Saturday AM (Oct. 2) prayer vigil

Start off World Communion weekend by stopping by the Crescent Hill church sanctuary, between 9 a.m. and 12 noon Saturday, to pray for the world. On the window sills of the sanctuary will be visual reminders of the many countries where Crescent Hill folks already have friends and family members (including long-term international mission workers the church supports). We will be praying for these individuals, for other people within these countries, and for peace, justice, and love in all countries across the world. Next to the visual reminders of each country will be note cards on which you may write prayer concerns.

Among the countries and regions whose people and prayer concerns we may highlight are:
-Cameroon
-Canada
-Cuba
-Democratic Republic of the Congo
-Dominican Republic
-Guatemala
-Kenya
-India
-Japan
-Korea
-Lebanon
-Lesotho
-Malawi
-Mexico
-Taiwan
-Vanuatu
-Zambia

Unlike a year ago when we ask participants to fast during the Saturday morning of the prayer vigil, we are not asking folks to do that this year. Anyone who is not able to make it to the sanctuary may of course pick one of these countries or another country of your choice and pray for the people there.

Hope to see many of you Saturday and then again at worship on World Communion Sunday.

-- Perry

Safe for now: Luis Botzoc e-mail

Hermanos miembros de nuestra Iglesia Presbiteriana de los Estados Unidos:

Yo como Luis Botzoc, miembro del comite ejecutivo del Presbiterio Qeqchi Estoreño, en el municipio de El Estor, departamento de Izabal Guatemala.

Quiero decirle hermanos, gracias a dios que en nuestro municipio no hay mucho inundacion. El tiempo esta normal gracias a dios, pero no sabemos mas adelante cómo vamos a estar solo dios sabe.

La Iglesia Presbiteriana Arca de Noe,la segunda Iglesia Altar de Noe y la tercera iglesia Espiritu Santo - siempre oran por ustedes y por todo los hermanos de Estados Unidos.

La Iglesia Monte Sinai San Carlos Porveni Puerto Barrios, gracias a Dios, esta contentos sin novedades. Ellos oran por ustedes.

Late September e-mail (English translatoin)

We read about another storm and floods near Puerto Barrios. How is the Monte Sinai church and Pastor José Sub and the members and areas and churches in other parts of Izabal, including El Estor and Livingston? It is dry in Louisville.

This past Wednesday Jane, the pastor of our church, and Jack, the clerk of our church, signed a covenant agreement between our church and your presbytery (in English). Some photographs are here: http://guatemalacrescenthill.blogspot.com/2010/09/its-super-official.html And the covenant (in English) is here: http://guatemalacrescenthill.blogspot.com/2010/09/signed-sealed-delivered-click-on-it-to.html We are also going to send you all the paper also.

This past Sunday en the service and during the week people from our church are praying for the church in El Chupon and for persons in parts of Izabal with floods.
Andrea, one of the deacons who were with us in Coban, is planning a prayer vigil for this Saturday at our church. We are going to pray for and with our brothers and sisters in Christ in various places in the world where we know people, including you all in Guatemala, our North American friends in Guatemala, and some people in other places, including Africa. Also this Saturday, the youth of our church are going to go to a retreat at a lake in Indiana.

In October or November we hope to talk with some people from another Presbyterian church in Louisville which has worked with water other places in Guatemala.
We trust that God is going to be with you all and your brothers and sisters in Christ in other parts of Izabal during this time of bad weather.

Perry

Late September e-mail to Guatemala

Leemos sobre una otra tormenta y inundiaciones acerca de Puerto Barrios. Como esta la iglesia Monte Sinai y Pastor José Sub y los miembros y los areas y Iglesias en otras partes de Izabal, incluyendo El Estor y Livingston? Esta seco en Louisville.
El Miercoles pasado Juana, la pastora de nuestra iglesia, y Juan, el sacristan de nuestra iglesia, firmaron el convenio entre nuestra iglesia y su presbiterio (en Ingles). Unas fotografias estan aqui: http://guatemalacrescenthill.blogspot.com/2010/09/its-super-official.html Y el convenio (en Ingles) esta aqui: http://guatemalacrescenthill.blogspot.com/2010/09/signed-sealed-delivered-click-on-it-to.html Vamos a mandar a Ustedes el papel tambien.

El Domingo pasado en el culto y durante esta semana las personas de nuestra iglesia estamos orando para la iglesia en El Chupon y para personas en partes de Izabal con inundaciones.

Andrea, una de los diaconos y diaconas quienes estuvieron con nosotros en Coban, planea una vigilia de oraciones para el Sabado a nuestra iglesia. Vamos a orar para nuestra hermanos y hermanas en Cristo en varios lugares en el mundo donde sabemos unas personas, incluyendo Ustedes en Guatemala, nuestros amigos Norteamericanos en Guatemala, y unas personas en otras lugares, incluyendo en Africa. Tambien el Sabado, los jovenes y las jovenes de nuestra iglesia van a ir a una retirada a un lago en Indiana.

En Octubre o Noviembre esparamos hablar con unas personas de una otra iglesia Presbiteriana en Louisville que trabajaba con agua en otras lugares en Guatemala.

Confiamos Dios va a estar con Ustedes y sus hermanos y hermanas en Cristo en otras partes de Izabal durante este tiempo de tiempo malo.

-- Pedro

Flooding

Hurricane season continues to takes it toll on Guatemala, and now in Izabal itself. Hurricane Matthew has battered areas of Belize, eastern Guatemala, and eastern Honduras, on the of Gulf of Honduras coast, causing widespread flooding including in the Puerto Barrios area, where the Estoreño Presbyter's Monte Sinai church is located. No word from our partners yet and the fate of the church or conditions in other parts of Izabal.

-- Perry

Saturday prayer vigil

A prayer vigil is scheduled for Satuday, October 2, in the sanctuary, any time during the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12 noon. the prayer vigil is a form of worship observed by our partners in Guatemala, and on in which we will practice to honor our relationship. To prepare for World Communion Sunday, stations will be set up around the sanctuary inviting ou to pray for different countries represented by the members of our congregation. (Pictured above is Andrea, who helped organize September 2009 and September 2010 prayer vigils - with Ana helping set up for last year's vigil.)

Honduran coup talk

Friday 10 or so folks - including a couple of Crescent Hill people - gathered in a Presbyterian Center to watch a short documentary on the coup a year ago in Honduras, a country that shares a border with Guatemala, and the aftermath, and to hear from Elmer (pictured above) spouse of Ellen S., who briefly attended Crescent Hill with their kids. Elmer, who is now one of the pastors of a Nasvhille church with Guatemala connections came down hard on the coup and its aftermath: he and the documentary sharply contested that the coup was popular and bloodless. Both detailed the continuing resistance to the coup and the coup-influenced governments that have followed in Honduras. A wave of left and center-left governments have swept over Latin America, through elections, and the Honduran coup was a attempt to go back to the bloody methods of the 1970s and 1980s to reverse this leftward electoral drift. Elmer said the Honduran coup endangers other countries like Guatemala also, because it's clear that the United States - even with a center-left Democrat in the White House - will do nothing to stop these coups. Not only will the government not call the coup a coup and not threaten U.S. miliary connections with the Honduran government (we have bases there) or U.S.-Honduran trade, which is very extensive, but there is also evidence that the U.S. government supported the coup from the start. The plane that flew that kidnapped Honduran president, Zelaya, out of the country, stopped at a U.S. base to refuel. And a very important figure in the Reagan/Bush war on the Latin American left - in the 1980s, met with most of the key coup figures in Honduras a week before the coup happened.

-- Perry