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This article was written by Peter Dziedzic, a junior at DePaul, who is pursuing a major in Religious Studies and a triple minor. Peter is an Interfaith Scholar and a former co-president of DePaul Interfaith.
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The several-hour hike up the fertile, sloped ledges of the mountain northeast of Bogotá to reach Laguna de Guatavita bloomed into a personal pilgrimage with each step and breath. Reaching the top of the slope, looking down into the sacred lagoon of the native Muiscas, and pausing for a communal reflection in profound stillness, I felt deeply connected not only to myself and the land, to my group members and the history and pain of Colombia, but to the deep roots that bound me in that moment to all narratives of faith and struggle.
Our service immersion group from DePaul University spent days meeting with displaced communities, absorbing the realities of contrast, and engaging with organizations that work to challenge the dominant societal narratives that have fostered decades of internal strife. The images and voices of those affected by the conflict and those seeking to end it echoed not only with a deep pain and sadness, but also a resounding hope.
As a Religious Studies major and an interfaith leader, I was very interested in the religious culture of the country. Religious strife is not a primary cause of conflict in Colombia, and most strikingly, I found that many Colombians use their faith as a springboard for action and a way of challenging these narratives of conflict. This was evident in the wide array of faith-based organizations we encountered that were working as primary agents of healing in the country.
The organizations we encountered, often affiliated with the Catholic Church or other faith communities, stood as vanguards of hope to the disenfranchised of Bogotá. These organizations were pursuing a variety of work, such as providing shelter and networking resources to recently-displaced farmers, offering community organizing strategies for poor laborers, working to combat sexism and sex trafficking of Colombian women, and providing legal resources to impoverished and illegal communities facing existential threat. With each passing day, I felt more attuned to the work of these organizations, each inspired by the spiritual narratives that instilled these quests for peace and reconciliation.
As I reflect on the state of our world at the turn of the year, our global society faces a pivotal moment. Economic, political, and ecological crises seem to increasingly threaten our human unity, our potential to serve our neighbors in times of great duress. In the face of such tumultuous times, faith communities must increasingly serve as beacons of challenging systems of injustice and oppression in our world. While this is a task that many faith communities and spiritual leaders have been pursuing for many years, faith communities must continue to instill narratives of love, stillness and reconciliation into the dominant societal narratives of oppression, individualism, and greed.
Faith communities have the power to serve as direct agents of change and challenge to these destructive narratives. This is a reality I experienced in Colombia and one that exists in many corners of the world. Faith communities must continue to stand strong against injustice, greed and oppression, and in doing so, seek to bend the wider consciousness of society to social action and social justice.
In retrospect, I consider my entire immersion in Colombia as a metaphorical journey to Laguna de Guatavita, as a reflective reminder of my own calling as a young spiritual individual. There are refreshing and deeply beautiful wells of faith and love that exist in the world, an infinite power to transform and ignite the world in vigor. Such a well must often be reached, however, through a hard and painful ascendance. Once we have reached the well, will we but bask in its beauty and peace, or will we use that stillness as a source of strength to descend back through the wilderness?