Segura, Javier (1973-2004)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2004 Dec 13 p. 1, 2

Birth date: 1973

text of obituary:

Colombian pastor killed by a bomb in Bogota

By Robert Rhodes

Mennonite Weekly Review

BOGOTA, Colombia — The pastor of a Mennonite church in the capital of strife-torn Colombia was killed in a bomb blast Nov. 28 as he waited for a bus.

At his funeral Dec. 1, friends and ministry associates recalled the young pastor's dedication to the church.

Javier Segura, 31, pastor of a new congregation in Bogota's La Victoria neighborhood, died instantly when the bomb exploded about 10:15 p.m. outside a city building near downtown Bogota.

Segura was the only person killed in the blast, which also wounded six other people, according to news reports.

Segura had been a pastor for less than a year, according to a news release from Iglesia Menonita Colombia, or IMCOL, the Colombian Mennonite Church. He had just said goodnight to his fiancee and was waiting for a public bus when the explosion occurred.

At the time, Segura was on his way home, where he shares a dwelling with his elderly parents, according to IMCOL.

Reports said the bomb had been planted beside a parking obstacle near a municipal building.

The Colombian government has offered a 100 million peso reward for information about the bomb and who might have planted it, reports said.

Segura was not believed to be the bomb's intended target.

Officials in Bogota said there were no suspects yet, but there has been considerable confusion about the incident.

Initial media reports in Colombia erroneously had indicated that Segura had detonated the bomb himself. Church officials said this led to upsetting delays in having Segura's body released to his family by authorities.

In a country rife with violence amid a decades-long civil war in which Christians often have been targeted by death squads, "people learn to live with the danger," said IMCOL president Peter Stucky. "But you never expect to be the victim, particularly in a city of 7 million or more people. All the same it's very painful when these things come close and affect the church."

Sinai Mennonite Church, of which Segura was a member, is only a few blocks from the blast site.

Segura had been trained for ministry by Colombian pastor Islandes Lozada and recently had been asked to lead La Victoria Mennonite Church, in southeastern Bogota. He also had helped to plant a church in Quito, Ecuador.

"Javier had a gift with young people and was much loved by his congregation," a statement from IMCOL said. "The Colombia Mennonite Church profoo9undly laments this enormous loss and prays that his death may be fertile and produce much fruit."

Segura's funeral Dec. 1 attracted a large turnout to the Sinai church building.

As part of the service, Segura's fiancee read a eulogy, which included a message of perseverance amid the violence and strife that have been gripping Colombia.

"Javier didn't like to leave things half done, and it may feel to you like he has done that," she said. "But the church is not Javier's church. It is God's church, and God will carry it forth."

After the service, about 200 mourners carried Segura's coffin to the site of the explosion.

There rubble and glass still remained from the blast, as well as blood on a nearby wall.

Mourners carried balloons and placards calling for peace in Colombia and an end to armed violence there.

Near the spot where the bomb exploded, surrounded by glass and pulverized concrete, someone had placed a single pink rose.