Guatemala mission network

Although some of the most intense times at the Guatemala mission network gathering were spent in theological and business discussions among our partners, various translators/facilitators, and me, plenty of time was also spent talking about the future of the Guatemalan mission network and the relationship between the two national churches. I participated in some of the discussions about the future of the network. With no moderator or convener during the past two years, much of network leadership came from PC(USA) mission worker Philip Beisswinger and Tracey King-Ortega, PC(USA) Central America regional liaison, along with the July network gathering planning group that included Ellen and Jane. PC(USA) folks who were part of the gathering decided to ask folks in this planning group to continue working with Philip, Tracey, and other PC(USA) staff now to plan an all-PC(USA) network gathering next year in the United States. This planning group was encouraged to add more people to its group as needed (as well as to accept a resignation or two if necessary ) and to reconstitute itself in some form or another to then plan a joint PC(USA)-Guatemalan church network gathering in Guatemala in two years (in other words, in 2015). There was discussion about the PC(USA) part of the network in the future possibly supporting a parallel gathering of Guatemalan partners, in Guatemala, also on even years, or possibly going back to bringing Guatemalans to the U.S. meetings.

North Americans at the gathering, and separately Guatemalans at the gathering, each drafted statements of purpose, which I will aim to share, and I volunteered to work with Tracey King-Ortega, and possibly others, to try to start up some online social networking and educational activities – initially with the PC(USA) side of the network – that might include an e-mail list, a Facebook group, a blog, and one or two webinars, one possibly a book club discussion group about a book about Presbyterian partnership principles or about Guatemala and the other possibly a presentation, and then questions and answers, about the Guatemalan educational system led by folks from a mission team that investigated this.

-Perry