Presbyterian World Mission, together with our partners on the US/Mexico border and in Central America, is offering a Travel Study Seminar for Presbyterians who want to understand the context and respond to the needs of the thousands of Central American children that are crossing the border. The trip is scheduled for January 23 - February 1, 2015 and will include visits with a Presbyterian Border Region Outreach (PBRO) ministry site as well as visits with ecumenical partners in Guatemala and El Salvador.  

The Christian journey might be seen as one of migration, “the belief that God migrated to humanity so all of us in turn could migrate back to God.”  (Daniel G. Groody, C.S.C.) This experience will start before heading to the border, as participants will be invited to explore how immigration touches all of us regardless of where we live and to discover the borders and immigrants in our own communities. The current wave of immigration is rooted in decades of poverty, failed government policies, broken families, lack of protection for children, and violence plaguing Central America’s northern triangle – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Participants in this trip will listen to the often-unheard voices of children and families sharing why they make the difficult decision to head northward.  We will wrestle with complex issues in order better to understand the root causes of immigration. We will explore how these various forces interconnect in the current exodus, delve into theological analysis and see how our global partners are engaging these issues. Together we will discern how we are called on to respond, identifying actions that can contribute positively to our world.

Sharing in the wealth of experience and information of global partners and mission co-workers will make for a powerful and transformative learning experience. Come join us to see how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) is responding to this crisis, and what more we can do!

 Trip Cost:

  • US$1200 – cost includes food, lodging (double-room occupancy), and transportation from Tucson to the border, air travel within Mexico and ground transportation in Central America. (This does NOT include air travel into Tucson by early afternoon of Friday, January 23rd or returning to the United States from El Salvador on Sunday, February 1st.)

Trip Highlights:

Experiencing the US/Mexico Border with Presbyterian Border Region Outreach

Crossing into Central America on the Mexico/Guatemala Border

Engaging with expert political, economic, social and theological analysis to unpack converging issues

Hearing both rural and urban voices and seeing their daily realities through fellowship, conversation, worship and study with global partners in Guatemala and El Salvador

Exploring strategic ways that we as Christians can actively address the root causes and multiple effects of migration.

For more information contact Marisa Bustamante, program assistant for Latin America and the Caribbean, marisa.bustamante@pcusa.org, (502)569-5103

 

"When the church hears the cry of the oppressed, it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises."

– Archbishop Oscar Romero in The Church: Called to Repentance, Called to Prophecy