Year 6, Vol.1: Church Meeting

The first Church Meeting was organized by Habitat for Humanity Argentina (HPHA) and held in Villa Maristas, Luján during March the 29th and 30th with a wonderful turnout.

The aim of the meeting was to let everyone know the work and mission of HPHA, as well as to explore new possibilities in which churches and HPHA could work together.

23 members of different Christian denominations participated and contributed to a warm, fraternal atmosphere. The representatives of the churches - Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants and member of the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Adventist Church and the National Baptist Convention- came from Mendoza, Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires.

The union of all those present was moving. There was no mention of various differences or denominations, but one common spirit to adhere to the proposal of HPHA of highlighting the similarities between each other and showing the strong social commitment that everybody had in common.

The meeting started on Saturday afternoon with some songs of praise. After that a creative game provided the opportunity for participants to get to know each other and the work of each Church and community.

The first day was taken up by workshops, including a thorough overview of HPHA’s mission and work. During the afternoon, certain proposals were presented whereby HPHA invited the Churches to get involved with their work. This inspired an animated discussion where all were able to voice their opinions about the possible ways in which –from churches as well as from each individual- they could get involved in HPHA’s mission.

To end the day, an informal “sing-along” was led by a Christian Folklore group. Many were clearly anxious for Sunday in order to experience the construction first hand!

Sunday got started with songs and a devotional. After that, every participant had the chance to show what they had learned the day before by participating in a construction brigade in the Farías Valderrama family. In the construction place, the House Leaders and other volunteers assigned the activities each one had to do and handed the tools and security elements to everyone. The participants started working with lots of enthusiasm: in each of them you could see the great sense of satisfaction of being able to put their faith in action. Thanks to the hard work of this brigade, a lot of progress was made in the construction of the house of this family in need.

The meeting ended with a delicious and simple meal. After which came the evaluation by each participant, and the thanks and acknowledgements: assistance certificates and souvenirs were handed out. A special appreciation was voiced by participants of the respect and care shown to volunteers throughout, and in particular relating to security on the worksite. Finally, and visibly moved, the homeowners Juan and Eva, thanked everyone for their help and asked Father Daniel Echeverría –one of the participants of the meeting- to bless their new home. Everyone joined in this prayer led by a Catholic priest, and then followed the lead of an Evangelical pastor in a memorable and spontaneous song.