Pilgrimage to El Salvador – March Break, 2026

Applications close on Friday, December 5th at 11:59pm
Are you interested in joining a partnership that has blessed people across North America since the 1980s? Is the Spirit urging you to discover Christ’s work in communities that look dramatically different from your own?
During March break 2026, 20-30 people and leaders from the East Central Ontario Regional Council together with the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council and the Pacific Mountain Regional Council will travel to San Salvador to be guests of our global partners at Emmanuel Baptist Church. Through this week together you will learn about Salvadoran history, perhaps help build a school, community centre or church in rural El Salvador, learn about peace making initiatives in a country with a violent history. In short, your life will change.
Adults who have visited El Salvador before will also have an opportunity to visit United Church global partner ADES, the Santa Marta community advocacy and agriculture support group.
Are you ready for this?
Then please consider joining us March 12-20, 2026, (actual dates to be confirmed) but before you complete this application, please consider some important, practical facts:
- El Salvador has a tropical climate, with especially high levels of pollution in the urban areas
- Much of the terrain is volcanic and very steep. We will walk a fair bit on this trip.
- We sleep in dorm rooms with 8 to 10 people.
While our hosts are well connected and make our safety and health their priority, it is important to understand the political situation in El Salvador:
- El Salvador remains under a state of “Special Emergency”, whereby some legal rights remain suspended.
- This has resulted in mass incarceration, which many believe has reduced the activities of the gangs and significantly reduced the murder rate.
- However, there are reports of false arrests and difficulty extracting young men from prison once arrested, including citizens of other South and Central American countries.
If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Wanda Stride at minister@trinitystandrews.ca or Ryan McNally at ryanm@centralokanaganunitedchurch.com
Follow us on Facebook at Facebook (www.facebook.com/2026IBE)
Please fill out the application below if you are interested in joining us!
2026 ECORC/ IBE Partnership Program
El Salvador Pilgrimage