Sojourn at a solar-powered seminary

From November 18 to 23, Luz Maria and I were in the Dominican Republic for Foro Venezuela, an event hosted by Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod World Missions at Concordia The Reformer Seminary, Palmar Arriba. Foro means forum and ours was one of a series in which representatives of the LCMS, mission agencies and sister churches in Latin America and the Caribbean talk about what can be done to help proclaim the Gospel in the region.

As a rule, the foros are held in their respective countries to which interested parties from North America travel. For example, I was delighted to discover that this year’s Peru Foro was attended by members of Messiah Lutheran Church of Hays, Kansas, where I was a member while attending Fort Hays State University from 1976 to 1980. Not only did they visit the LCMS mission in Lima, Peru, but in particular the Los Olivos congregation where Luz Maria’s daughter, Yepci Santana, and her children now attend.

In other cases, such as Venezuela, it is a better idea to hold the meeting outside the country in question. LCMS World Missions made a special effort this year to bring all the national pastors of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela (including myself) to the Dominican Republic. In fact, all but one did. We were missing Edgar Coronado, pastor of La Fortaleza Lutheran Church in Maracay, who was unable to obtain a Venezuelan passport. It was noted, however, that because of increasing costs, this may be the last year that such a large group will be invited.

Luz Maria and I last visited the seminary in 2016 for a Latin American deaconess retreat. Since then a third floor has been added to what was a two-story building. The complex includes not only the seminary, but a Christian day school, Mercy Center and a home for the disabled. A local congregation meets in the chapel on Wednesday and Sunday. All the electricity for this complex is generated by an array of solar panels on the roof. The system is much like the one that we just installed, but on a much larger scale.

Reporting on projects

On May 24, the first class graduated from the seminary. Among the eight graduates was Isaac Machado of Venezuela. On November 12, Isaac was ordained and installed as a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Spain in Madrid, the national capital. His parents, Elsy and Juan, were with us on our trip. Elsy, as national coordinator of LeadaChild projects, presented a report on the current state and future plans for projects in Venezuela.

LeadaChild is a Kansas-based organization that supports Christian education projects around the world. It has supported projects in Venezuela since 1996 and our mission in La Caramuca since 2006. Luz Maria and I were able to meet with Dr. Phil Frusti, executive director of LeadaChild.

Luz Maria was responsible for gathering information and presenting a report on the distribution of medicines in Venezuela. This was made possible by the joint efforts of Global Lutheran Outreach, the Confessional Lutheran of Chile, Lutheran World Relief, LCMS Disaster Response and LCMS World Missions. Luz Maria and I were able to meet with Rev. James Tino, executive director of Global Lutheran Outreach.

The foro program also included a shortcourse in ecclesiology taught by Rev. David Preus, a member of the seminary faculty. This was an intensive look at the mystical union between Christ and the church, the public ministry of the church by the external Word (preaching and sacraments) and the marks of the visible church on earth. Pastor Preus is the grandson of Robert Preus (“Getting Into The Theology Of Concord: A Study Of The Book Of Concord”, I have read it several times); grandnephew of J.A.O Preus, former president of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod; son of Rolf Preus,has taught courses in theology for Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Concordia University Wisconsin, and St. Sophia Lutheran Theological Seminary in Ternopil, Ukraine; and a nephew of Klemet Preus, author of “The Fire And The Staff”, also an important book for me.

Friends old and new

During our stay, Luz Maria and I enjoyed the hospitality of Deaconess Caitlin Ramirez, who we first met at the deaconess retreat in 2016, and her husband, Jeancarlos, who is in his second year of study at the seminary, and their son, Abraham. One morning Caitlin hosted a breakfast for deaconesses from four different countries at her home in Santiago de los Caballeros.

I was able to reunite with Regnier John Fritz, who during our 2016 visit, was studying for the ministry. Now he is ordained and chaplain of the day school associated with the seminary. I also met Hector Paneque, a seminarian from Cuba. He explained to me that LCMS missionaries had planted churches in Cuba before Fidel Castro’s revolution. But after Castro seized power, the churches were closed and the missionaries returned to the United States. Missionaries from the Wisconsin Evangelican Lutheran Synod (WELS) were able to make another attempt to evangelize in Cuba during the 1990s. These missionaries were not able to stay permanently, either, but left one church which sent Hector to the seminary. This illustrated to me the advantage of having a seminary strategically located in Latin America: It would be hard to imagine a Cuban being able to attend seminary in the USA under present circumstances!

