Rev. Elisabeth Sinclair
Aug 29, 2022
Dear Christ Church,
This past week, Padre German and I attended the monthly diocesan clericus, which gathers together the Anglican clergy for continuing education, decision-making, prayer, etc. A group called "Eje de Intervencion en Iglesias y Comunidades de Fe," consisting of an ecumenical group of volunteers and family members of "the disappeared," shared with us the significant and daily issue affecting untold numbers of Mexican families and communities. Over 100,000 people are currently formally registered as "missing" in Mexico, which means there could be thousands of others besides. The family members shared with us that the process of looking for their loved ones is emotionally, financially, and spiritually exhausting. Many times, they have other children to raise and jobs to maintain, which is critically difficult when they are often left alone (by government agencies and the general public) to also search for their family members, print and distribute flyers, etc.
They have often been blamed by governmental agencies for their loved ones' disappearance, and they have sometimes been told by church leaders that God is using their suffering to build their character, discipline them, or test them. You can imagine how devastating and spiritually painful and confusing this teaching has been for them.
So, the ecumenical group mentioned above, is encouraging churches to instead come alongside these families to support them in whatever ways we can. Some suggestions include writing them encouragement notes, bringing sandwiches to their protests and demonstrations, displaying missing loved ones' flyers on our bulletin boards, paying for the photo and informational flyers, standing beside them at protests and demonstrations, etc.
This coming Tuesday, August 30th, is a day when the whole country recognizes the issue of disappeared people in Mexico. There will be a gathering to support these families at 11:00 a.m. at the Monumento a la Madre, Avenida Insurgentes Sur, Calz. Manuel Villalongin, Cuauhtemoc, 06500. You're invited to make sandwiches on Monday afternoon at 4:30 in the kitchen, &/or attend the demonstration at the monument at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Let's plan to wear sun hats as a way to find each other easily. You may also drop off an encouragement note/prayer/Scripture passage (preferably in Spanish) at church on Sunday.
Thank you for caring for these brokenhearted families through your love, prayer, advocacy, and presence.
Sincerely,
Rev. Elisabeth