Representatives from ASJ Honduras, US, and Canada stated, “For 25 years, the Association for a More Just Society has followed God’s call to love our neighbor and to seek justice. We have worked so that the Hondurans living in the most vulnerable conditions can have access to quality education, healthcare, and safety.” The statement was presented via a press conference at the ASJ headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
ASJ 25th Year Anniversary
January 31, 2024
These three sister organizations came together to celebrate and reiterate our commitment to continue working together for a more just society. Together, we look to the future with the stubborn certainty that the faithful God who brought us here will sustain us for the next 25 years and beyond.
Twenty-five years ago, ASJ began as a group of brave Christians following God’s call to do justice in Honduras. From the beginning, ASJ has been a space that fosters companionship and collaboration between people from different backgrounds with a common goal: building a more just society together.
Our work focuses on strengthening public systems for those who need them most. In our work in health, education, security, and transparency, our goal is to improve conditions for those living in vulnerable circumstances in our country. The work of justice is not easy, and in the last 25 years, we have had exhilarating breakthroughs as well as many sacrifices.
As we look to the next 25 years, we want to continue our work without losing sight of our vision. Now, more than ever, both in our country and in the Central American region, we see threats to civil society organizations like ASJ and to democracy itself. This, rather than discouraging us, motivates us to push forward with courage.
Throughout our anniversary week, staff and board members from ASJ Honduras, the US, and Canada came together in person and remotely to celebrate and encourage each other. The work ahead of us will not be easy, but we know there is a great cloud of brave witnesses who support us and a faithful God who sustains us. While some sat together and others showed supporting posters and balloons through a computer screen, one uniting declaration resounded beyond all barriers: “Ebenezer! Thus far, the LORD has helped us.”
Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections
Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
Calvin alums turn faith into action through nonprofit
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thank You for Moving Forward With Us this Summer!
When Policies Shift, Families Pay the Price * by Jo Ann Van Engen
Inspiring civil society in the US with a vision of a more just society
Dear Friend, On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Hondurans flooded their streets with prayer and peaceful demonstration. Reports from our team members who attended said it was like an inspirational sea of people all wanting the same thing for their country: peace. One of our ASJ-US colleagues said he walked past Pentecostals dancing and playing music, a woman praying the rosary, nuns walking, and priests and altar boys in full robes–all walking in the same space together for peace.
Love, Labor, and the Price of Leaving By Jo Ann Van Engen
Prayer Update (JUL 16- Election Process Turmoil)
