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Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Chile
The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile (IELCH) can trace
its beginnings to the 1860s when the first German Lutherans immigrate to Chile and
colonized the southern part of the country. Until 1925, the Chilean constitution did not
allow the formation of non-Roman Catholic churches. With a new constitution that provided
for a separation of church and state, Lutheran congregations formed an association that
eventually became the IELCH.
During the 1960s the church began work in Spanish with the
formation of new congregations. In the early 1970s, during the government of President
Salvador Allende, the IELCH began to open mission communities among the society's
marginalized and socio-economically oppressed. In September 1973 a military coup overthrew
the constitutional government and Chile entered an 18-year period of military dictatorship
and civil oppression. Extensive solidarity work by the church's leadership among and on
behalf of those persecuted and executed by the military government led to the withdrawal
of a large segment of the church's membership, who formed a separate Lutheran Church in
Chile. The two churches now have some cooperative work.
The IELCH has 3,000 members in 13
congregations extending from Santiago to Punta Arenas, cared for by thirteen pastors. The IELCH is engaged in
solidarity work and considers itself called to minister among society's poor and
oppressed. The IELCH continues to be very active in the defense of human rights and
serving the basic needs of people who are the "residual" product of the present
economic system. These ministries are carried out mainly through the participation in
FASIC (for human rights) and the Oficina de Diaconia and the work done by EPES.
The mission of Education Popular de Salud (EPES) is
to promote health education which is based on the participation of people in local
communities. It understands that health is not a privilege, but a right which people have.
It uses methods which are open, engaging ordinary people so that they claim their own
rights and work cooperatively for their own good and the good of the community.
EPES has trained Health Promoters who have become
community developers. Health is not understood only from a medical or clinical
perspective, but in the context of social, political and economic conditions. Health
promoters have been very active in the movement for justice for landless people who form
the many "poblaciones" (Shanty Towns) in the city of Santiago. Most of the
health promoters are women, and the program has empowered them to take control of their
own lives, often including becoming better educated.
The EPES program has been so successful that it is being
copied in other parts of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. The team is working hard
on systematizing their experience so that it can be shared with others who have requested
assistance in developing Primary Health Care programs.
Another outreach program of the IELCH is in the community
of San Bernardino. A center provides before school and after school educational programs
and a nutritional program for poor children in the community. The program has been
supported by Bread for the World and other sponsors.
The IELCH is currently in the midst of a
10-year period dedicated to mission growth through the strengthening of the
congregations, the training of leadership, and the development of new
worshipping communities. Diaconic work also continues to be a strong
emphasis with its projects dealing with Popular Health Education (EPES),
Community Centers, Day Care Ministries, Domestic Violence Outreach and
pastoral accompaniment of those living with AIDS.
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