Mary, Soni, and Perry
recently returned from the pre-Big Tent Guatemala Mission Network gathering on
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus.
The national evangelical
Presbyterian church (IENPG) may set up four synods – instead of just having one
– and then have a national General Assembly. One would be in northern/eastern
Guatemala where most Q’eqchi’ presbyteries are. But Amanda thought part of the impetus
for this was the conservative southwestern presbyteries that have recently
returned the fold trying to flex their muscle. We might ask our presbytery partners
about their thoughts on this, Amanda suggested. Certainly, Ramiro – who is
now on the IENPG executive committee – would know something about that.
The IENPG had set up a
network of “La Patria” schools – including two successful ones (one of these
some of us visited in Coban) that really appealed to non-Catholic Ladino elites
and had become a big cash cow for the national church. But the IENPG siphoned so much money
off from these schools that they have become less attractive – including with
lots of competition from more and more non-Catholic schools – such that these
schools are losing students and now losing money (instead of providing a big
surplus for the national church.
The national Presbyterian
seminary is also barely functioning – mainly hosting once-a-week classes for
nearby Presbyterians – as well as providing staff and some resources for
regional theological training programs, which many presbyteries have started on
their own or with the seminary.
A backdrop is the 2014
re-release of some of the Walton funds – a fund that Sam and Helan Walton (of
Walmart) set up based on Helen Walton’s mission trip travel to Guatemala and
conversations with what is now PC(USA) World Mission staff – to support
theological education with indigenous Presbyterians – but was frozen for seven
years because of allegations of misuse.
The IENPG met in May,
repeated the stand it took vis-à-vis ordination of gays and lesbians with the
new PCIUSA) stand on same-sex marriage – that they disagree but they want to
stay in partnership with us. The
church has sent a letter to that effect. However, one presbytery – Occidente –
has apparently cut its ties with its U.S. presbytery partner, Minnesota
Valleys, because of the PC(USA) stand on same-sex marriage.
One of the speakers to both
the joint Guatemala and CEDEPCA mission network portion of program emphasized
the ongoing political activity in Guatemala, with charges of corruption and the
resignation of the vice president and unheard of protests that even
Presbyterians, both Ladino and perhaps indigenous have gotten involved in.
We also heard from Teresa Waggener,
the PC(USA) Office of the General Assembly immigration staffperson who talked
at Cedar Ridge last September about the arrival of unaccompanied children in
the United States. Teresa
emphasized that a federal judge has recently opened up the possibility of
closing corporate family immigration prisons just completed, and also how
Donald Trump’s rhetoric has attached itself to a Congressional effort to deny
federal law enforcement assistance funds to “sanctuary” cities and counties
that refuse to use traffic stops, etc. to enforce immigration laws. Teresa also decried a Congressional
effort to tie foreign aid to effective immigration law enforcement (Guatemala
only get foreign aid if Guatemalans quit coming to the United States), along
with U.S. aid to Mexico to expand its efforts to stop and deport Central
Americans trying to cross through Mexico to get to the United States.
Amanda led a discussion
about the possibility of a 2017 Guatemala mission network gathering that would
be a travel seminar possibly on secular education, theological education, and
health education – even subdividing perhaps.
Earlier on Hunter
Farrell, PC(USA) World Mission director (pictured above), shared with
us World Mission's struggles, including the mid-term re-call of four
PC(USA) mission co-workers from Brazil and South Sudan, the possible re-call of
as many as mission co-workers in a year or two if financial trends
continue, continued efforts to solicit financial support
for World Mission partnership efforts, and continued efforts to get
much more than the 15-20% of PC(USA) congregations that are connected with
World Mission and/or PC(USA) mission co-workers. On the other
hand, Hunter argued that he believes the denomination has turned the corner
from pure congregationalism, as more and more congregations/Presbyterians
realize the importance of staying connected with other
Presbyterians/Christians - via not only the
PC(USA), U.S. presbyteries, and other congregations but also via
the PC(USA) and its partners around the world.
The largest
amount of time for the gathering was taken by worship/Bible study led
by CEDPCA staff/leadership - especially Judith Casteneda - which included
participants reading the Mark passage about Jesus' followers encountering
him on the road to Emmaus and using the Listen/Judge/Act method of
biblical interpretation to understand/apply it.
Lots of CHPC folks on
the PC(USA) staff were at Big Tent (along with Elisabeth and her family).
At the Guatemala gathering were lots of old friends of CHPC Guatemala mission,
including: Ellen Dozier, Amanda Craft, Ellen Sherby, and Sandi
Thompson-Royer.
-Perry
