Crescent Hill folks interested in the Guatemala partnership will gather at the old James Lees Memorial Presbyterian Church, at 1740 Frankfort Avenue (at Frankfort and William Street) at 5:30 p.m. Monday, January 23 (before English language learner dinner/classes).
No doubt we'll want to talk about Guatemala partner visit follow-up, including bulletin board feedback, responses to their proposals, possible summer 2012 mission trip, and other partnership follow-up (parallel Bible study?, prayer vigil, possible local partner follow-up, fund-raising?).
We will have a short gathering. I will try to get us a room in the 1740 Frankfort Avenue building.
Everyone is welcome.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Late 2011 visit requests
I counted as many as a dozen requests from Crescent Hill's Guatemalan partners during their late 2011 visit, for:
- Assistance with communication with us, which we essentially granted ($50 per month, perhaps bundled to lower the per-dollar wire transfer fees).
- Bibles and other (?) assistance to the Presbyterian Women organization and women of the presbytery.
- Assistance for another series of Q’eqchi’ Christian education materials. (I believe the presbytery obtained assistance from the national church to publish the first series.)
- Assistance for Spanish-language theological education of pastors. Recall that Roger Marriott and the Amigos de K’eckci’ were also trying to put together a theological training program for Q’eqchi’ pastors. (We should ask our friends about this - the presbytery had budgeted about $5,000 for this. Phil Beisswinger, following up on what Roger Marriott worked on, has been working on this and talked with our friends about it on their way back from Kentuckiana to El Estor.). (It’s possible to interpret our offer to send Brad or others to Guatemalan to do theological education as a version of this.)
- Subtly – assistance for continued building programs of churches in the presbytery. Our friends said they applied the $400 we sent last year to help a building program at the Peniel church in Boqueron (first one we visited two years ago), but that this did not cover all of the costs. I considered this a request for support for building programs.
- Subtly, general assistance for presbytery programs. They said they had raised a certain amount of money for this year and had already spent it. For some reason, I’m thinking they said they could use twice as much money as they raised (but I don’t remember the amount).
- Shared Bible study. They didn’t directly comment on whether they wanted to continue this, but they did say they had some of this, reported a little results, and complained that they had not heard from us as to our results.
- A mission/fraternal worker/volunteer for some time (?) to help teach Eng/lish and visit the churches/encourage presbytery ministries with them. This may overlap with our idea of sending someone to do theological education and an idea we’ve bandied around in the past of sending a young person from our congregation there for a couple of months. This could be one of us, or another adult, or a youth or young adult from Crescent Hill, and making a possible summer 2012 trip intergenerational might be taking one step in that direction.)
- “Relief” aid. It’s possible to interpret the cementing the floors of 17 houses, the assistance they have requested in the past for roofs being blown off of churches, and the food and clothing aid the presbytery/community just received from IENPG Diaconia/Presgov as relief aid.
- Water projects. The two men seemed interested in the water projects we discussed with the Elizabethtown Living Waters for the World people and especially Edge Outreach. I got no feedback on Lilith’s Faith Stories, but Jennifer said she thought only Ramiro understood the program. It’s possible that Macaria and the women might be more interested if they had more information about the program.
- Scholarship aid so that children of the presbytery (community?) might attend private schools and colleges. This is exactly the kind of aid that is available for a very small number of Q’eqchi’ students through the Walton Fund to go to private boarding high school in Coban, but I suppose it might be possible to expand this program to more students or to non-Coban students. We’d have to check with Roger about what’s happening with that school/that money, although it sounds like Gerardo is also on a Walton committee.
- Mutual prayer/prayer vigils. We didn’t talk too much about this.
Also: any additional follow-up with other people we talked with during the visit: Highland Presbyterian, Elizabethtown First Presbyterian, Portland Presbyterian, Ecclesia group, and so on?
- Perry
- Assistance with communication with us, which we essentially granted ($50 per month, perhaps bundled to lower the per-dollar wire transfer fees).
