Saturday morning a small group of Crescent Hill folks interested in Guatemala mission met back at Heine Brothers in St. Matthews. The group OKed the budget/scholarship scheme for the July 2010 mission trip that Pastor Jane and Perry had developed earlier in the week (pending the session or Outreach Council’s OK): $1,000 from the church budget Guatemala mission line item, $2,000 or so from the Guatemala mission partnership (subsidized by extra revenue from Ada’s Spanish classes), and nearly $1,000 in donations already pledged – to go to: $1,000 for a coordinator, $1,200 to reimburse Estoreño Presbytery representatives for their bus fare and room and board to the April and July meetings in Coban, and almost $2,000 in up-front, before-fund raising scholarship aid to people who talk about financial need with Pastor Jane. We are looking for $250 deposits on Easter Sunday from all who want to go on the trip (and at the very least people need to talk with Jane this weekend about their interest and need).
We also called Pastor Gerardo, with whom the smaller trip planning committee had spoken by phone a few weeks ago. Gerardo said that Pastor Pablo and Pastor José Sub (from the church near Puerto Barrios) would be going to the April meeting about theological training in Coban. Because José will be traveling from further away, they will need about $250 total (which Perry will ask Jack L. to send to the Middle Tennessee Presbytery leader). Already picked for the July trip are pastors Gerardo, Pablo, Fidel, and José and two elders (including one from Gerardo’s Arce de Noe church). Other churches are currently picking two deacons to go, as are the presbytery’s Presbyterian Women group and the youth and young adults group.
Speaking of youth and young adults: Gerardo said that at 1 p.m. their time on Saturday afternoon, April 17 (Thunder Saturday) 175 youth and young adults from around the presbytery will gather together for an assembly. In the evening they will have a worship service. (The group talked about having a short (20-30 minutes?) vigil/prayer service – perhaps at 10 a.m. in the Fireside Room – to pray with Guatemala partners for this service. Perry will check with Patti about the availability of this room (otherwise – we might do it in the sanctuary) and will check with Jane about the option of inviting folks there to make a donation towards the cost of the Christian education/leadership development . Perry and Ana and perhaps others will plan the vigil/service. Perhaps the trip planning group can meet before or after the vigil/prayer service.)
Pastor Gerardo also OKed the idea of Estoreño folks staying an extra day Wednesday in July. Apparently neither he nor probably any of the other Estoreño folks have been to the Semuc Champey waterfall area, which we would be able to see if we all stayed an extra day. Gerardo said we would all be learning together.
Gerardo also told us that he had been ill. In fact, his leg was so swollen that he had to miss part of recent presbytery meeting.
Folks at the meeting also shared some of their own health/discernment concerns and asked for traveling mercies for Nora, Sara, and Soni.
After the meeting, Perry and Ellen talked via Skype. Ellen was concerned about the potentially small number of Crescent Hill folks going to church and the possibility of there being as more PC(USA) mission co-workers on the trip than Crescent Hill folks. She was concerned that if we broke up into small groups there might only be one Crescent Hill person per group, and she also thought it would be unwise to have more PC(USA) mission co-workers on the trip (Roger? Ellen? Amanda? Karla?) than Crescent Hill folks. Perry said he hoped there would be at least five or six Crescent Hill folks and even with that number the church would likely want to limit the mission co-worker teammates just two, Roger and Ellen.
Ellen is getting settled in in her two-bedroom apartment in Brevard, North Carolina, and this weekend was busy participating in worship events in both Spanish and English at various churches in the area.
Left undecided at Heine Brothers were scheduling the time, date, and place of the next trip planning group (after the vigil/prayer service?), scheduling a place for the next Guatemala mission task force gathering (9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 8, at the Laras?), and who would write a May newsletter blurb (Perry?). Also not discussed was fund-raising possibilities. Jane, you’ll recall, had proposed a church yard sale (oriented towards both in-church and community buyers), after most of the concert lineup ideas she thought of didn’t pan out. Trip orientation and installment payment schedule were also not discussed.
Perry
