The Rev. David and Alicia Brondos are ELCA missionaries in Mexico. David is a professor at the Theological Community of Mexico, an ecumenical consortium of seminaries in Mexico City, which includes Augsburg Lutheran Seminary.  His work involves training pastors and leaders for churches throughout Mexico.  Alicia teaches English in Mexico City. To support the Brondos, or another of the ELCA’s nearly 250 missionaries, go to www.elca.org/missionarysponsorship.

The new liturgy includes new music.

In addition to my teaching activities at the Theological Community and Lutheran Seminary, since May I have been helping out at one of the Lutheran churches here in Mexico City, San Pedro, working with the congregation in the renewal of its worship services. One of our seminary students, Benjamín Quezada, is from San Pedro, and after taking a liturgy course with me at the seminary, Benjamín invited the liturgy class to do a special service at San Pedro in May. The congregation liked the service so well that they expressed interest in renewing their entire service, since they had been using the same liturgy for over 20 years.

Based on some of the liturgies I had helped develop at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd here in Mexico City, we developed four new liturgies for San Pedro, and the congregation has been learning them over the past five months. This has included some new texts for Confession and Absolution and for the creeds, as well as liturgical music. I have also worked with them in teaching them new hymns.

In August, they also decided to train new liturgical assistants and asked me to give a short training course over a few Sundays. Fifteen members of the congregation attended the course — the problem now is how to give all 15 a chance to assist with the liturgy!

Fortunately, the congregation already had some good musicians and a good worship team. They have worked hard together with their pastor, the Rev. Esther León, and the changes have been very well-received.