- Bibles and other (?) assistance to the Presbyterian Women organization and women of the presbytery.
- Assistance for another series of Q’eqchi’ Christian education materials. (I believe the presbytery obtained assistance from the national church to publish the first series.)
- Assistance for Spanish-language theological education of pastors. Recall that Roger Marriott and the Amigos de K’eckci’ were also trying to put together a theological training program for Q’eqchi’ pastors. (We should ask our friends about this - the presbytery had budgeted about $5,000 for this. Phil Beisswinger, following up on what Roger Marriott worked on, has been working on this and talked with our friends about it on their way back from Kentuckiana to El Estor.). (It’s possible to interpret our offer to send Brad or others to Guatemalan to do theological education as a version of this.)
- Subtly – assistance for continued building programs of churches in the presbytery. Our friends said they applied the $400 we sent last year to help a building program at the Peniel church in Boqueron (first one we visited two years ago), but that this did not cover all of the costs. I considered this a request for support for building programs.
- Subtly, general assistance for presbytery programs. They said they had raised a certain amount of money for this year and had already spent it. For some reason, I’m thinking they said they could use twice as much money as they raised (but I don’t remember the amount).
- Shared Bible study. They didn’t directly comment on whether they wanted to continue this, but they did say they had some of this, reported a little results, and complained that they had not heard from us as to our results.
- A mission/fraternal worker/volunteer for some time (?) to help teach Eng/lish and visit the churches/encourage presbytery ministries with them. This may overlap with our idea of sending someone to do theological education and an idea we’ve bandied around in the past of sending a young person from our congregation there for a couple of months. This could be one of us, or another adult, or a youth or young adult from Crescent Hill, and making a possible summer 2012 trip intergenerational might be taking one step in that direction.)
- “Relief” aid. It’s possible to interpret the cementing the floors of 17 houses, the assistance they have requested in the past for roofs being blown off of churches, and the food and clothing aid the presbytery/community just received from IENPG Diaconia/Presgov as relief aid.
- Water projects. The two men seemed interested in the water projects we discussed with the Elizabethtown Living Waters for the World people and especially Edge Outreach. I got no feedback on Lilith’s Faith Stories, but Jennifer said she thought only Ramiro understood the program. It’s possible that Macaria and the women might be more interested if they had more information about the program.
- Scholarship aid so that children of the presbytery (community?) might attend private schools and colleges. This is exactly the kind of aid that is available for a very small number of Q’eqchi’ students through the Walton Fund to go to private boarding high school in Coban, but I suppose it might be possible to expand this program to more students or to non-Coban students. We’d have to check with Roger about what’s happening with that school/that money, although it sounds like Gerardo is also on a Walton committee.
- Mutual prayer/prayer vigils. We didn’t talk too much about this.
Also: any additional follow-up with other people we talked with during the visit: Highland Presbyterian, Elizabethtown First Presbyterian, Portland Presbyterian, Ecclesia group, and so on?
- Perry
January prayers
This month Crescent Hill church will pray with and for our Guatemalan partners:
- On Sunday, January 1, and the week thereafter: Lirio de los Valles church in El Estor’s San Jorge neighborhood, Pastor Mario Xo Ical and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
- On Sunday, January 8, and the week thereafter: Puerto del Cielo church in the El Estor suburb of La Union.
- On Sunday, January 15, and the week thereafter: Jesus Es la Puerta church in the El Estor suburb of El Chupon.
- On Sunday, January 22, and the week thereafter: Jesus Es la Puerta church in the El Estor suburb of El Chupon. and worshipers.
