Resources and relationships

by Marissa Galvan-Valle,
associate for Hispanic/Latino resources and relationships

One of the first questions I asked myself on my first day in the office at the Presbyterian Center about two years ago was: How do I connect with others? I knew my work involved producing curriculum and resources in Spanish — but my job title had this other word that opened up new
opportunities: relationships. How would I relate to the constituencies, presbyteries and synods I was supposed to work with? Letters through snail mail would be impractical if I wanted to do this on a regular basis. Phone calls would do well for one-to-one conversations, but what if I wanted to produce something tangible that could help congregations in their daily life and that could be a good source of communication about the materials in Spanish that we have available for congregations?

The first answer that came to my mind was email. Yes, I know it does not substitute a handwritten letter or a phone call, but the Internet has provided us with a way to transmit large amounts of information to large groups of people and to do so in such a way that when people connect (here is that word again) they get what they need. People can send documents, PowerPoint presentations, birthday cards and PDF files. Why not try to do an e-bulletin that had helpful information each week? This is what the Resources and Relationships Bulletin is all about.

Resources and Relationships is the name of the e-bulletin that we send out each week. The bulletin is in Spanish and English and contains information about resources, helpful links and liturgical helps for each week in both languages. It is a sum of resources that can help pastors and lay leaders in their daily work, and we hope it is a constant reminder that we are supporting and praying for each church, pastor and lay leader that works with Hispanic ministries.

If you are interested in being added to the growing list of people who are part of our network or if you know someone who might be interested, please write me an email and I will make sure that you become a participant in this experiment of what a connectional church can be like in the 21st century.