Pray with Colombia, August 18, 2024
Lectionary Selection: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Prayers for Colombia
God, we thank you for life, for the opportunity to accompany you in your mission for the world that you inaugurated with your son Jesus, and for placing in our hands the task of making peace and building a better world.
We pray today for our people who suffer due to the armed conflict in Colombia, for the displaced families, and for the women who walk with their children looking for a new home and new strength to survive.
We pray for our leaders to have wisdom in the search for peace and reconciliation so that they can effectively lead the dialogue processes that have begun with different armed groups and so that the armed actors become aware of the pain they have caused to the population, to the territory, and everyone’s home, our land.
We pray that churches become spaces for caring for victims and for encounters and reconciliation between actors in the conflict. May our temples and homes become sanctuaries of peace and health for everyone without any discrimination.
We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.
Mission Moment from Colombia
In our country, more than 8 million people have been internally displaced, becoming refugees in their own country, as of the beginning of this year, 2024. Almost 7 million are still waiting for assistance or restoring their rights. This is one of the results of the armed conflict in Colombia, which is often over land possession. The most affected populations are those where the absence of the State has left security in the hands of armed groups. The CEDECOL Peace Commission, our partner through Global Ministries, accompanies victims who are part of these millions of Colombians affected by displacement.
One of the cases that we have accompanied is that of a pastor, whom we will call María. She was from Chocó and, along with her family, had to leave “their land” because a guerrilla group gave them three days to leave or else.
They arrived in the Nelson Mandela neighborhood in the city of Cartagena and settled there, some time later, the paramilitaries arrived, threatening the population. María fell into a deep nervous breakdown; the doctors told her that she was paranoid, and she was also left mute without being able to speak clearly for several weeks. Although they gave her medication she did not improve, however, she held on to her faith in God and began to recover while helping other people, as she was an assistant nurse. Over time, she became a pastor of the church and is currently a peace manager in the community. Thanks to the support of Global Ministries, the CEDECOL Peace Commission can support cases like this to continue building peace in Colombia.
Written by Pablo Moreno, Director of the CEDECOL Peace Commission
Mission Partners in Colombia