At least six dozen people gathered Wednesday evening to take a virtual journey to Guatemala. They learned more about the progress, slow as it’s often been, being made by Guatemala’s new president, Bernardo Arévalo, and about an important action taken by the 226th General Assembly (2024).
When I asked the Mesoamerican leaders about how their experience in El Salvador influenced their understanding of migration, they all gave the same response. They expressed that they found similar conditions in communities in El Salvador that forced people to migrate north from their home countries.
During the launch of the Mesoamerican Mission and Migration Network in El Salvador last March, delegates from churches and other institutions engaged in lively discussions on migration. The voices of women working in ministries and organizations along the migratory route resounded in my ears.
In the midst of ongoing demonstrations of support for Guatemala’s recently elected leader, the former college professor Bernardo Arévalo, CEDEPCA, World Mission’s partner in Central America’s most populous country, held an informative webinar Thursday to discuss the support being offered to the demonstrators, who are under the leadership of indigenous Guatemalans.
Good partnerships are good for all the partners. At their best, partnerships blossom into healthier communities beyond the partners. This is true for marriages, friendships, working relationships, and the missional work of the church. A good partnership makes us good for the world.
A recent virtual journey to Guatemala carried this title: “Confronting Climate Change with Actions of Hope.” The webinar, attended by more than 100 people, featured Bible study by The Rev. Dr. Karla Koll, a mission co-worker and professor of history, mission and religion at the Latin American Biblical University, an ecumenical institution in San Jose, Costa Rica.
When individuals and small groups are ready once again to travel to places like Guatemala to learn about and walk alongside that nation’s welcoming people, CEDEPCA, the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America, is ready to handle all the details and deepen visitors’ experience.
Wednesday’s virtual journey to Guatemala carried this title: “Confronting Climate Change with Actions of Hope.” The webinar, attended by more than 100 people, featured Bible study by The Rev. Dr. Karla Koll, a mission co-worker and professor of history, mission and religion at the Latin American Biblical University, an ecumenical institution in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Many readers know of someone in their family, congregation or community who has been impacted by domestic violence in one way or another. To address the topic that is not often discussed or preached from many pulpits on Sunday mornings, the Hispanic/Latino-a Intercultural Congregational Support Ministry created the Gospel, Pastoral Care, and Domestic Violence series, an educational encounter series that addresses domestic violence and the faith community.
In honor of Earth Week, global partner CEDEPCA (the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America) is hosting an upcoming virtual journey to Guatemala which will offer a theological framing of the climate crisis.
