November 1, 2006
Tending the flame
Once in a while, someone from the United States will ask me,
“Do you meet any resistance to your work with the women
in Guatemala?” The asker of such a question knows that I
encourage Guatemalan women to assume their rightful role as daughters
of God; to use their God-given gifts in ministry, whether that
be in their home, church or community; to strive for partnership
with men in their ministry.
Women at a workshop learn that their bodies truly are “temples
of the living God.”
In the first years of my ministry I could easily say “no,”
except for the resistance from women themselves—it is never
easy to grow and change. And at first I don’t think many
men in the church paid a lot of attention to what the women were
doing. But that has changed! Now I sense more resistance from
some men (not all: some men are very supportive of women participating
in all areas of the life of the church, but that is for another
newsletter).
Some men feel threatened by developments such as:
- more women are being ordained as ruling elders.
- there are two indigenous women ordained as “pastoras”
and a good possibility that a ladino presbytery will
soon ordain a woman pastor.
- women are attending more workshops and learn of women in the
Bible who engaged in a great variety of ministries.
- women are learning to read the Bible through their own eyes
and are open to new interpretations of Scripture passages that
had been used to silence women.
What should our response be to this resistance? The theme of
the gathering to celebrate the ordination of women in the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) that I was privileged to attend in Atlanta in
March of this year was “Tending the Flame.” In her
sermon, Lisa Larges described the dilemma of a woman pastor who
had to decide how to deal with a crisis in her congregation. Should
she simply leave and let the members of the congregation fight
it out? Should she herself “fight back” to prove that
she was right? In the end, she chose a third way, to “tend
the flame,” to stay and work with and through the crisis
at hand, ministering to people on both sides of the issue.
In workshops, women learn to read the Bible through their own
eyes and are opened to new interpretations of Scripture passages
that have been used to silence women.
Guatemalan women know a lot about the process of “tending
the flame,” since many of them still prepare meals for their
families over wood fires. They know that you must first search
for firewood, a daily task. Then you must carefully build your
fire and check on it periodically, feeding more firewood as needed.
Too much firewood will cause a mighty blaze, not good for cooking
frijoles! Too little firewood, and the flames will die out, leaving
smoldering embers.
Tending the flame of women’s ministry in Guatemala may
mean making a six-hour bus trip to visit the governing body of
a Presbyterial high in the Cuchumatanes mountains; or working
with committee members as they prepare workshops on the ministry
of women in the Bible and our ministry today; or listening to
more than the words of a woman struggling to express how she feels
being relegated to serve only in the kitchen; or encouraging a
woman to hold on to her dream of one day becoming a pastor; or
sleeping on a church floor to lead a Bible study at a women’s
convention. For many women, tending the flame means getting up
before dawn, preparing breakfast and lunch for their families,
then making a two-hour bus trip to be a part of a health workshop
where they study the development and care of their bodies and
learn that their bodies truly are “temples of the living
God.”
None of this is very glamorous work, but neither is cooking a
pot of frijoles over a wood fire! However, that bowl of frijoles,
accompanied by the tortillas, and the contented smiles of the
family, make the effort worthwhile. When you see a woman begin
to truly believe that she is a daughter of God, and live out of
that belief, or when you hear a woman declare, “we are created
in the image of God,” or when you see women take their rightful
place beside men in a committee meeting, or when a woman tells
you she is no longer afraid to leave her community and participate
in a retreat, then all the hours of tending the flame are worth
it.
Through all the workshops, bus trips, retreats, and meetings,
women continue to grow in their understanding of Scripture and
to value themselves as unique individuals created by a loving
God who equips them for ministry in a variety of ways.
I want to thank everyone who contributes to my financial support
and makes it possible for me to have a part in “tending
the flame” in Guatemala. If you are a part of a PC(USA)
congregation, please encourage the mission committee or session
to keep sending support to D506243, my Directed Mission Support
account.
It’s also possible to support me through an Extra Commitment
Opportunity account. Contributions from individuals may be sent
to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Individual Remittance Processing,
PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Contributions from churches
should be sent to normal receiving sites or: Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) Church Remittance Processing, PO Box 643678, Pittsburgh,
PA 15264-3678. Write my name and the ECO number (E132192) on the
subject line of the check. Or click the "give" button
below.
Thanks also for your support for the ECO “With the Women
of Guatemala,” EO51618, which makes it possible for the
women of the Unión Sinódica (Presbyterian Women
in Guatemala) to provide materials, facilitators, meals, and bus
fare so that women can participate in opportunities for growth
and change. Or click the "give" button below.
May we all continue “tending the flame,” wherever
we may be.
Ellen Dozier
Mission Co-Worker, Guatemala
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 64
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