The Venezuelans who traveled to the Dominican Republic were met by Venezuelans already there. These included Sergio Maita, who is a member of the seminary faculty and pastor of Pan de Vida Lutheran Church in Santo Domingo; Sergio’s wife, Yoxandris, and their children, Irene and Andrés; Sergio’s brother, Arturo, now a missionary in Puerto Rico, along with Ruth Pollex Maita, Arturo’s wife, and their daughter, Mikaela; and Josue Ventura, and his uncle, Carlos Vionnel Ventura, who are both seminarians (Josue is the son and Carlos the brother of Adrian Ventura, once pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Maturin, Venezuela, and now a missionary in Santiago, Chile).

Hope for a new hymnal

Every day opened with Matins and closed with Vespers from a new Spanish Lutheran hymnal expected to be published in its entirety within this next year. Everyone was humming “El Magnificat”. Preachers included Rev. Iban Navarra, the third citizen of the Dominican Republic to be ordained as a confessional Lutheran pastor; Rev. Mark Braden, pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Detroit, Michigan, adjunct faculty member of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and visiting professor in both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic; and Rev. Theodore Krey, regional director for the Latin America and Caribbean region of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and former missionary to Venezuela for eight years.

We returned to Venezuela in time to celebrate the last Sunday of the church year. Now, as we prepare for Christmas, we ask you to consider a years-end donation to Global Lutheran Outreach on behalf of Epiphany Lutheran Mission. Our travel expenses to the Dominican Republic were paid, but now we have to confront an economic situation in Venezuela that is more volatile than ever. We rely on donations from you to continue and extend our service to people who are in both material need and in need of the light of God's love.  

Giving thanks for a successful semester

On July 5, the first Sunday in July this year (and also Independence Day in Venezuela) Sandro Perez requested a special prayer of thanksgiving for the completion of another semester of school. Our summer break has begun and the new semester begins in mid September. Sandro, who suffered a couple of bouts with dengue fever this past year, will start seventh grade. This is an important moment for Sandro, because many children in our community drop out of school after sixth grade (the maximum amount of education required by law).

Angie Perez and Noel Marquina also will enter seventh grade next semester. Sandro and Noel have been confirmed, while Angi is preparing for her confirmation this fall. She and Sandro are not related; Perez is a name like Smith, Jones or Johnson in the United States. The Venezuelan equivalent of "John Smith" would be "Pedro Perez".

We also prayed for the health of Angi s brother, Jimmy Perez, who was ill to the point of coughing up blood, but who now is recuperating and for the nations of the world to peacefully resolve their problems. Amid our everyday concerns, all eyes have been glued to the television for news of -- well, not so much the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death, although the pop star's funeral was enough of a spectacle to merit extensive coverage. People here are more concerned with the civil unrest in Honduras and what it means for all of Latin America.
Later in the week Luz Maria went to town with Sandro and some of the other children receiving scholarships from Children's Christian Concern Society of Topeka, Kansas, to help them buy school uniforms with their scholarship money. Almost all Venezuelan schools, public or private, require school uniforms. The children in our preschool wear a uniform that consists of a red shirt and blue slacks.

On Wednesday, July 15, we had a graduation ceremony for 12 children who will be leaving our preschool and starting first grade next semester. The group included Luz Maria's granddaughter, Oriana Montoya, who will celebrate her seventh birthday in December. Oriana was born just six months before my arrival in Venezuela in 2003, so strange as it seems to say, I have known her nearly all her life.

The other graduates were:

• Kelvis Artahona
• Yerika Galindez
• Kemberling Altuve
• Gianny Roa
• Jeiximar Arellano
• Yorman Poveda
• Maikel Caraballo
• Jhon Piñero
• Ana Garcia
• Gaudis Rangel

Only Gaudis was not able to attend the graduation. The rest were there with their families. I opened by reading from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verses 1-10. Then, since the children learned the Lord's Prayer this semester, I led them in singing a version of it set to music. I liked this song from the first time I heard it. Ruth Witte, wife of Pastor Henry Witte, a former missionary to Venezuela, sang it to a group of vacation Bible school children at Roca de Eternidad (Rock of Ages) Lutheran Church in Quebrada Seca, Monagas.

Padre nuestro, que estás en los cielos,
Santificado, santificado sea Tu nombre.

Venga a nos, Tu reino, Señor, hágase tu santa voluntad.
En el cielo y la tierra, haremos Tu santo voluntad.

Danos hoy, dánoslo Señor, nuestro pan, el pan de cada día,
Y perdona nuestras deudas, así nosotros perdonamos.

