December 2024 Newsletter – And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour . . . Monica has bloomed, thanks to you The young woman at the podium is Monica. She came to COAR in early 2022. She arrived […]
Holy Week Rituals
Palm Sunday & Holy Thursday: The Last Supper Learning * Service * Humility * Compassion El Salvador is most famous for its Good Friday re-enactments of Jesus’ crucifixion, “the Living Stations of the Cross”. However, all of Holy Week is also celebrated. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when crowds threw palms down on the […]
Who The Children Say That They Are
Gathered from various activities this past year, these are the way that the COAR children and teens see themselves. This is their culture, these are their triumphs and their goals. SUCCESSES OF 2023 Arrayed on the left side, photos labeled: ACTIVITIES TRAINING RECREATION SPIRITUALITY FÁTIMA (our interna with Down syndrome who brings out the tenderness in […]
It’s a Fiesta!
(Photo credit: Nuestra Señora del Pilar parish Facebook page) In every little town in El Salvador (there are 262 of them!), you’ll find, once a year, the fiestas patronales of that town. Originating as a celebration of the feast day of the town’s patron saint, the fiestas are a cross between a county fair, a […]
More from Susan
Introducing Susan, here Fresh Chicken The first time I heard about El Salvador, a friend of mine in grad school was telling me about a mission trip he’d taken with the Newman Center at our university. I’m sure he’s told me a hundred different things about his trip over the years, but what I remember […]
Kind of New! Programs Director Susan Barnish
Susan joined COAR in January 2020 and we’ve been meaning to officially introduce her ever since. For some reason (perhaps a global pandemic?), we didn’t quite get to it when she first came. But our inside story, about COAR’s transitional program, had us thinking about transition in other areas, so we decided this was a […]
Fall Festivals 2022
Oops! We goofed! If you’re looking for the Community Film School Finale page, click here! Watch (58sec) as COAR and our town and parish celebrate September 15th, El Salvador’s Independence Day, and October 12th, the Feast of Our Lady of the Pilar (Nuestra Señora del Pilar). https://youtu.be/lVE_g_FhZsU The band plays “Mary the white dove”:It is […]
Summer Fun 2022
The COAR teens recite prayers and wishes for the World Day of Peace. Archbishop Escobar watches (under that big yellow arrow). Monica is baptized, surrounded by her COAR family Cleaning: Monica returns to daily (gloriously ordinary, lifegiving, and safe) life St. Romero’s Birthday celebrated at the school – Aug. 15th
The Living Stations of the Cross
A Tradition Throughout Latin America Celebrated at COAR with Vitality! Below left, Carlos Alberto at the Good Friday meditation display. Below right, with sister Karla Liliana at Raúl’s 40-day remembrance Mass. The “empty tomb” at the end of the Easter celebration, “He is not here, He is risen.” These traditions heal and give hope.
St. Romero Day, March 24th
Celebrated at COAR’s Prayer Service and at the COAR Children’s Village Fr. Dragga (left), pastor at Church of the Resurrection, Solon, OH, presides over our prayer service while our pastor, Fr. Vladimir Rosales (right), presides over the mass in Zaragoza, El Salvador. Fr. Steve Vellenga, Director of the Cleveland Latin American Mission Team, who served […]