- On Sunday, January 29, and during the week thereafter: Arca de Noe church in El Estor, Pastor Gerardo Ich Pop and family, and members, deacons, and elders
- On Sunday, February 5, and the week thereafter: Altar de Noe church in El Estor’s Los Cerritos neighborhood, Pastor Raul Contreras Tut and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
- On Sunday, January 1, and the week thereafter: Lirio de los Valles church in El Estor’s San Jorge neighborhood, Pastor Mario Xo Ical and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
- On Sunday, January 8, and the week thereafter: Puerto del Cielo church in the El Estor suburb of La Union.
- On Sunday, January 15, and the week thereafter: Jesus Es la Puerta church in the El Estor suburb of El Chupon.
- On Sunday, January 22, and the week thereafter: Jesus Es la Puerta church in the El Estor suburb of El Chupon. and worshipers.
- On Sunday, January 29, and during the week thereafter: Arca de Noe church in El Estor, Pastor Gerardo Ich Pop and family, and members, deacons, and elders
- On Sunday, February 5, and the week thereafter: Altar de Noe church in El Estor’s Los Cerritos neighborhood, Pastor Raul Contreras Tut and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
December gathering
Half a dozen plus Crescent Hill folks who had helped organize the week-long Kentuckiana visit by representatives of Estoreno Presbytery gathered back at the Fireside Room Monday to give thanks to all who had helped with the visit, reflect, and look ahead to the future. Several people shared accounts of different activities in which only a few people were involved, and Soni shared a little about her interactions with Macaria, whom she had hosted. Even before the gathering, by e-mail the group had communicated a bit about overscheduling in the visit. Very early on in the visit, Carlos made a quick call to Gerardo, who unfortunately was ill (after the visit) and had been told by the airline that they found his checked luggage and put it on a bus to El Estor, but it never arrived. Follow-up may be in order. The group reflected some on the requests the presbytery reps had made, and some believed it is important to find a different, more affordable financial transmission mechanism. The group talked about the possibility of sending at least a couple of people to Izabal this summer, when there might be more review of the partnership. They also resolved to build a bulletin board in the front room and to get index cards to people in worship Sunday (December 18) and to ask the Elder of the Week to ask people to write comments/questions/reflections/ suggestions about the visit and to hand those to the ushers (?) during worship. Another gathering early in January – at a time and place to be announced – will be in order.
- Perry
- Perry
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday gathering
Crescent Hill church folks interested in giving thanks and reflecting about the three Guatemalans' recent Kentuckiana visit, as well pondering the Guatemalans' requests and thinking about the future, will gather at 6:00 p.m. Monday (Decmeber 12) at the Fireside Room. Everyone is welcome.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
December prayers
This month Crescent Hill church will pray with and for our Guatemalan partners:
-On Sunday, December 4, and during the week thereafter: Estoreño Presbytery youth and young adult organization, President Roderico Sacul Tiul, and other officers.
-On Sunday, December 11, and during the week thereafter: Estoreño Presbytery as a whole.
-On Sunday, December 18, and during the week thereafter: Peniel church in Boqueron, Pastor Pablo Sacul, and members, deacons, and elders.
-On Sunday, December 25, and during the week thereafter: Familia de Noe church in El Estor’s Sinai neighborhood, Pastor Benjamin Sacul and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
- On Sunday, January 1, and the week thereafter: Lirio de los Valles church in El Estor’s San Jorge neighborhood, Pastor Mario Xo Ical and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
-On Sunday, December 4, and during the week thereafter: Estoreño Presbytery youth and young adult organization, President Roderico Sacul Tiul, and other officers.
-On Sunday, December 11, and during the week thereafter: Estoreño Presbytery as a whole.
-On Sunday, December 18, and during the week thereafter: Peniel church in Boqueron, Pastor Pablo Sacul, and members, deacons, and elders.
-On Sunday, December 25, and during the week thereafter: Familia de Noe church in El Estor’s Sinai neighborhood, Pastor Benjamin Sacul and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
- On Sunday, January 1, and the week thereafter: Lirio de los Valles church in El Estor’s San Jorge neighborhood, Pastor Mario Xo Ical and family, and members, deacons, and elders.
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