Overview
Central America / Mexico / Caribbean
The
closest international partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
live in the Central American, Mexican and Caribbean region.
This gives Presbyterians the opportunity to get to know Christian
brothers and sisters from the countries represented in the
region because of the ease of travel and communication. As
Presbyterians get to know these Christians they find that the
economic situation of many is fragile. The Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) relates to a number of Christian institutions and
churches in a manner that engenders trust and sharing.
There are three historical Presbyterian relationships in the
countries of Mexico, Guatemala and Cuba. The relationships
that once were mission body to mission church have moved to
ones of sister churches in partnership.
Scottish Presbyterians founded the
Latin American Biblical University (UBL) in San José,
Costa Rica. It began as a women's Bible school but today
is a well-respected institution of theological training.
Three PC(USA) mission personnel are working with the seminary
at this time. The UBL receives students from all over Latin
America. Dr. Elsa Tamez, former rector of the institution,
has made an important contribution to theological thought
throughout the world. The Fraternity of Evangelical Churches
(FIEC) has had a meaningful presbytery partnership with the
Presbytery of Lake Huron for many years. The FIEC is a member
of the Association of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches
of Latin America (AIPRAL).
For many years the PC(USA) has been in partnership with the
Moravian Church of Nicaragua. The Moravian Church, historically
found on the east coast of Nicaragua where indigenous people
of the Miskito, Sumu and Rama tribes lived as well as Garifuno
and African Nicaraguans, has extended into many parts of the
country. The Presbyterian Church was part of the group of people
who assisted the Evangelical Christians of Nicaragua as they
banded together to give help to those who were devastated by
the huge earthquake of 1972. The Evangelical Council of Churches
(CEPAD) grew out of the Evangelical effort. The PC(USA) has
been in partnership with CEPAD since. Nine PC(USA) presbytery congregations
have partnerships with different in Nicaraguan groups. A close
relation with the Evangelical Faculty of Theological Studies
(FEET) has developed through the past years. The PC(USA) Office
of Theological Education has contributed to several Christian
education and theological forums sponsored by the FEET.
In Honduras the Christian Commission
for Development (CCD) accompanies and trains the poor of
Honduras in agriculture and community development. The CCD
is a faith-based development group that also guides pastors
and lay people in theological education. Two PC(USA) mission
workers are included in the CCD staff, and there is one presbytery
partnership with CCD. Another mission couple works with Heifer
International. The Theological Community is the seminary
branch of CCD. The National Evangelical Presbyterian Church
of Guatemala began a mission work in Honduras that today
sees fruit in the independent Presbyterian body in that country-the
Presbytery of Honduras. The Presbytery of Tampa Bay relates
to this small group of Presbyterian Christians.
Two PC(USA) long-term mission workers have related to the
El Salvadoran development organization ALFALIT. A Reconciliation
and Mission participant worked with the Calvinist Reformed
Church of El Salvador. The El Salvadoran people have experienced
physical and emotional pain due to the January and February
earthquakes of 2001. Both the Reformed Church and ALFALIT have
accompanied them during these difficult times and Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance has been attentive to the situation.
The close relationship with the National Evangelical Presbyterian
Church of Guatemala is seen through the six presbytery partnerships
with eight presbyteries in the Guatemalan church. There are
seven mission workers serving with the Guatemalan Presbyterians.
The Christian Service Office, Diaconia, has been instrumental
in helping Guatemalans recover from the ravages of Hurricane
Mitch. The Central American Evangelical Center for Pastoral
Studies (CEDEPCA) has its central office in Guatemala. Two
PC(USA) presbyteries are in partnership with CEDEPCA. PC(USA)
mission workers are involved in communications and travel/reflection
groups that help Presbyterians from the United States meet
Guatemalan Christians and become acquainted with Guatemalan
realities.
Mexico is a large country, and the National Presbyterian Church
of Mexico (NPCM) is one of the largest historical churches
in the country with approximately 1 million members. Thirteen
PC(USA) mission workers are involved in the Mexican/U.S. Border
Ministries and two mission workers are at the San Pablo Seminary
in Merida, Mexico. There are six presbytery partnerships with
presbyteries in Mexico and two presbytery partnerships with
Border Ministries. The three priorities of the NPCM are evangelism,
education, and health. The Mexico City Presbyterian Seminary
Choir is known for its quality and creativeness.
The Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba became an independent
body in 1975 after having been a part of the Synod of New Jersey
for many years. There are six presbytery partnerships with
this small but dynamic group of Cuban Christians. Cuban Presbyterians
are theological leaders in their own country and in world ecclesiastical
bodies. Each year Presbyterians from the United States visit
with these dedicated Christians. There is one PC(USA) mission
worker in Cuba at this time, serving as the Regional Liaison
for the Caribbean, with special attention to Cuba and the Caribbean-North
American Council for Mission.
