History of St. David’s Companionships in Guatemala

Starting in 1960, the people of Guatemala suffered through a 36-year civil war during which an estimated 200,000 people, many of whom were members of indigenous groups, were killed or “disappeared.” In 1996, after a peace agreement was signed, Bishops Allen Bartlett of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and Armando Guerra of the Episcopal Diocese of Guatemala agreed to enter into a Companion Diocese relationship which was approved at that year’s conventions of both dioceses.

St. David’s involvement in Guatemala began in 1999 when The Rev. Rudy Moore visited Guatemala along with four parishioners. They met with Bishop Guerra at the offices of the Diocese in Guatemala City and then made exploratory visits to Santiago de Jerusalén (St. James the Less) in Chimaltenango and Santa Cruz del Monte Calvario (Holy Cross of Mount Calvary) in Santa Cruz Balanyá. Both churches were under the leadership of Padre Lucas Choc, a member of the Kakchikel group of Maya.

The following year, The Rev. Carolyn Tuttle and six parishioners visited Padre Lucas and the congregations of both churches to continue learning about each other, listening to our Guatemalan companions tell us of their hopes and needs, and figuring out the parameters of our partnership. Over the years, we have acquired two additional partner churches: San Andrés (St. Andrew’s) in San Andrés Itzapa and San Bartolomé in Chucalibal, but our mission has remained the same:

St. David’s Guatemala Committee Mission Statement

Our mission is to share our lives and learn from our companions in ministry through our visits to our partner congregations and theirs to us. We will strive for true mutuality as we support each other through prayer, material resources, and hands-on assistance, being always mindful of our role as brothers and sisters in Christ.

In 2012, Bishop Guerra honored five members of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania for their contributions to the life of the Diocese of Guatemala through their partnerships with Episcopal churches in Guatemala. Among them were two from St. David’s: The Rev. W. Frank Allen was made an honorary Canon for Mission, and Carol Kangas received the Bishop’s Cross.

San Jerusalen

The church building in Chimaltenango was actually a garage. It was constructed of cinderblocks with a concrete floor and a tin roof. Seating during church services was on wooden benches that could be quickly moved against the walls for fellowship afterwards. The vision of the congregation was to add a second story for dedicated space for fellowship and meetings. They drew up plans and a budget, and little by little over a period of about three years, St. David’s raised enough money to fund this construction, which was completed in 2004.

Chimaltenango Church Dedication Plaque translation:

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

With sincere gratitude to St. David’s Episcopal Church, Wayne, PA for their contributions for the construction of the Episcopal Church of Santiago de Jerusalén. Episcopal Church of Guatemala

The Right Reverend Bishop Armando Guerra

Venerable Lucas Choc

Chimaltenango, June 6, 2004

After the death of Padre Lucas, Miguel Salanic came to Santiago as a lay minister in 2008, and St. David’s parishioners Cheri McCaslin and Carol Kangas represented St. David’s at his ordination to the priesthood in 2009. In addition to his rectorship at Santiago, Padre Miguel also was named rector at the Church of San Andrés in the nearby town of San Andrés Itzapa.

Soon after Padre Miguel’s arrival, St. David’s parishioner Austin Hepburn organized a men’s work trip to paint the inside of the church. While they were working, they noticed that the sturdy bell tower was empty. They remembered that the bell that had hung in the old St. David’s Chapel (which originally came from an engine on the Pennsylvania Railroad), was no longer being used, and they decided to have it refurbished and shipped to Chimaltenango to be installed in the bell tower. It was first rung on Easter Sunday, 2009.

Inspired by some of St. David’s outreach projects in the Philadelphia area, both Padre Miguel and his wife Roselia have initiated partnerships with communities outside Chimaltenango. During a visit to St. David’s in 2016, Roselia spent time with Leslie Roy to learn about the Days for Girls menstrual care kit. As president of the diocesan women’s group, Roselia has given presentations on Days for Girls and organized training for women and girls to make and distribute the kits. Members of the Siloe youth group at Santiago and San Andres have traveled around the country, organizing activities and retreats with other youths. This led to contacts between Padre Miguel and community leaders in the town of Morelia, whose water source was destroyed by the eruption of the Fuego volcano in 2018. During the seventh Guatemala summer work trip in 2019, 24 youth and adult participants helped the community members dig a trench and install pipes for a wastewater drainage system.

After the work was finished, they all attended a youth retreat on the shores of Lake Atitlán that was organized by the Siloe youth group. One of the activities was separate Days for Girls presentations to female and male attendees, followed by a distribution of kits for the girls.

