ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 16, 2007
Memorial April 23 for Margarita Martinez, Bishop of ELCA Caribbean Synod
07-055-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A memorial service for the Rev. Margarita
Martinez, the late bishop of the Caribbean Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will be held April
23 in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Martinez died March 11 of cancer in
Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She was 59.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, will
preach at the service, and the Rev. Francisco L. Sosa, interim
bishop of the ELCA Caribbean Synod, will preside. The service
will be held at Christ of the Reconciliation Catholic Church,
Dorado. Hundreds of members from across the ELCA, including some
of the 65 synod bishops of the church and staff of the ELCA
churchwide organization, are expected to attend the memorial.
The ELCA Caribbean Synod elected Martinez to a six-year term
as bishop in 2001. The synod has 6,558 baptized members in 34
congregations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Two funeral services for Martinez were held March 13-14 at
Resurrection Lutheran Church, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
"As is so often the case, the faith embodied and
communicated at a funeral liturgy is a source of consolation,"
said the Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop of the ELCA New England
Synod, Worcester, Mass.
"The funeral service for Margarita was filled with amazing
music, faithful preaching, the sharing of the Eucharist, and
attended by hundreds of people who loved Margarita and are rooted
in the faith that she so powerfully shared with all of us," said
Payne. "It was an honor and a precious time being there, and
especially assisting as pallbearer to escort Margarita out of the
church, sung on her way by the incredible synod choir who filled
the sanctuary with hymns that left no doubt concerning the
resurrection of those who live in Jesus Christ," she said.
"Still, the sadness is so painful and deep. Margarita's
death leaves a huge hole in so many places. Each place she
served, each person she touched, each one has an indelible memory
of the inspiring, uncomplaining, prayer-filled, joyful woman who
gave so much love in everything that she did," said Payne. "The
ELCA is a poorer place without Margarita, who was a gentle
pioneer and taught us all important lessons about God's great
love, especially for those who live and suffer on the margins,"
she said.
At the end of the funeral, "the women bishops and clergy
women from the (ELCA) churchwide (office) removed the pall from
the casket and escorted Margarita's mortal remains to the door of
the church, serving as pallbearers as they carried the casket and
placed it in the waiting hearse," said the Rev. Wilma S.
Kucharek, bishop of the ELCA Slovak Zion Synod, Torrington, Conn.
"Words cannot express the symbolism of those last moving moments
as we carried one of our own and entrusted her into the hands of
God," she said.
"The love that the people of the Caribbean Synod had for
their bishop was obvious in everyone's eyes and voices," said the
Rev. Edward R. Benoway, bishop of the ELCA Florida-Bahamas Synod,
Tampa.
The Rev. Marie C. Jerge, bishop of the ELCA Upstate New York
Synod, Syracuse, noted the hospitality of the synod extended to
people "who came from afar." "I could only reflect on how proud
Margarita would have been" on the synod's hospitality, which
mirrored the "gracious ministry that Margarita was so well-known
for," she said.
At the funeral the Rev. Kathie Bender Schwich, executive for
synodical and constituent relations, ELCA Synodical Relations,
spoke about the grief "felt by all of Bishop Martinez's
colleagues in the churchwide organization" and reminded members
of the ELCA Caribbean Synod of the "ongoing care and support that
churchwide staff will continue to provide to the synod in their
time of sorrow and change."
"I've worked with Margarita for five years, serving as a
leader in the Caribbean Synod, and it was truly a joy and a
blessing to work and travel with her," said Phyllis L. Wallace,
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Wallace serves on the ELCA Church
Council, the ELCA's board of directors.
"She was an inspiration to me. She had a spirit of genuine
love and concern for everyone, regardless of nationality and
social status. Margarita was an enthusiastic champion of causes
that impact the lives of synod members, as well as among our
global partners," said Wallace. "I miss her dearly."
In a March 12 letter to the church, Hanson said, "Words will
never adequately convey what Bishop Margarita Martinez's life and
ministry have meant to each of us and to the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America."
"With the fervor of an evangelist she proclaimed the Good
News of Jesus Christ. With the clarity and courage of a prophet,
she spoke God's word of judgment and justice. With the
compassion of a servant leader, she listened to the cries of the
people and made intercession for God's mercy," said Hanson.
ELCA Caribbean Synod to elect a new bishop
The council of the ELCA Caribbean Synod appointed Sosa as
acting bishop of the synod in 2006, when information about
Martinez' declining health was disclosed. Sosa preceded her as
the synod's bishop.
The ELCA Caribbean Synod will elect a new bishop at its June
21-23 synod assembly. The assembly will be held at Frederick
Lutheran Church, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas), Virgin Islands.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