No nos dejes caer en tentación; antes bien, líbranos del mal.
No nos dejes caer en tentación, líbranos del mal.

Porque tuyo es el reino, Señor, el poder y toda la gloria,
Por los siglos de los siglos, para siempre, aleluya, amén.

I cannot sing like Ruthie Witte, nor can I play the cuatro (four-stringed guitar). But the children sang from memory and with impressive volume and enthusiasm, which was the main idea.

Later on, Vicar Alonso Franco arrived from Barinas to lead the children in more songs to the accompaniment of a guitar. He was delayed by rain and road construction, but that really did not matter. Alonso has begun teaching the guitar to a group of boys in La Caramuca on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have given up trying to learn guitar chords for the time being so these guys will have the chance to practice with our guitar.

After saying a prayer for the coming semester, for the children passing on to first grade and for those returning to our preschool, the graduation ceremony continued with the awarding of diplomas, and, of course, cake and refreshments.

Homilectics and hermeneutics

From June 29 to July 3, 2009, I attended a seminar in homilectics in Caracas, taught Dr. Douglas Rutt of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Actually, the course combined the study of homilectics (preaching) and hermeneutics (Biblical interpretation) as the two are closely related. It is a course generally taught to second-year students at the Fort Wayne seminary. Our thanks to Dr. Rutt for his willingness to travel to Venezuela to teach this course.

'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee

Every sermon that I preach in La Caramuca is more or less a children's sermon. Most of our flock is under 15 years of age, so I try to keep it simple and direct.

On Transfiguration Sunday, February 1, 2009, I recalled that when I was six or seven years old, I conceived a grand ambition to look directly into the sun. I observed that sunlight was good; it enabled plants to grow, gave warmth and allowed everyone to see where they were going. So could it be so difficult to look directly at the source of all that light and warmth? I decided I would try to look directly at the sun for as long as I could without blinking.

Try as I might, I could not stop blinking while looking at the sun. The end-result was that my eyelids became badly sunburned. It was really very painful, but I thank God now that I did not sustain any permanent injury to my eyes.

My point was that while sunlight brings us life and vision in a physical sense, and is therefore good, it is dangerous to gaze at the sun with unprotected eyes. How much more this is true of God, the Source of all things good, physical and spiritual, Who, as St. James reminds us, is the Father of lights with there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). We, with our human nature darkened by sin, cannot look directly at the splendor of God's pure light and live.Outside of Christ, we can only know the holiness of God as something that burns and destroys if we draw too close.

For that reason, even a reflection of the divine glory terrifies us, as emphasized in Exodus 34:29-35, the Old Testament lesson for Transfiguration Sunday. In the latter verses of chapter 33 and the opening verses of chapter 34, we read that Moses pleaded with the Lord for the opportunity to see the divine glory for himself It is in Exodus 33:20 that God says, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live”. But, as subsequent verses describe it, Moses is allowed to see God's back as he passes by. While this is happening, the Lord also “proclams His name”, that is to say, reveals to Moses something of His true nature and will.

According to Exodus 34, verses 29 to 35, even this indirect vision of God's glory leaves Moses' face literally glowing in a manner that frightens the Israelites when they see it. As I was trying to explain all of this in simple terms for the children, I was reminded of a hymn that used to be a favorite:

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above,
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

First published in 1876, “Immortal, invisible, God only wise” was written by Walter Chalmers Smith, a Scottish evangelical preacher. It is supposed to be inspired mainly by 1 Timothy 1:17, although it also draws on Daniel 7:9 and Psalm 36:6. It is a majestic hymn, set to a beautiful, old Welsh melody.

Nevertheless, I do not like it as much as I once did. Now I recognize that the hymn is very Calvinistic, emphasizing the power and sovereignty of God the Father while saying nothing about the Incarnation, much less the Transfiguration of the Son, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Holy Communion. Even in the Old Testament, even in that very part of Exodus where the Lord says no man may see His face and live, He yet reveals Himself as a God of mercy as well as justice. As Exodus 34:6 reads, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Then, Moses, the Lawgiver, prefigures Christ by interceding for his people, begging the Lord to spare them His wrath (because of their worship of the golden calf).

This is how I explained it to the children: Because of our sin we would not be able to gaze directly at God in His glory, but because of Jesus we can. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw the light of God's holiness and lived, because the light was (quite literally) filtered through the humanity of Jesus. One day we all will do the same. For as St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18:

"Since we have such a hope, we are very bold,not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.And we will, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

After the sermon, Luz Maria taught them a song about the Transfiguration:

“Hagamos aqui tres pabellones,
Uno para Ti, y otro para Moisés”
Dijo San Pedro, “y otro para Elias,
Hasta que vengas en las nubes otra vez.”

