Reunited in Guatemala City

Sending them

We Go in God’s Name

Sending Shannon Bostrom and Ben Langley to Guatemala Network Meeting (Perry Chang)

All: God of grace, we ask your blessing on Shannon and Ben as they go to represent us in Guatemala. Protect and guide them as they travel and meet. Inspire, stretch, and work through them. May they be strengthened in faith and upheld in Your love. In the name of the Christ we seek to serve. Amen.

Guatemala Mission Network gathering invitation

You are invited to:

1.  Join us in worship Sunday when the whole congregation will bless/commission/send off Ben Langley and Shannon Bostrom on their Guatemala Mission Network gathering trip.

2.  Stop by the Louisville airport at 4:45 a.m. this Monday (Jan. 30) and/or at 10:30 p.m. a week from Friday (Feb. 3) to bid Ben and Shannon adieu or hello and pray with them as they depart for security (see below).

3.  Pray this weekend and throughout this coming week for Ben, Shannon, Ramiro, Raul Contreras, Amanda Craft, Richard and Debbie Welch, Brian and Sandi Thomson-Royer, possibly Leslie Vogel, and all of the others traveling to and from Guatemala City for the Guatemala Mission Network gathering, for productive conversation, good times, faithful decision-making, and safe travel.

-Perry

January 7 gathering notes

Ben and Shannon’s trip to Guatemala later this month: Stephanie shared what she experienced when she went to this meeting a couple of years ago—are there questions that we want to ask the other Anglo groups about how they have learned and best practices?—why isn’t water an issue for them?—the quality of water is getting worse in addition to the issue of the availability of water—but the people themselves need to want it for it to be successful—we’ll get together to send them off on Monday the 30^th (at about 5:00 a.m.) and welcome them home on Friday 2/3 (at about 10:30 p.m.)—Ben and Shannon will take care of Ramiro and Raul Contreras’ travel expenses for the meeting—need to make sure there will be someone there to make sure they get to where they are staying/meeting—have a “sendoff” for Ben and Shannon on Sunday 1/22 during worship

April visit: possibly Sandra, Elisabeth, Claudia, Megan, Jennifer—they’ve tried to get in touch with the women who are planning the retreat to find out when it starts (morning or afternoon or…) so that they have some idea of what’s going on—Elisabeth called Sandra Ich Yat (on the planning committee) to ask for a confirmation on the date of the Women’s Gathering—she reported that the women leaders of the presbytery have visited all the churches with the financial help that we sent ($250)—Assembly is only on Friday, the 21^st—8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., worship service that night for everybody—will ask our PW folks if they can help with costs—also, open it up to other women from CHPC—Elisabeth will write a blurb for next week’s Westminster Ways—will sell “shares” to support the women who are going (kickoff at the dance party).

Fundraiser: Looking at Sunday, February 26 @ 6:00-8:00—will be a family friendly event—won’t feed folks but will have snacks—Sandra has talked with ?? about leading the dancing and they have agreed to do it (gratis??)—start the dancing @6:00—suggested minimum donation: $10 for adults, $5 for children 10 and under, Family up to $25—“Latin Dance Party”—Mary to write a blurb for Westminster Weekly and Westminster Ways—Tim will design a flyer for the event.

Next meeting: Saturday, February 11, 12:30, Gathering Room.

-Mary

January 7 gathering

We've moved the next Guatemalan Connection gathering to 12 noon, Saturday, January 7, in the Gathering Room, in the CHPC back building.

December 4 gathering notes

The group decided to keep trying Leslie Rodriguez but to plow ahead with plans for a Latin dance fund-raiser, possibly in late January.  Carrie, Claudia, Sandra, and possibly Ada will plan, starting with trying to recruit dance instructors.  The group talked about around $10 as a fee, with maybe half an hour of instruction twice and in between half an hour of free dancing.  Arranging a sound system/DJ will also be key, and then promotion, which everyone will be involved in.  The end of January is a target time, depending on instructors’ availability and the church calendar.

The list of possible people for the April Estoreño Presbytery women’s retreat visit has shrunken, which means – in the short run – less money may need to be raised.  Nevertheless, it remains important to raise funds in general, both for benevolence and future visits.  This is all the more so because of the church’s current financial situation.  Intended for a mix of partnership expenditures with Estoreño Presbytery and visits, through its budget the church allocated $4,000 to Guatemala mission in 2016.  With the current situation, that amount could be anywhere between nothing and $4,000.  There is about $1,200 left in Guatemala accounts, which has been consolidated to the account that can carry over to next year (so the money doesn’t disappear at midnight December 31).

