Churches become havens in violence-plagued Ciudad Juarez (Feature)

By Nolan Beiner Mar 18, 2010, 3:08 GMT

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Churches in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez have become havens for thousands of people wishing to find peace in a violent city.

Preaching has changed in recent years in the most violent city in Mexico. Last year, Ciudad Juarez, in the state of Chihuahua and across the border from the US city of El Paso, Texas, reported more than 2,600 killings in 2009.

Roman Catholic priests and Protestant pastors alike seek to give encouragement to churchgoers from the pulpit, asking them to strengthen their faith but also to act to save their city.

Across Mexico, 7,000 people were killed last year in incidents linked to organized crime, mostly related to drug trafficking.

Hesiquio Trevizo, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Juarez, said churches have been packed for every service since violence increased two years ago. In many cases, there are not enough pews and people attend mass standing up.

'We have to be part of the process to provoke peace in this city through our own lives and to tell God to look at Ciudad Juarez, we have to start to demand and to share that peace that he has set aside for us,' pastor Rafael Guzman, of the Baptist church Yehova Nissi, in one of the most crime-ridden neighbourhoods of the city, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Prayer vigils, evangelism campaigns, fasting and other actions have increased in and out of churches, as believers wage a 'spiritual war' for the sake of their city, church leaders note.

'At times man is too self-centered, but it is necessary to develop a conscience and to see that amid this violence there are many victims: women, young people, children, many people who are suffering,' pastor Baltazar Gonzalez, leader of the Juarez Evangelical Ministerial Alliance, told dpa.

In Ciudad Juarez, there are around 1,200 Christian churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant. Sermon themes are often drawn from the current situation, in an attempt to give hope to those who listen.

'Evil cannot have the last word, and murder cannot be the ultimate reality,' Trevizo told dpa.

He said church authorities perceive fear among churchgoers, but religious leaders insist on the need to focus on the individual sphere to bring about gradual change.

'With relation to the (political) authorities we have an approach of support but also of demand and criticism. Around everything that is happening there is a perception of major impunity, which makes it look easy to commit a crime. There is disappointment within society,' Trevizo said. 'The church knows how to preach, but also how to press demands.'

Pastor Guzman stressed his belief that 'peace can only be found in Jesus.'

'The authorities are not the answer. We cannot put all our hope and trust in the government. Citizens have to play their part to, and God is the answer,' he said.