Están hablando de lo sucedido
Y el Padre eterno desde los cielos los habló
Y ellos cayeron al suel conmovidos,
Y una luz gloriosa de repente los cubrió.

A rough translation:

"Let us make here three pavilions,
One for You and another for Moses”
Said St. Peter, “and another for Elijah,
Until You return in the clouds.”

They were talking of what was happening,
When the eternal Father spoke to them from heaven,
They fell to the earth shaken,
And a glorious light suddenly covered them.

Meeting with the parents

We plan this year to involve more adults in worship and confirmation classes. With that end in view, I extended just that invitation at our first meeting of the new year with the parents of
our preschool children. We received very positive feedback from one of the mothers. She said she had been worried because her small daughter hardly ever said a word. But now she is always singing one of the songs that we have taught the children, “El amor de Dios es maravilloso”. (“God's love is marvelous”). It's simple song for preschoolers with lots of hand gestures:

El amor de Dios es maravilloso, el amor de Dios es maravilloso,
El amor de Dios es maravilloso, cuan grande es el amor de Dios.

Es tan alto que no puedo ir arriba de el.
Tan profundo que no puedo ir abajo de el.
Es tan ancho que no puedo ir afuero de el.

Cuan grande es el amor de Dios.

The lyrics in English go something like this:

God's love is marvelous, God's love is marvelous,
God's love is marvelous, how grand is God's love.

It's so high that there's nothing above it,
So deep that there's nothing below it,
So wide that there's nothing outside of it.

How grand is God's love.

Vicar Alonso Franco was on hand to introduce himself to the parents. He also taught the children their Bible lesson and led them in song that day. Alonso preached his first sermon at Corpus Christi Lutheran Church on Transfiguration Sunday. He spoke on the Transfiguration story from an entirely different angle: The fact that the Transfiguration followed Jesus' first announcement to his disciples that he would be killed and then raised from the dead. The mountaintop experience prepared the disciples for some very deep valleys.

As St. Peter would write in the epistle for Transfiguration Sunday, 2 Peter 1:16-21, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”

Alonso Franco joins us as vicar

Alonso Franco was installed as vicar at Corpus Christi Lutheran Church on Sunday, January 18, 2009. He will serve in Barinas and La Caramuca for three months before being transferred to Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life) Lutheran Church in Puerto Ordaz.

Alonso led the Service of the Word, Pastor Eduardo Flores preached the sermon, and I led the Service of Holy Communion, with Alonso assisting in the distribution of the sacrament. For the next three months, Alonso will preach at least two Sundays per month and lead Bible studies at Corpus Christi. I will be responsible for reviewing his sermons and Bible studies and lending him whatever counsel and aid he requires.

Alonso's father, Pastor Alcides Franco, served as president of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela for 14 years, and also as pastor of La Santa Trinidad (Holy Trinity) Lutheran Church in Caracas, and La Ascensión ( Ascension) Lutheran Church in San Felix de Guayana before becoming pastor of La Reforma (Reformation) Lutheran Church in the same city.

His older brother, Pastor Jonathan Franco, served for a number of years as leader of the national Lutheran youth organization, and is currently treasurer of the national church. Jonathan also has been chosen to go to Argentina for advanced theological study at Concordia Seminary in Buenos Aires. Of course, this means someone else will have to be selected as national church treasurer, but we cross every bridge when we come to it.

We loaned Alonso a microwave oven to use while he stays in the pastoral residence at Corpus Christi. Luz Maria saved up some money and bought the microwave last year, but about that time the wiring in our kitchen died and we have yet to replace that. So up to now we had not even taken the microwave out of the box. I should add that the preschool has its own, separate kitchen where the wiring still is more or less okay.

Luz Maria has been working very hard on completing her thesis for the fifth-level teaching degree. She will finish by the end of this month. However, since the semester does not end until July, she will have to wait until then to receive her degree.

Christian art workshop a success

Twenty-three people attended the Christian art workshop that Luz Maria organized in Caracas on January 9, 2009, including myself, Luz Maria, and Luz Maria's daughters, Yepci and Charli. The emphasis was on visual art (rather than, say, music) in the form of liturgical vestments and paraments, banners, crosses, crucifixes and the like. The attendees included clergy and laypeople from Barquisimeto, Barinas, Maracay, Caracas, Barcelona, Maturin and San Felix de Guayana.