Church money has paid for plane tickets for Ben Langley and Shannon Bostrom to fly to Guatemala for the Guatemala Mission Network gathering in late January 2017 and early February and also for registration for the gathering for those two and two Estoreño Presbytery representatives, probably Ramiro and Raul Contreras.  The Connection may ask Ben and Shannon, out of their own money, to give the presbytery reps on site some money to compensate them for their travel to and from the gathering.

The presbytery has received $1,500 sent by CHPC, via the personal bank account of the treasurer, Ramiro.  Ramiro sent a de facto receipt for the $250 going to presbytery’s Presbyterian Women’s organization, with a photo of two women receiving a check.  The presbytery also apparently decided to spend some of the remaining $1,250 on building improvements to many of the presbytery’s congregation’s building.  How much will be left for involvement of Estoreño Presbyterians in the theological education program for indigenous Presbyterian church leaders is unclear.  Ramiro has promised to send a detailed accounting of how the money is being spent.

Perry also reported that a regular Estoreño Presbytery Executive Committee meeting would take place on Monday, December 5.  Organization of the Q’eqchi’ Presbyterian synod apparently waits some sort of legal/organizational clearances from the national church.

A different fund-raising idea – on top of the Leslie Rodriguez concert and family film night – that was discussed was a night or two at El Tarasco Mexican restaurant in St. Matthews when the Guatemala partnership funds would receive a cut – maybe 10% - of sales for the night for people who came in saying they were coming to eat there partly to support the Crescent Guatemala partnership.  This would probably have to be on a slow night, would probably only apply to eat-in orders, and might or might not include the option of volunteering standing outside the entrance promoting it to unsuspecting non-CHPC folks.  Stephanie and Perry agreed to follow with El Tarasco.  Soni agreed to try to reach Leslie by phone.  Fund-raising via St. Joe’s parking cars will likely present itself also, but not until August 2017.

The group also discussed different possible communication vehicles.  Doug and Perry tend to communicate with folks in Guatemala via FB message.  Perry tends to communicate with CHPC folks via e-mail or sometimes FB message.  Sandra suggested we communicate via text, possibly using the group text app GroupMe.

Perry and Stephanie agreed to send Sandra phone numbers of Estoreño PW leaders to call about what time of day (morning, lunchtime, afternoon, or evening) the retreat/women’s assembly might start and might end, as well as to try to find out themselves by FB message.  Perry also agreed to check with the Welches about possibly accompanying the April visitors from Guatemala City and back via bus (with us paying all of their expenses, of course) and to check with Ramiro about possibly driving them.

The group prayed among other things for Doug’s health and for traveling mercies for Claudia.

In addition to the Latin dance subcommittee meeting between now and then, the group set as their next whole-group meeting – to which all are welcome – after worship on Martin Luther King’s Day weekend, Sunday, January 22, in the Gathering Room.

-Perry

Early 2017 prayers

Early this fall Crescent Hill will pray for and with Guatemala partners:

-On Sunday, January 1, and the week thereafter:  Altar de Noe church in El Estor’s Los Cerritos neighborhood, Pastor Raul Contreras Tut and family, and all who worship there.

-On Sunday, January 8, and the week thereafter:  Espiritu Santo church in El Estor’s San Marcos neighborhood, Pastor José Domingo Xo Ical and family, and all who worship there/

-On Sunday, January 15, and the week thereafter: Monte Sinai church in the village of San Carlos El Pouvenir outside of Puerto Barrios, Pastor José Sub and family, and all who worship there.

-On Sunday, January 22, and during the week thereafter: El Buen Samaritano church in the village of Nueva Amanacer neighborhood, Pastor Jorge Ortiz and family, and all who worship there.

-On Sunday, January 29, and the week thereafter:  Galilea congregation in El Estor’s Esfuerza neighborhood, Pastor Angel Martin Sacul and family, and all who worship there.

-On Sunday, February 5, and the week thereafter:  Emanuel congregation in the Huracan Mich community of Panzos, Pastor Oscar Tzul Coc and family, and all who worship there.

-On Sunday, February 12, and the week thereafter:  Marc’am congregation, Pastor Gonzalo Tiul Choc and family, and all who worship there.