Salvador del
Mundo (The monument for Christ, Saviour of the World). It was here that speakers told stories and shared human rights violations of women in El Salvador.

For instance, 17 women have been incarcerated for the violation of El Salvador abortion law. Abortion is strictly prohibited in El Salvador and carries a life sentence. These 17 women did not have abortions
though, they had miscarriages, and one had a stillbirth. The courts, however, had found them guilty of not doing enough to protect their unborn children and considered the miscarriages and stillbirth as abortions. Many of these women have been imprisoned for over a decade with another 20 years on their sentence remaining.

All Saints’ spent time with partner communities in experiential learning moments of democracy in action. Rather than have an NGO, like Cristosal, dictate to a community their needs, Cristosal works with the communities to empower them in their local environment. Partnerships in this context look much different, but they do respect the autonomy of the communities and create more holistic relationships of mutual transformation.

The time spent in El Salvador was formative and fruitful for All Saints’. The country, in many ways, is scripture stories come to life.

For the missionaries, it was a walk to Emmaus. During our time with the people of El Salvador, we were mutually transformed. It is the hope of All Saints that this transformation begun in many miles from home will find life in the greater community as we look to serve and witness to Jesus Christ in Waterloo and around the world.