Youth Work Trips With Habitat For Humanity

Between 2006 and 2012, there were four summer work trips, comprised of members of the St. David’s youth group and adult chaperones, to work with Habitat for Humanity in various locations in the Department (State) of Chimaltenango. The St. David’s participants were divided into four or five small groups to spend four and a half days helping families with construction on houses that would eventually be given to the families. These trips always included visits to one of our partner churches for Sunday services and fellowship with the congregations, followed by a bit of tourism.

Several times, the Habitat work trips coincided with visits by small groups of St. David’s parishioners who had a separate itinerary that included some tourism along with visits to the Bishop at the Cathedral and our partner parishes.

SANTA CRUZ del MONTE CALVARIO

The Church of Santa Cruz in the town of Santa Cruz Balanyá was started by Padre Lucas in the late 1990’s with people of the Kakchikel group of the Maya. Most of them speak Spanish, but many are more comfortable in their native tongue, so the sermons were usually preached in both Spanish and Kakchikel. After Padre Lucas died, Padre Tomas Calel served as rector here from 2006 to 2008, when his son Tomas, Jr., then a seminarian, became the minister.

In 2013, The Rev. Matt Holcombe, associate rector for outreach, and two St. David’s parishioners were among the presenters at Tomas Calel, Jr.’s ordination to the priesthood. From the beginning, the congregation gathered for services in the homes of parishioners or in the rented home of the rector. St. David’s financed the purchase of a piece of land on the outskirts of town, and the construction of a new church was begun in March 2014.

In June of that year, the fifth Guatemala work trip brought 44 youth and adult members of St. David’s to help prepare and pour the cement floor of this building. Before mixing and pouring the cement, each group member placed a small stone brought from home in the leveled dirt of the subfloor. In this way, we left a permanent remembrance of the people who came from St. David’s to work together with our Guatemalan companions on the foundation of their lovely church.

They also worked in small groups assisting Dr. Mike Damiano at a medical mission at the clinic in the center of town.

In 2016, the sixth summer work trip included 24 St. David’s parishioners who helped construct a cement patio and steps at the front of the church. In July 2017, The Rev. W. Frank Allen and parishioners Cheri McCaslin, Kipp Gearhart, Joe Rollins, and Carol Kangas represented St. David’s at the consecration of this beautiful church.

Church Dedication Plaque Translation: In the Name of the Father And the Son and the Holy Spirit

With sincere gratitude to our Companion parish St. David’s Church in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

For your contributions to the construction of this temple of Santa Cruz del Monte Calvario in Balanyá (2014-2017) The Right Reverend Armando P. Guerra Soria, D.D. The Reverend Father Tomás Calel Calel

The Vestry

Guatemala, July 30, 2017

San Bartolom

San Bartolomé is in the small town of Chucalibal (pop. 3,000). The members of the congregation all belong to the Kiché group of the Maya. Since not all of them speak Spanish, conversations often involve translating from Kiché to Spanish to English and back again. There is a spring on the church property, and St. David’s provided funds to pump water uphill into the parish house, where it is stored in a tank. In 2013, parishioner Brady O’Mara raised funds to build a washhouse so that people wouldn’t have to go down the hill to wash their clothes in the spring. Also included in this construction were two restrooms that replaced an outhouse. The water is gravity-fed from the storage tank, and the washhouse is available to everyone in the community as an outreach project of the church. Padre Tomas Calel, Sr. has been the rector here since 2008. After the Sunday services, there’s usually a meal for everyone, and it used to be cooked over an open fire in a small, thatched hut outside the church. St. David’s provided funding to construct a cement kitchen building, and the members of the sixth Guatemala work trip dug and prepared the foundation for this building.

San Andrés Itzapa is a suburb of Chimaltenango and the home of the congregation of San Andrés. It is a daughter church of Santiago de Jerusalen, and the two congregations have many shared activities. Services are held in a house whose rent is paid by our companions in ministry at St. John’s Church in Glen Mills, PA. The group and Dr. Mike Damiano worked on a medical mission here.

Our Companions Visit Us

Since the early 2000’s, we have been visited by Padre Lucas Choc, Bishop Armando Guerra, Padre Miguel Salanic, Bishop Silvestre Romero, members of their families, and several parishioners. Some of these visits have coincided with our diocesan convention, and Padre Lucas, Bishop Guerra, and Bishop Romero have all had the opportunity to speak at convention. These visits also have included church services and fellowship activities along with local sightseeing.