Cooperation in mission between the Episcopal Church of Haiti
and the PC(USA) began in the middle 1970s with the revival
of a health clinic in Leogane, about 30 kilometers west of
Port-au-Prince. Today this small institution is a three-story
hospital serving a large area of the country. An important
part of the health care from the hospital is given by trained
health promoters and midwives. Education is a top priority
of the church in Haiti. There are seven PC(USA) mission workers
involved in education, agricultural development, and health
care work in Haiti.
The Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, and
the Moravian Church joined to form a united church called the
Dominican Evangelical Church of the Dominican Republic. The
Dominican Church is active and involved in the life of the
people in Dominican society. A presbytery partnership with
Elizabeth Presbytery has been in existence for many years.
In the past the PC(USA) has had mission workers cooperating
with the Dominican Church in introducing U.S. Christians to
Dominican life. Women pastors have been part of the Dominican
Church's leadership for many years.
As in the Dominican Republic, also in Jamaica the Presbyterian
Church and the Congregational Church joined to form a united
church. Some years later the Disciples joined them, and a new
church called the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
was born. The United Church is a dynamic body that moves in
development works for the poor in society and in new avenues
for lay and clergy theological training. Two PC(USA) mission
workers are living and working with the Jamaican people, and
four presbytery partnerships are in effect.
The PC(USA) has cordial relations with the Presbyterian Church
of Trinidad. Through an organization called the Caribbean North
American Council for Mission (CANACOM) the PC(USA) relates
to the Presbyterian Church of Grenada, the Guyana Presbyterian
Church, the Presbytery of Guyana, the Guyana Congregational
Union, and the United Protestant Church of Curacao. Also included
in CANACOM are the United Church of Canada, the Presbyterian
Church in Canada, the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba
and the Dominican Evangelical Church. This multi-lateral relationship
allows large churches and smaller ones to be in mission together,
where all are receiving and all are giving.
South America
The PC(USA)
now has partnerships with Presbyterian or Reformed denominations
in seven South American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In addition it supports
and works closely with AIPRAL, the Association of Presbyterian
and Reformed Churches in Latin America, branch of the World
Association of Reformed Churches. Through AIPRAL, the PC(USA)
i in contact with churches from Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
The South American countries are now
climbing out of the depths of one of the most profound crises
of the 20th century. The "lost
decade" of the 1980s was characterized by low or negative economic
growth, huge external debt, economic instability and near-permanent
fiscal crisis.
One of the causes of this poor performance is the structure
of the regional economy: Latin America has the world's worst
income distribution. That means that the lack of purchasing
power of the masses of people inhibits the growth of an internal
market for goods produced.
Another cause of the economic distress
is the globalization of the world's economy, which the PC(USA)'s
partner churches have identified as the single most difficult
obstacle to their people's development. As a Christian community,
the members of the PC(USA) are members of the same body of
Christ-"if one
member suffers, all suffer together with it" (1 Cor. 12:26).
Our partners in South America are asking, "How can we
justify the faith affirmation that we are one in Christ if
more and more brothers and sisters are suffering and excluded?"
According to the Reformed tradition, the economy is a social
framework that is supposed to sustain life in community. And
yet the world's present economic order contributes to dismantling
rather than sustaining community. People are not only suffering,
they are being systematically excluded from the community.
Christians in Peru have mobilized around
the Biblical jubilee during the year 2000 and gathered 1.7
million signatures asking for the forgiveness of foreign
debt for the world's poorest countries. Our two Brazilian
partner churches are especially articulate: "We reaffirm the hope that commerce between
nations should produce well-being for all people and not only
for a few," states the General Assembly of the Independent
Presbyterian Church of Brazil. "We reaffirm the hope in the
construction of an international order that is just and in
solidarity, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Although Venezuela is a world leader in the exportation of
crude oil, it will take decades to recover from the effects
of the floods of 1999, which totally reshaped the Venezuela
coastline for 40 miles, removing whole towns from the face
of the earth and killing an estimated 30,000 people.
Perhaps the country most in need of
Presbyterians' prayerful intervention is Colombia, where
peace has finally made some progress only to be threatened
by military "aid" from
the United States. In the present context aid from the United
States contributes not to peace but to war. Help from the United
States would be welcomed if it were aimed at decreasing the
unemployment rate, which stands at more than 20 percent. People
of faith would welcome help in building housing for the more
than 1 million people displaced by the war. "As a church," writes
Milton Mejia, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, "we
believe that if the United States focuses its aid on military
equipment and trainers it will only help to deepen and prolong
a war of more than 40 years that has not been resolved by [military]
means."
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article by Hunter Farrell from a special issue of the Journal of Latin American Theology: Christian Reflections from the Latino South on short-term missions in Latin America.