Yoxandris Marcano of Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Lutheran Church in Maturin gave what was perhaps the best presentation. In fact, it was a well-organized PowerPoint presentation highlighting not only her own work, but that of several other members of Cristo Rey. She had stored presentation on a USB flash drive (which are everywhere in Venezuela now, one gigabyte costs about $20 to $25, two gigabytes about $40 to $50). To show it, we used my laptop computer and a projector borrowed from Elsy de Machado (there was no screen, we just used a blank wall).

This may only mean something to my readers who have been to Maturin on short-term mission trips, but Yoxandris is a niece of Dagnys Marcano, who is now married to Pastor Francisco Cabarcas, and Oveida Marcano, former manager of Tierra de Gracia Lutheran Farm. Oveida recently married, but I do not know her husband's name. Yoxandris' father restored the walls and put a new roof on what is not the pastoral residence at Tierra de Gracia. It is rather exciting to have lived in Venezuela onl five years, yet to see already a new generation of leadership emerging within the Lutheran Church of Venezuela.

Yoxandris made the red stoles that were presented to Eduardo Flores, Sergio Maita and myself upon our ordinations. She has also made for me a purple stole for use during the seasons of Advent and Lent, and paraments for our altar in La Caramuca. Our altar consists of a green plastic table about the size of a card table, but without foldable legs. Nevertheless, it looks fairly impressive when covered with the white altar-cloth bearing the alpha and omega symbols in front.

Others who made presentations at the workshop included:

• Natasha Sanchez of La Fortaleza Lutheran Church in Maracay, banners and vestments;
• Luis Miguel Silva, La Fortaleza, wooden crosses and other items crafted from wood and leather;
• Pastor Luis Moya of La Reforma Lutheran Church, San Felix de Guayana, speaking on behalf of his wife, who makes banners and vestments;
• Yepci Santana, Corpus Christi Lutheran Church of Barinas, banners.

In addition, I presented slides of the wrought-iron version of Luther's seal incorporated into the gates of our mission in La Caramuca and the work that inspired it, the windows of Roca de Eternidad (Rock of Ages) Lutheran Church, Quebrada Seca, Monagas. Like many buildings in rural Venezuela, the church in Quebrada Seca does not have glassed windows, but rather ironwork on the outside of the windows to keep out intruders. And the ironwork in every window in Roca de Eternidad has symbols of the Holy Trinity, Baptism, Creation and other themes.

I also showed a picture of the beautiful Advent wreath made for Corpus Christi by Ludy de Tarrazona (the one that caught on fire).

Everyone was excited by the talent and resources on display. There were four major concerns:

1. That Christian art might give members of Lutheran congregations an avenue to use their God-given talents;
2. That promotion of Christian art might preserve Venezuelan folk arts and crafts, which some fear are in danger of disappearing;
3. That artistic expression through liturgical tradition might help the Lutheran Church of Venezuela develop a distinctive identity in Venezuela and a sense of solidarity with other confessional Lutheran church-bodies throughout the world.
4. That liturgical art might serve to express and teach Lutheran doctrine.

Workshop participants favored the inclusion of formal art courses in the curriculum of the Juan de Frias Theological Institute and the formation of committees to promote Christian art in every congregation.

International perspective on abortion

This week marks a definite regime change in the United States as well as the 36^th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision, which legalized abortion on demand. Exit George W. Bush, whose record shows him to have been the most pro-life President so far, and enter Barack Obama, who at the very least promises to be the most pro-abortion President ever.

Here is an on-line chart which shows the status of abortion laws in nearly every country in the world as of 2007. You may notice that while abortion on demand tends to be the rule in the United States and Europe, Latin America is something of a mixed bag. Here in Venezuela, abortion is only legal in situations where the life of the prospective mother might be endangered by bringing the baby to term. Neighboring Colombia is more permissive in regard to abortion than Venezuela (although I am told pious, practicing Roman Catholics are more common there), but more restrictive than the United States. Direct abortion is illegal under any circumstances in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Chile, although the Chilean government in 2006 authorized the sale of the abortifacient "morning-after" birth control pill.

This Sunday Bolivians will vote on a new constitution that, if ratified, would throw open the door to elective abortion. Please pray for Bolivia and also for other nations that are under pressure to change pro-life stands.

Please pray also for the United States and other nations that, hardened in sin, refuse to recognize the sanctity of human life and marriage, and the rights of the unborn, that they may repent before judgment falls.