| From 1997 to 2005, Dennis served on the Commission
for the Verification of Codes of Conduct (Coverco), an independent,
external monitor of labor conditions in Guatemala’s apparel
and agricultural export industries. Dennis notes that his time
in Coverco helped him understand the importance of civil society,
the private sector and government working together to strengthen
the rule of law, increase productivity and defend the dignity
and safety of workers.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Dennis was an honor graduate in
speech communications at Wheaton College in Illinois, and subsequently
completed a one-year graduate fellowship at the National College
of Education in Evanston, Illinois. The following year, his new
home church, First Presbyterian in Evanston, sponsored him on
a one-year volunteer assignment as a communication consultant
to the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala.
Following this volunteer year, Dennis spent two years working
in the Programs and Meetings Department of the Million Dollar
Round Table in Des Plaines, Illinois. But his desire to continue
working in communication with the Guatemalan Presbyterian Church
led him to accept a five-year fraternal worker assignment with
the United Presbyterian Church (USA) beginning in October 1977.
His duties for that period included religious film distribution
and workshops on radio, drama, journalism, and interpersonal communication.
He also taught communication classes at the Presbyterian Seminary
in Guatemala.
In July 1984 Dennis received a new appointment at the request
of the Latin American Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies,
based in San José, Costa Rica, known throughout Latin America
as CELEP. He coordinated CELEP's Education for Communication program,
conducting conferences and workshops on such themes as theology
of communication, the gospel and the electronic media, education
and evangelism rooted in local reality, and interpersonal communication.
While based in Guatemala, his work with CELEP took him frequently
to México, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
Brazil, Perú, and Venezuela. In 1996 CELEP began a process
of devolving into its regional offices. Dennis' work came under
the umbrella of CEDEPCA, where he currently serves.
Maribel was educated in Guatemala and received training as a
bilingual secretary at the National Secretarial School in Guatemala.
In 1983 Maribel began to minister in her neighborhood with a congregation
of Italian nuns. Together they discovered her gifts for ministry
and commitment to her community. She received training to become
a lay pastoral agent and worked with a new pastoral model in her
neighborhood, base ecclesial communities. In 1987 Maribel began
working on the publications team of the Centro de Estudios, Publicaciones
y Servicios de Evangelización, an educational resource
center.
Dennis, Maribel, Lucas, and Benji are members of San Juan Apóstol
Church in Guatemala City, where Dennis was ordained to the office
of elder. San Juan Apóstol Church is a member of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches.
Birthdays:
Dennis - November 1
Maribel - June 22
Lucas - September 22, 1992
Benji - August 21, 1994
|
