Pastoral Vacancies in Caracas

The need to prepare pastoral candidates is becoming particularly acute in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela and home to over five million people. Today, October 9th, pastor Francisco Cabarcas preached his last sermon as pastor of La Paz Lutheran Church located in Petare the huge half million people slum that covers the hills in the Western part of the Caracas metropolitan area. Pastor Francisco, well loved by all his members and by the children in the congregation’s pre-school has accepted a call to serve as the school chaplain of Cristo Rey Lutheran School in Maturín, 510 kilometers to the East of Caracas where his expectant wife, Dagnis, works as secretary. This morning pastor Francisco preached to a full church – giving thanks to the Lord for giving him the opportunity to serve among God’s people in Petare. The children of the Sunday School prepared a little program to show their appreciation to pastor Francisco and the ladies prepared a lunch for all present. Until the congregation is able to find a new pastor, the pastoral duties of La Paz congregation will be shared by a number of people who have participated in the Juan de Frías program of theological education in Caracas.

With pastor Francisco leaving for Maturín, the only remaining ordained pastor in Caracas will be pastor Waldemar Cifuentes of El Salvador Congregation in the neighborhood of Colinas de Bello Monte. However, pastor Cifuentes has announced that he is accepting a call to a new Lutheran congregation in Estado Lara in Western Venezuela. This will leave the three plus Lutheran Congregations in Caracas without an ordained pastor. The three congregations in question are (1) El Salvador, (2) La Santa Trinidad and (3) La Paz. A fourth congregation, El Mesías exists in sort of limbo, since its members have not decided whether the wish to continue as part of the Lutheran Church in Venezuela or whether to join the church body of the former president of the ILV, deposed last year because of serious administrative irregularities.