El Salvador Partners

The CBC El Salvador Partners Mission Group, aka "Salvador Partners,"  facilitates ongoing relationships between members and friends of CBC and persons, congregations, and groups in El Salvador with the intention of mutual learning and sharing of fellowship, resources, and experiences. For over 20 years, we have been committed to accompanying one another and our Salvadoran partners in our journeys to build a just and sustainable society.

We meet monthly (except during summertime) and maintain an active blog at www.salvadorpartners.blogspot.com where you will find a wealth of information about us including:

• meeting dates and announcements about upcoming topics
• reports and reflections on current events in El Salvador
• news and photos from Shekina and Shalom, our partner congregations in El Salvador
• history and timeline of our relationships with Salvadoran communities and friends
• links to helpful resources

Click on titles of articles in the list below to read recent blog entries.

We regularly organize groups of Central Baptist folks and others in our community who travel to El Salvador on delegations that serve to enrich our spiritual life and nurture our justice commitments. CBC has sent more than 100 delegates to El Salvador for numerous kinds of experiences over a period of more than two decades.  We also host visitors from El Salvador, both personal friends and representatives from various Salvadoran organizations, as often as possible.  

Our 2007 CBC Youth Delegation of seven youth and five adults spent a week in El Salvador in June.  Read reports and see photos from their visits by clicking here. The youth also set up a blog to record some of their year-long program of learning activities and fundraising efforts at www.youthdelegation.blogspot.com. This most recent youth delegation builds on the foundation of our first youth-focused delegation in 2004 and represents a new era in our history when a new generation of young people receives the legacy of our justice commitments and make them their own.

We continue to find that these delegations and visits help us:

• grow in self-awareness as North Americans living in a global community
• learn about the history and current reality of politics, economics, and faith in El Salvador
• witness and reflect on the intersection of spirituality and justice as it is lived out in the context of Liberation Theology in Central American communities
• deepen our personal relationships with Shekina and Shalom, our partner congregations
• prepare to work together for justice and peace in our world and in our communities

Our commitments began in the early 1980's at the time of the war in El Salvador when CBC became an official Sanctuary Church in order to offer safe haven for a number of Salvadoran refugees.  Since that time, we have participated in emergency rebuilding efforts after hurricanes and floods, worked on building a worship space in Santa Elena, represented Philadelphia area congregations with our sister city program in Las Anonas, provided financial support for many projects, supported work at the Baptist Seminary in Santa Ana, participated in official anniversary events honoring Archbishop Oscar Romero and others, worked as official observers during elections, and established enduring personal friendships with our partner congregations. 

In addition, we regularly host Salvadoran guests and friends. On two occasions in the past, we have provided extended housing and hospitality to Salvadoran students enrolled in graduate programs in our area. Pastors from our partner churches in Santa Elena, Santa Ana, and Atiquizaya have visited our congregation, as well as delegations of members of those churches.

For more information, see our complete timeline of activities from 1984 to the present.